FRC lifetime studies for the Field Reversed Configuration Heating Experiment (FRCHX)

The goal of the Field-Reversed Configuration Heating Experiment (FRCHX) is to demonstrate magnetized plasma compression and thereby provide a low cost approach to high energy density laboratory plasma (HEDLP) studies, which include such topics as magneto-inertial fusion (MIF). A requirement for the field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma is that the trapped flux in the FRC must maintain confinement of the plasma within the capture region long enough for the compression process to be completed, which is approximately 20 microseconds for FRCHX. Current lifetime measurements of the FRCs formed with FRCHX show lifetimes of only 7~9 microseconds once the FRC has entered the capture region. A description of the pulsed power systems that comprise FRCHX will be presented along with an overview of the magnetic and plasma diagnostics fielded on the experiment. Results from recent FRCHX experiments will then be presented, and possible reasons for the lifetime limitations will be discussed along with several approaches for overcoming these limitations.