36 research outputs found
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Laser-generated metallic hydrogen
Hydrogen reaches the minimum conductivity of a metal at 140 GPa (1.4 Mbar) and 3000 K. These conditions were achieved using a two-stage light-gas gun. The authors have investigated computationally the use of a laser-heated hohlraum to shock compress hydrogen to these conditions in samples sufficiently thin that the metallic fluid might be quenched metastably on release of dynamic pressure. A configuration was found such that the duration of maximum pressure is sufficiently long that the hydrogen film cools by thermal conduction before pressure is released
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Aluminum Rayleigh Taylor Strength Measurements and Calculations
A traditional approach to the study of material strength has been revitalized at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center (VNIIEF). Rayleigh Taylor strength experiments have long been utilized to measure the material response of metals at high pressure and strain rates. A modulated (sinusoidal or sawtooth perturbation) surface is shocklessly (quasi-isentropically) accelerated by a high explosive (HE) driver, and radiography is used to measure the perturbation amplitude as a function of time. The Aluminum T-6061 targets are designed with several sets of two-dimensional sawtooth perturbations machined on the loading surface. The HE driver was designed to reach peak pressures in the range of 200 to 300 kbar and strain rates in the range of 10{sup 4} - 10{sup 6} s{sup -1}. The standard constitutive strength models, Steinberg-Guinan (SG) [1], Steinberg-Lund (SL) [2], Preston-Tonks-Wallace (PTW) [3], Johnson-Cooke (JC) [4], and Mechanical Threshold Stress (MTS) [5], have been calibrated by traditional techniques: (Hopkinson-Bar, Taylor impact, flyer plate/shock-driven experiments). The VNIIEF experimental series accesses a strain rate regime not attainable using traditional methods. We have performed a detailed numerical study with a two-dimensional Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian hydrodynamics computer code containing several constitutive strength models to predict the perturbation growth. Results show that the capabilities of the computational methodology predict the amplitude growth to within 5 percent of the measured data, thus validating both the code and the strength models under the given conditions and setting the stage for credible future design work using different materials
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High pressure, quasi-isentropic compression experiments on the Omega laser
The high energy density of pulsed lasers can be used to generate shockless loading in solids to high pressures and compressions but low temperatures. We have used the Omega laser to extend the capabilities of this technique to multi-Mbar pressures and compressions approaching a factor of 2 in aluminum foils. The energy from a 3.7 ns laser pulse is used to drive a strong shock through a 200 {micro}m polystyrene disc. The disc material unloads from a high-pressure state and expands across a 300 {micro}m vacuum gap where it stagnates against the sample to produce a smooth, monotonically increasing load with rise times from a few to {approx} 20 ns. Ramped compression reasing waves having peak pressures of 14-200 GPa (0.14-2.0 Mbar) and peak compressions {rho}/{rho}{sub 0} of 1.1-2.0 were generated in the aluminum samples using laser pulse energies of 400 J to 2 kJ. Wave profiles from a series of successively thicker targets loaded to 120 GPa show the evolution of the high-pressure compression wave within the sample. The initial loading in the sample is shockless, and develops into a shock at a depth of 20-25 {micro}m. We compare these wave profiles with hydrodynamic simulations from which we extract material temperatures and plastic strain rates behind the compression wave. Limitations and future prospects for this new shockless loading technique are discussed
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Update on Specifications for NIF Ignition Targets and Their Rollup Into an Error Budget
Targets intended to produce ignition on NIF are being simulated and the simulations are used to set specifications for target fabrication. Recent design work has focused on designs that assume only 1.0 MJ of laser energy instead of the previous 1.6 MJ. To perform with less laser energy, the hohlraum has been redesigned to be more efficient than previously, and the capsules are slightly smaller. The main-line hohlraum design now has a SiO2 foam fill, a wall of U-Dy-Au, and shields mounted between the capsule and the laser entrance holes. Two capsule designs are being considered. One has a graded doped Be(Cu) ablator, and the other graded doped CH(Ge). Both can perform acceptably with recently demonstrated ice layer quality, and with recently demonstrated outer surface roughness. Smoothness of the internal interfaces may be an issue for the Be(Cu) design, and it may be necessary either to polish partially coated shells or to improve process control so that the internal layers are smoother. Complete tables of specifications are being prepared for both targets, to be completed this fiscal year. All the specifications are being rolled together into an error budget indicating adequate margin for ignition with the new designs
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Material dynamics under extreme conditions of pressure and strain rate
Solid state experiments at extreme pressures (10-100 GPa) and strain rates ({approx}10{sup 6}-10{sup 8}s{sup -1}) are being developed on high-energy laser facilities, and offer the possibility for exploring new regimes of materials science. These extreme solid-state conditions can be accessed with either shock loading or with a quasi-isentropic ramped pressure drive. Velocity interferometer measurements establish the high pressure conditions. Constitutive models for solid-state strength under these conditions are tested by comparing 2D continuum simulations with experiments measuring perturbation growth due to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in solid-state samples. Lattice compression, phase, and temperature are deduced from extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements, from which the shock-induced {alpha}-{omega} phase transition in Ti and the {alpha}-{var_epsilon} phase transition in Fe are inferred to occur on sub-nanosec time scales. Time resolved lattice response and phase can also be measured with dynamic x-ray diffraction measurements, where the elastic-plastic (1D-3D) lattice relaxation in shocked Cu is shown to occur promptly (< 1 ns). Subsequent large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations elucidate the microscopic dynamics that underlie the 3D lattice relaxation. Deformation mechanisms are identified by examining the residual microstructure in recovered samples. The slip-twinning threshold in single-crystal Cu shocked along the [001] direction is shown to occur at shock strengths of {approx}20 GPa, whereas the corresponding transition for Cu shocked along the [134] direction occurs at higher shock strengths. This slip-twinning threshold also depends on the stacking fault energy (SFE), being lower for low SFE materials. Designs have been developed for achieving much higher pressures, P > 1000 GPa, in the solid state on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser