New Diagnostics for exploring extreme conditions
Abstract
Collaborations between Cornell University and Imperial College have seen the development of many advanced experimental and simulation techniques for studying the behaviour of materials in extremes of temperature and density. The last 2 years have seen the utilisation of Thomson scattering to provide quantitative data on the temperature, density, ionisation and current flow in plasmas ablating from pulsed power driven targets; the deployment of an imaging refractometer capable of exploring the stability of the flow of ablated material and how the morphology of this flow affects laser propagation; and the production of portable X-pinch X-ray sources to provide radiography and absorption spectrometry of dense plasmas at a targets surface. These have all been supported by new extended MHD simulation capabilities – including the Hall and Nernst terms in MHD - and the introduction of mesh refinement to significantly boost modelling resolutions. This proposal will optimise these techniques and see their use in experiments exploring key questions of interest to AFOSR including -how laser beams propagate through highly perturbed-turbulent plasmas and hypersonic boundary layers - this would provide new, quantitative information for laser based communication systems and potentially laser based DEW defence systems. - the behaviour of realistic (multi-use) electrodes in the power flows of next generation pulsed power systems where materials will be subject to intense current densities, electric fields and radiation effects - benefitting several technologies including e-beam production, neutron sources, high power radar applications and DEW - EMP systems. The diagnostics developed under the proposal could also be utilised at AFOSR’s own facilities, for instance the imaging refractometer could be deployed at hypersonic wind tunnels to provide direct measurements of small scale instabilities, complimenting present Schlieren based systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 22, 2024
- Source ID
- FA86552317062
Entities
People
- Simon Bland
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Imperial College London
- United States Air Force