Abstract and subjects
The Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) group at LANL is studying the formation and properties of spherically imploding plasma liners at supersonic speeds, used in the novel plasma-jet-driven magneto-inertial fusion (PJMIF) concept. At PLX, a set of 36 coaxial plasma guns over the spherical chamber each deliver a plasma jet towards the center, merging into a liner to compress a low-Z plasma target. Recent upgrades have enabled a reduction in jet-to-jet speed variability and therefore improved liner uniformity towards that required for adequate heating and confinement of the target. We present preliminary results of the present campaign on PLX which aims to study the temporal and spatial evolution of characteristics of the plasma liner and its formation, without target injection. Liner electron temperature will be studied using a multi-chord visible light spectroscopy system, line-integrated electron density using a multi-chord interferometer, and a wide-view multi-camera array (WMCA) for determining velocities of all individual jets, as well as visually assessing liner merging characteristics.