A study of the effects of the cathode configuration on the plasma kinetics and neutron emission of plasma-focus discharges in deuterium

The differences in performance of a 1.9 kJ plasma-focus device PACO assembled with three different cathode configurations are experimentally qualified. In particular, the current sheath kinetics and the neutron yield operating with deuterium gas are systematically studied for the whole range of neutron-producing pressures, and the measurements are analyzed searching for relations between relevant physical magnitudes. The pinching time was found correlated with the dimensionless driver parameter, and this feature was found statistically independent of the cathode. The variation of the inductance jump associated with the radial collapse stage is used to estimate the effective pinch length, (7.3 ± 1.6) mm, and radius, (3.6 ± 2.1 ) mm. The maximum production in a single shot was registered for the smallest cathode radius, 41 mm, whereas the intermediate cathode radius, 45 mm, scored better in average. In all configurations, the neutrons per deuteron pair correlates fairly well with an estimation of the effective equilibrium temperature of the pinch, which suggests a prevalence of thermonuclear neutrons measured perpendicularly to the focus axis.Fil: Barbaglia, Mario Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Giovachini, Ricardo Hernán. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Clausse, Alejandro. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentin

Small Plasma Focus Studied as a Source of Hard X-ray

An experimental study on hard X-ray pulses emitted by a small plasma focus is performed, regarding its application to biological radiographs in fast dynamic situations. It is found that the radiation intensity in a single shot is high enough to obtain fine resolution radiographs in very short exposures (about 10 ns). As an example, a radiograph on a live mouse is shown. It is found that the relation between responses of different detectors, i.e., thermoluminescence dosimeters and scintillator-photomultiplier, is linear.Fil: Castillo Mejía, Fermín. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Moroso, Roberto Luis. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Pouzo, Jorge Osvaldo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Santiago, Martin Alejo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentin

Dense plasma focus PACO as a hard X-ray emitter: a study on the radiation source

The radiation in the X-ray range detected outside the vacuum chamber of the dense plasma focus (DPF) PACO, are produced on the anode zone. The zone of emission is studied in a shot-to-shot analysis, using pure deuterium as filling gas. We present a diagnostic method to determine the place and size of the hard X-ray source by image analysis of high density radiography plates.Fil: Supán, L.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Guichón, S.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Niedbalski, Jorge Julio. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Moroso, Roberto Luis. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Acuña, H.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Físicas de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Malamud, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Físicas de Mar del Plata; Argentin

Comment on Experimental evidence of thermonuclear neutrons in a modified plasma focus [Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 071501 (2011)]

On page 3 of Ref. 1, the authors claim: “It is for the first time when the ion temperature of thermonuclear Z-pinch plasmas is calculated from the width of neutron energy spectrum.” They are probably unaware of Ref. 2, in which one of the main results we reported were neutron spectra measurements made in the 1 MJ plasma focus at Frascati. These spectra were obtained by the time-of-flight method, with a time-resolved detector placed at a distance of 140 m from the neutron source, therefore giving a very accurate spectral resolution. On page 535 of Ref. 2, several spectra are shown, where the width is signalised. From the results from many spectra, a temperature of deuterons was calculated from the formula ΔE = 82.5 [kT]1/2 as derived by Lehner and Pohl.3 In other words, back in the 1970s, the width of the neutron spectra was used, and the deuteron temperature at the Frascati’s 1 MJ device was estimated.Fil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Dense plasma focus: different cathode geometries and their influence on the hard x-ray production

Using the plasma-focus device called PACO (Plasma Auto COnfinado), three types of cathodes were experimentally investigated to evaluate their influence on the hard x-ray production. Two barred cathodes with diameters of 82 mm and 90 mm and one cathode without any specific structure (i.e. the current sheet flowed freely on the radial axis) were tested for this work. In every experiment, the capacitor bank was charged to 31 kV. The gas used was deuterium in the pressure range of 0.5 mbar and 3.0 mbar. The production of neutrons and hard x-ray simultaneously was not detected outside this range. Using the cathode with a diameter of 82 mm the hard x-ray production was maximized.Fil: Barbaglia, Mario Oscar. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Mecanica. Grupo de Ingeniería Asistida Por Computador; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Giovachini, Ricardo Hernán. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física Arroyo Seco; ArgentinaFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Exploding wire energy absorption dynamics at slow current rates

Absorption of electrical energy provided to a metal wire in an exploding wire system is thought to be terminated or greatly diminished when the plasma is formed, after the joule heating of the metallic wire by the electrical current. Accordingly, it is common to account for the electrical energy delivered to the wire that the integration of current and voltage signals is halted when the voltage peak changes its slope. Usually, this moment is synchronized with the plasma appearance, as detected by optical sensors. In this work, experimental evidence of a two-step electrical energy absorption in an exploding wire surrounded by atmospheric air is presented. During the first step of the energy absorption the plasma is not formed, indicating that the delivered energy is not enough for ionizing the wire, giving place to a dark pause that lasts until a second energy absorption produces a plasma. The delay between the two steps can reach ≈2.2 µs for copper wires of 50 µm diameter charged at an initial voltage of 10 kV. Experimental investigation of variation of the delay between the two steps with different metals, charging voltages, and wire diameters are presented. A relation of the current density with the initial kinetic energy of the plasma and the electrical current rate is devised as a possible explanation of the observed phenomena.Fil: Rodriguez Prieto, G.. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha; EspañaFil: Bilbao, Luis Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Temporal distribution of the electrical energy on an exploding wire

An exploding wire system has been experimentally studied by the observation of its plasma dynamics and the electrical energy delivered by the supporting circuit to the metallic wire. Plasma radial expansion has been obtained from visible light streak images, meanwhile electrical energy transfer dynamics was derived from the analysis of voltage and current traces of the exploding wire circuit. In these measurements, a significant portion of the electrical energy has been transferred to the exploding wire circuit during the plasma expansion, and lower limits for the resistivity during the plasma expansion confirm the existence of a central liquid or solid metallic core in addition to the expanding plasma.Fil: Rodri­guez Prieto, Gonzalo. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha; EspañaFil: Bilbao, Luis Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física del Plasma. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física del Plasma; ArgentinaFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Evidences of Thermal and Non-Thermal Mechanisms coexisting in a Dense Plasma Focus D-D nuclear reactions

Dense plasma foci are the most efficient devices in the production of fast neutrons proceeding from deuterium nuclear fusion reactions. This work deals with experiments in a small plasma focus machine and attempts to distinguish neutrons of thermal origin from non-thermal neutrons, and the search for possible sources of both. Soft x-rays emitted by bremsstrahlung in a plasma focus were experimentally studied, using a multiple pin-hole camera with different aluminum absorbers in each hole. This method allows one to obtain the time-integrated soft x-ray image, as well as an estimation of the mean electronic temperature. The time-resolved soft x-ray intensity is registered with a filtered p-intrinsic-n (PIN) diode detector, shielded with a beryllium sheet. The time-resolved hard x-ray intensity (associated with particle acceleration) was registered using a plastic scintillator coupled to a fast photomultiplier tube. With a similar system, the time-resolved neutron emission is also registered. From the soft x-ray photographic studies, bright points with temperatures two or three times higher than the bulk plasma temperature are observed. These bright points (one or two per focus) can reach temperatures of over 7 keV, and their formation seems to correlate with successive necking produced by m = 0 instabilities in the pinch column. Time-integrated and time-resolved measurements of neutron yield, performed in comparison with time-resolved measurements of soft and hard x-ray radiation, show the different influence of thermal and non-thermal mechanisms in the nuclear fusion reactions.Fil: Castillo, F.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Moroso, Roberto Luis. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Pouzo, Jorge Osvaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentin

Images of a plasma focus current sheath with a continuous cylindrical outer electrode

Images of the roll-off, radial compression, final pinch, and after pinch stages of the current sheath (CS) of the dense plasma focus PACO (plasma autoconfinado) whose outer electrode is a brass cylindrical shell are shown. The different stages of the current sheath were measured with an image converter camera, 5-ns exposure time. The images of the CS evolution look similar to those previously obtained with an array of bars as cathode, as well as neutron yields and working pressures.Fil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Cortázar, Osvaldo Daniel. Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha; EspañaFil: Barbaglia, Mario Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Moroso, Roberto Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentin