Scaling Laws for Plasma Focus Machines from Numerical Experiments

Numerical experiments carried out systematically using the Lee Model code unveil insightful and practical wide-ranging scaling laws for plasma focus machines for nuclear fusion energy as well as other applications. An essential feature of the numerical experiments is the fitting of a measured current waveform to the computed waveform to calibrate the model for the particular machine, thus providing a reliable and rigorous determination of the all-important pinch current. The thermodynamics and radiation properties of the resulting plasma are then reliably determined. This paper provides an overview of the recently published scaling laws for neutron (Yn) and neon soft x-ray, SXR (Ysxr) yields: Yn = 3.2x10 Ipinch; Yn = 1.8x10 Ipeak; Ipeak (0.3 to 5.7), Ipinch (0.2 to 2.4) in MA. Yn~E0 at tens of kJ to Yn~E0 at MJ level (up to 25MJ) and Ysxr = 8.3x10 Ipinch; Ysxr = 6x10 Ipeak; Ipeak (0.1 to 2.4), Ipinch (0.07 to1.3) in MA. Ysxr~E0 (kJ range) to Ysxr~E0 (towards MJ).