High yield fusion in a Staged Z-pinch

TL;DR

This paper simulates a staged Z-pinch fusion process using radiation-MHD modeling, predicting high neutron yields and energy output through magnetic confinement and shock dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation of a staged Z-pinch fusion system with xenon liner implosion and magnetic confinement, demonstrating high energy gain.

Findings

Neutron yield of 3.0×10^{19} predicted

Fusion energy output of 84 MJ

Target remains stable until ignition

Abstract

We simulate fusion in a Z-pinch; where the load is a xenon-plasma liner imploding onto a deuterium-tritium plasma target and the driver is a 2 MJ, 17 MA, 95 ns risetime pulser. The implosion system is modeled using the dynamic, 2-1/2 D, radiation-MHD code, MACH2. During implosion a shock forms in the Xe liner, transporting current and energy radially inward. After collision with the DT, a secondary shock forms pre-heating the DT to several hundred eV. Adiabatic compression leads subsequently to a fusion burn, as the target is surrounded by a flux-compressed, intense, azimuthal-magnetic field. The intense-magnetic field confines fusion $\alpha$-particles, providing an additional source of ion heating that leads to target ignition. The target remains stable up to the time of ignition. Predictions are for a neutron yield of $3.0\times 10^{19}$ and a thermonuclear energy of 84 MJ, that is, 42 times greater than the initial, capacitor-stored energy.