Staged Z-pinch modeling of high and low atomic number liners compressing deuterium targets using parameters of the Z pulsed power facility

The staged Z-pinch is a potentially transformative magneto-inertial fusion energy concept where a high atomic number liner implodes on a deuterium or deuterium-tritium target using  multi-MA pulsed current. Over the past several years this concept was studied experimentally on 1 MA facilities with Ar or Kr  gas puffs  compressing  a magnetized deuterium target. Consistent  thermonuclear neutron yield of  10¹⁰ per shot was measured with Kr liners. Here  we  investigate the  fusion performance of D-targets of varying density undergoing compression with low (Be) and high atomic number liners (Ag, Ta)  using parameters of the    Z pulsed power facility, and the MACH2 code.  Ag and Ta liners create strong shocks which preheat the target plasma above 100 eV, and pile-up  liner material at the liner-target interface. The increased mass density at the interface  creates strong  ram pressure just before the pinch stagnation time.  1-D simulations show that the high atomic number liners produce neutron yield orders of magnitude higher than the yield from the low  atomic number liner: 1.5x10¹¹  for Be, 5x10¹⁵ for Ag, and 2x10¹⁷ for Ta. 2-D simulations predict up to an order of magnitude lower yield, depending on the wavelength of the Magneto Rayleigh-Taylor  instability.