The field-reversed configuration heating experiment on Shiva Star

Summary form only given. A collaborative research effort was launched in 2000 between the Air Force Research Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory to investigate the formation of high density field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasmas for the purpose of then adiabatically compressing them to a high energy density (HED) state. The goal of the experimental system developed through this collaboration was to enable a low-cost approach to achieving thermonuclear fusion of the target plasma, which would then facilitate magneto-inertial fusion studies, laboratory astrophysical studies, and numerous other basic research studies connected with HED plasmas. This system was assembled at the Shiva Star facility at the Air Force Research Laboratory and referred to as the Field-Reversed Configuration Heating Experiment (FRCHX). The target FRC plasma is formed in the experiment through a reversed-field theta pinch that uses four to five capacitor banks. Once formed, the FRC is translated a short distance and then captured inside a magnetic well co-located and coaxial with an aluminum solid liner. Two additional capacitor banks establish guide fields and the end mirror fields for the magnetic well a few milliseconds before the FRC is formed. The Shiva Star High Energy Capacitor bank is then used to compress the FRC via the electromagnetic implosion of the surrounding solid liner, which is a 30-cm long, 10-cm diameter aluminum cylinder that is tapered at the top and bottom to reduce motion these locations and maintain electrical contact. Due to the overall circuit inductance the implosion requires -25 us for stagnation to occur, thus FRC formation process is started several microseconds after the liner implosion begins. This presentation will provide an overview of the latest FRCHX field coil and vacuum stand design, the pulsed power systems used, and the diagnostics employed on the experiment. The integration of the FRCHX systems into Shiva Star will be described, as well, and possible next steps will be presented.