Thermo Fluid Dynamics and Chamber Aerosol Behavior for Thin Liquid Wall Under IFE Cyclic Operation

A thin-liquid-wall configuration combines the attractive features of a solid wall with the advantages of a renewable armor to accommodate the threat spectra produced by inertial fusion energy targets. Key design issues for successful implementation of the thin-liquid-film wall protection schemes are the reestablishment of the thin liquid armor and the state of the chamber environment prior to each shot relative to the requirements imposed by the driver and target thermal and injection control. Experimental and numerical studies have been conducted to examine the fluid dynamic aspects of thin-liquid-film protection systems with either radial injection through a porous first wall or forced flow of a thin liquid film tangential to a solid first wall. Analyses were also conducted to help assess and understand key processes influencing the chamber environment, including ablation mechanisms that could lead to aerosol formation and the behavior of such aerosol in the chamber. Results from these studies are described in this paper.