Recent theoretical and experimental results on inertial fusion energy physics

Abstract

We study with ARWEN code a target design for ICF based on jet production. ARWEN is 2D Adaptive Mesh Refinement fluid dynamic and multigroup radiation transport. We are designing, by using also ARWEN, a target for laboratory simulation of astrophysical phenomena. We feature an experimental device to reproduce collisions of two shock waves, scaled to roughly represent cosmic supernova remnants. ANALOP code uses parametric potentials fitting to self-consistent potentials, it includes temperature and density effects by linearized Debye-Huckel and it treats excited configurations and H+He-like lines. Other is an average SHM using the parametric potentials above described. H-like emissivities and opacities have been simulated, using both, for Al and F plasmas with density 1023 cm-3 and temperatures higher than 200 eV. Advanced fusion cycles, as the aneutronic proton-boron 11 reaction, require very high ignition temperatures. Plasma conditions for a fusion-burning wave to propagate at such temperatures are rather extreme and complex, because of the overlapping effects of the main energy transport mechanisms. Calculations on the most appropriate ICF regimes for this purpose are presented. A new Monte Carlo procedure estimates effect of activation cross section uncertainties in the accuracy of inventory calculations, based on simultaneous random sampling of all the cross sections; it is implemented in activation code ACAB. We apply, with LLNL, to NIF gunite chamber shielding with reference pulsing operation. Preliminary results show that the 95 percentile of the distribution of the relative error of the contact dose rate can take values up to 1.2. Model is promising for uncertainty analysis of pulsed activation in IFE PP by using a continuous-pulsed model. Neutron intensities versus time after target emission are presented for IFE protections: LiPb/Flibe, including spectral effects. HT evaluation indicates that 90-98% of the total dose comes from ingestion of agriculture and meat, and the rest from inhalation by re-emission. A multiscale modeling (MM) study of pulse irradiation in Fe is presented up to microscopy; we give differences with continuous irradiation. Experimental validation of MM, using Fe+ in Fe, is being performed under VENUS II Spanish project with CIEMAT. Multiscale Modeling of SiC is reported; new defects energetic emerge using a new tight-binding molecular dynamics which has been proved in basic crystal parameters.