Computer Design and Optimization of the Active Rotary Flux Compressor

摘要

The active rotary flux compressor (ARFC) is a high-power (10 GW), short-pulse-length (1 ms) power supply utilizing magnetic flux compression. A new technology with considerable potential, it is being considered at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a power supply for high-energy lasers used in experiments in inertial-confinement fusion (ICF). A detailed ARFC model has been developed and normalized against laboratory experience with ARFC prototypes. The model predicts all the relevant electrical and mechanical properties of the machine and simulates its operation in an ICF laser system. A unique feature of the model is its capability to indicate the ARFC design with optimum performance, in the system context, by maximizing various figures of merit. This has been carried out for the case in which the ARFC would drive a bank of xenon flashlamps in an ICF glass laser facility. Our study indicates that an ARFC with a rotor approximately 3 m long and 50 cm in radius will be capable of delivering 10 MJ of electrical energy to the flashlamp bank at a capital cost of approximately $1 to 1.5 million. (ERA citation 09:024517)