Field-reversed configuration formation for high energy density plasma experiments

Summary form only given. The Field-Reversed Configuration Heating Experiment (FRCHX) is a collaborative experiment between the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to explore the physics of magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) and other high energy density laboratory plasma (HEDLP) phenomena. In the experiment, a plasma in a field-reversed configuration (FRC), with density 5 × 10
¹⁶
ions/cm
³
, total temperature ~200 eV, poloidal magnetic field ~1 T, length 15 ~ 20 cm, and field exclusion radius ~2 cm is formed via a reversed-field theta discharge and then translated a short distance (~1 m) into a magnetic mirror that has been established within a 30 cm long, 10 cm diameter, 0.11 cm thick aluminum solid liner. The high energy density state (10
¹⁹
ions/cm
³
, multi-keV, MegaGauss fields) will be achieved when a 12 MA axial current, provided by the AFRL Shiva Star capacitor bank, implodes the liner and compresses the FRC within. Conventional FRC formation techniques trap only a small fraction of the initial axial bias field. Guided by extended 2D-MHD simulations, several factors limiting the closed field lifetime of the FRCs to about half that required for good liner compression have been identified, and new experimental hardware has been designed and prepared to increase that lifetime. Results from recent setup experiments will be presented, including a full-scale engineering test shot, along with a description of FRCHX's pulsed power systems and plasma diagnostics.