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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
Robert C. Cook, Mitchell Anthamatten, Stephan A. Letts, Abbas Nikroo, Donald G. Czechowicz
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 148-156
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A442
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
One approach to improving the quality of the DT ice layer on the inside of a NIF capsule target is to enhance the natural -layering process by heating the ice with infrared light (IR) tuned to a D2 or DT excitation band. However to do this the IR must pass through the capsule wall, and absorption by the capsule material results in heat generation that is deleterious both in terms of reducing the energy input to the ice as well as increasing the difficulty of symmetrically cooling the capsule. In order to optimize the choice of wavelength we have measured the wavelength dependent transmission properties of IR through the plastic materials we are considering for capsule fabrication. We will present wavelength dependent extinction coefficient data for normal and fully deuterated plasma polymer and vapor deposited polyimide.