Impact of power flow on Z-pinch loads

Magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) are used to deliver tens of MA to a Z-pinch load. The MITLs suffer current losses due to contaminant plasma located in the anode–cathode gap which is swept toward the load along the power flow. The swept up contaminant plasma can deposit mass and ene...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 2022-11, Vol.29 (11)
Main Authors: Tummel, K., Welch, D. R., Rose, D. V., Link, A. J., LeChien, K. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contaminants
Current loss
Plasma physics
Power flow
Transmission lines
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Summary:Magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) are used to deliver tens of MA to a Z-pinch load. The MITLs suffer current losses due to contaminant plasma located in the anode–cathode gap which is swept toward the load along the power flow. The swept up contaminant plasma can deposit mass and energy onto the load resulting in deformations or the seeding of macroscopic instabilities. This paper discusses 2D fully kinetic simulations of the contaminant plasma evolution which predict the current losses and the flux of mass and energy onto the load. The effects of a dynamic, i.e., imploding, load are shown to increase both the current loss and the mass and energy flux. The MITL used is a conical, radially converging design which is a feature common to MA-scale Z-pinch accelerators.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/5.0125112