CallAtch2TO0002_TA2MTF-FRC05Feb2008.doc

BAA 08-RD-01

CALL 0001

Attachment 2 High energy Research and applications (HERA)

Technical Area 2 – Pulsed Power and Pulsed Power Systems R&D

Task Order Statement

Pulsed Power and Pulsed Power Systems R&D for Magnetized Target Fusion Using Filed Reversed Configurations (MTF-FRC) 18 Jan 2008

1.0 Objective: Form and compress Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) type of Compact Toroid at AFRL/RDHP’s Shiva Star facility to multi-KeV temperature, with ion densities ~ 10^19 ions/cc. This entails injecting such FRC’s into the interior of approximately 30 cm long (tall), 10 cm diameter metal shells (liners), and compressing such FRC’s by means of an implosion of such liners. This is to perform Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) experiments using FRC’s as the magnetized plasma to be compressed.

2.0 Scope: Includes the necessary design, development, engineering, fabrication, assembly, analysis, and testing of the MTF-FRC system components, and the integration of these components into a system, and the testing of this system. This involves pulsed power implementation at AFRL/RDHP. This involves multiple capacitor bank discharges with controlled relative timing, at currents ranging from kilo-amps to greater than 10 megamps, in the integrated FRC formation – implosion compression experiments. Those integrated experiments will involve destruction of portions of the hardware due to very high current densities and magnetic pressure. Due to other uses of the Shiva Star Facility, and due to destruction of portions of the experiment hardware in integrated formation – compression experiments, the formation hardware needs to be designed and constructed so that it can be inserted into and withdrawn rapidly from the central region under the Shiva Star transmission line.

3.0 Background: The ability to form suitable FRC’s has been developed by a combined AFRL – Los Alamos effort at LANL Tech Area 35. These FRC parameters are close to the desired parameters: radius ~ 2 cm, length ~ 10 to 20 cm, density ~ 0.5 x 10^17 ions/cc, ion temperature ~ 200 eV, axial magnetic field ~ 1 to 2 Tesla, and lifetime ~ 15 – 20 microseconds. SAIC has played an important part of this in its HPM and Pulsed Power TO-36 effort. Also, prior to this TO, successful experiments have been fielded using the AFRL/RDHP Shiva Star facility that show the feasibility of using Z-pinch geometry high current discharges to use magnetic pressure to implode liners with size (30 cm tall, 10 cm diameter), velocity (~ 0.5 cm/microsecond), radial compression (factor > 15 achieved vs factor ~10 needed), symmetry, and stability suitable for FRC compression to MTF conditions, and to do so with deformable liner – electrode contact with apertures sufficiently large (8 cm) for FRC injection. These experiments used AFRL/RDHP designed liners. The new effort under this new HERA TO will develop and implement FRC compression using such liner implosions. This may entail developing improvements in FRC formation and translation.

4.0 Applicable Documents: Security Classification Guide (SCG): Security Classification Guide (SCG) for High Power Microwave (HPM) Weapon / Counter High Power Microwave (CHPM) Weapon Technology – 21 June 1999.

5.0 Technical Tasks:

5.1 System and component design improvements as needed, assembly, and use. This includes the FRC formation systems vacuum and magnetic coil hardware, capacitor banks to drive the bias and reversed axial magnetic field, pre-ionization, and mirror field discharges, as well as adapter sections connecting the FRC and imploding liner chambers. This will also provide for the contingency of multipole perturbations to the FRC axial magnetic field to limit FRC rotation. This will consider other means to control or limit FRC rotation.

5.2 The contractor shall fabricate and assemble the FRC formation hardware at the AFRL Shiva Star facility. Due to other uses of the Shiva Star Facility, and due to destruction of portions of the experiment hardware in integrated formation – compression experiments, the formation hardware needs to be designed and constructed so that it can be inserted into and withdrawn rapidly from the central region under the Shiva Star transmission line. This will include providing for pulsed power power diagnostics for all discharges, use of a flux exclusion diagnostic, use of at least 4 channels of laser interferometry, and provision for diagnostic access for optical and Vacuum Ultra-Violet (VUV) spectroscopy diagnostics.

5.3 The contractor shall implement FRC formation experiments, initially in the withdrawn position, and eventually, in the position inserted into the central region under the Shiva Star transmission line. The desired parameters are radius ~ 2 cm, length ~ 10 to 20 cm, density ~ 0.5 x 10^17 (deuterium) ions/cc, ion temperature ~ 200 eV, axial magnetic field ~ 1 to 2 Tesla, and lifetime ~ 15 to 20 microseconds. These experiments will include insertion into static copies of suitable imploding liners, perhaps with additional radial view diagnostic access. These will have pulsed power diagnostics for all discharges, flux exclusion diagnostics, and laser interferometry (at least 4 channels when in the withdrawn position, and at least one channel when in the inserted position). Some of these will include fast photography, and optical and/or VUV diagnostics. These will use deuterium gas.

5.4 The contractor shall implement integrated FRC formation – imploding liner compression experiments, as further described above. These experiments will include the standard exterior magnetic field, current, and voltage diagnostics for the liner implosion. These experiments will include four radial view flash radiography diagnostic channels at two different times, similar to those already used on such similar imploding liner experiments. Due to competing radiation from implosion – compression of FRC’s, it is likely that active recording of the radiography, to allow temporal separation of radiography from FRC radiation, may be necessary. Central portions that are destroyed in implosion – compression experiments will need to be replaced for each such experiment. The assemblies are expected to survive for experiments involving only formation and translation of FRC’s. These experiments may use axial view fast photography. The FRC diagnostics will be as described in 5.3 for the inserted position. These will use deuterium gas. AFRL/RDHP will supply neutron and gamma diagnostics (two activation detectors and up to 6 scintillator photomultiplier detectors that use up to negative 2800 volts DC bias). Possibly, LANL will provide additional neutron diagnostics. These are mechanically independent of the FRC and imploding liner chamber structure. The contractor shall provide for signal cable and transient digitizer recording for the AFRL supplied neutron and gamma diagnostics. Some of these experiments may use multipole perturbations to the FRC axial magnetic field to limit FRC rotation – depending on results without their use.

5.5 Lesser activities for the contractor shall include maintaining the operational status of an existing cryogenic deuterium wire extruder (which may be needed to increase FRC density), and some design engineering of implosion – compression hardware.

6.0 Schedule and Deliverables:

6.1 Start Work:

DOA

6.2 End Technical Effort (ETE):

DOA + 49 months

6.3 CDRL A004: Status Report

Quarterly

6.4 CDRL A005: Final Scientific & Technical Report

ETE + 90 days

6.5 CDRL A006: Developmental Design Drawings and

Associated Lists As required

7.0 Task Order Officers:

Primary: Dr James H. Degnan, AFRL/RDHP, (505) 846-1235, DSN 246-1235 Alternate: Dr Matt Domonkos, AFRL/RDHP, (505) 853-4507, DSN 263-4507

8.0 Other Considerations:

AFRL/RDHP can provide technical oversight, liner design, liner simulations, initial multi-chord interferometry diagnostic design, setup, and analysis, and provide initial high energy radiation diagnostic set-up, including gamma and neutron detectors. AFRL/RDHP can also provide radiography timing information and high current pulsed power expertise.

LANL may supply additional neutron, optical spectroscopy, and VUV diagnostics and associated manpower, in which case, there will be co-ordination with LANL on the use of those diagnostics and people.

Due to other uses of the Shiva Star Facility, and due to destruction of portions of the experiment hardware in integrated formation – compression experiments, the formation hardware needs to be designed and constructed so that it can be inserted into and withdrawn rapidly from the central region under the Shiva Star transmission line.