University-Scale Dense Plasma Focus Sparky III

Relatively compact Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) devices can produce substantial hard x-ray and neutron yields and have important applications in fusion research. In collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the Sparky III DPF device at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) was modified to have similarities to NRL’s DPF device Hawk, allowing comparative investigation into the physics of DPF devices. The main objectives of this collaboration will have the low-inductance Sparky III operating in both static fill and Local Mass Injection (LMI) regimes. Sparky III has the typical geometry for the electrodes but with a hollow anode to house a fast valve, ejecting a gas puff near the time and location of the main pinch. In combination with the fast valve, three Marshall guns are attached to the chamber of Sparky III so it can be operated as an LMIDPF device. The proposed experiments are supplemented with MHD simulations that help in choosing optimal experimental setups and in predicting and uncovering physical effects underlying observations from experimental diagnostics. In addition, the application of non-LTE kinetic models for low- and mid-atomic-number noble gases is illustrated, which provide DPF Z-pinch plasma parameters for a broad range of experimental conditions.