Design of a Triple Gas Puff Injector for Z-Pinch Experiments

The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor Instability (MRTI) is a fundamental problem in gas puff Z-pinches, as it can lead to early disruption of the implosion symmetry and hamper pinch performance as an X-ray source. The use of multi-shell gas puffs can mitigate the effect of MRTI via snowplow stabilization producing a more uniform implosion with higher radiation yield 1 . Here we present a triple nozzle injector designed for experiments on the CESZAR 500kA, 150ns driver. Three independently triggered valves allow for a variety of gas puff configurations using different gas settings. The design of each nozzle was guided by computational fluid dynamics calculations. Characterization of the gas jets was performed using a combination of interferometry and time-gated, visible emission diagnostics. The injector will be used in upcoming experiments to study the effect of gas puff structure and composition as well as the combined effect of snowplow and axial magnetization of the pinch on stability and performance 2 .