Preliminary Results from Project Century, Zap Energy's First Liquid Metal-Lined Z-Pinch Device

The newly commissioned Z-pinch device at Zap Energy called Century has been run with a liquid metal bismuth-lined anode while producing a 0.1 Hz repetition rate hydrogen plasma discharge. First results from Century operations will be presented along with modeling comparisons. Fast-framing cameras have been implemented to observe the liquid metal movement after the plasma discharge. Optical emission spectroscopy from 250 to 1100 nm has also been performed to characterize the plasma behavior in the presence of liquid metal. Temperature measurements from thermocouples throughout the device will also be presented to quantify the energy input as a function of plasma discharge repetition rate.