Inertial Fusion Technology Inertial Fusion Technology
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Project Staff FY01 ICF Annual Report 4. ORGANIZATION Inertial Fusion QTYUIOP Inertial Fusion AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES Technology 4.1. INTRODUCTION GA and Schafer are an experienced, highly skilled team of scientists, engineers, and technicians to continue meeting the target support needs of the ICF Laboratories. GA is one of the leading U.S. high technology companies, engaged in diversified research and development in energy, defense, and other advanced technologies. GA was established in 1955 to explore the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Today, GA is a privately held company with approximately 1500 employees. GA has the largest and most successful fusion program in private industry, including the DIII–D tokamak magnetic fusion experiment and the ICF Target Fabrication Laboratory. GA has provided over 60 TRIGA research reactors which are being operated in over 15 countries around the world. GA is also the primary developer of gas-cooled nuclear power reactor technology in the U.S. To best serve the needs of the ICF Program, GA teamed with the Livermore, California office of Schafer Corporation. Schafer provides analysis, research, development, test and evaluation of 21st century technology applications in the emerging markets of information management, computer networking, materials science, energy, environment, defense, and space. The firm has proven expertise in numerous science and engineering disciplines. Schafer’s technical staff of 130 professionals at six principal offices constitutes a dedicated and highly trained team of experts. The GA/Schafer Team is a very capable managerial and technical team that has proven abilities in the successful performance under our contracts for the past 10 years. 4.2. STRUCTURE The GA/Schafer team is organized as the capabilities-based Division of Inertial Fusion Technology shown in Fig. 4–1. Organizations within GA that support the Division include QA, Contracts, Purchasing and Finance. The Division Director has overall responsibility for all Division and support activities. Center and Office heads report directly to the Division Director, and each Center Head has full line management responsibility for the employees and contractor personnel within his or her center as described in the sections following. General Atomics Report GA–A23852 4–1 FY01 ICF Annual Report Project Staff GA Division of Inertial Fusion Technology (Org. 493) Jill Dahlburg, Director Associate Director Richard Stephens, Chief Scientist Gottfried Besenbruch, and Head, and Head, Characterization Innovation Center for & Development Office Advanced Technology D CUSTOMER OO REL N G AT HI IO IT NS & W C E O S IM T T RESOURCES Operations Office Cryogenics PERFORMANCE/TECHNOLOGY Wayne Miller, Head Excellence Schafer Activities Center for Center for Center for Target Component Inertial Fusion Polymer Fabrication Capsule & Coatings & Fabrication Production Developments Development David Steinman, Head Keith Shillito, Head & Head, GA HED Physics James Kaae, Head Targets Developments Abbas Nikroo, Head Fig. 4–1. Program organization chart. 4–2 General Atomics Report GA–A23852 Project Staff FY01 ICF Annual Report 4.3. CENTERS 4.3.1. Program Management The Program Manager, Jill Dahlburg, is responsible for overall direction of the GA/Schafer inertial confinement fusion target component fabrication and technology development support activity, including schedules, budgets, customer relations, and the oversight of the various Centers within the Division of Inertial Fusion Technology. Jill, who received her Ph.D. in theoretical plasma physics from the College of William and Mary in May, 1985, is recognized as an authority on: high performance computing algorithms and techniques, among them pseudo-spectral, finite difference, and Boolean logic methods; simulation and advanced visualization capabilities; fluid dynamics, which includes low speed Navier-Stokes flows and also high temperature gas dynamics with equation of state and radiation transport effects, and magnetohydrodynam- ics; and, experimental data analysis, interpretation, and integration with theory from a range of detectors, sensors and diagnostic tools. Upon completion of her doctoral dissertation under the direction of Dr. David C. Montgomery, now at Dartmouth College, Dr. Dahlburg joined the civil service research staff at the Naval Research Laboratory [NRL] in June, 1985 as a computational physicist in the Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics. As a member of the NRL Nike KrF Laser Program from its inception, and Head of the Laser Plasma Hydrodynamics Section for that Program, Dr. Dahlburg supervised and contributed technically to the NRL Nike effort in laser direct drive ignition and high gain pellet designs, and to the design and modeling of laboratory laser matter interaction experiments, with emphasis on the understanding of the Raleigh Taylor instability, implosion and coronal hydrodynamics, and laser beam imprinting. In particular, she spearheaded the development of RAD3D, the first three-dimensional multi- group radiation transport hydro-code appropriate for laser-plasma modeling. RAD3D has remained a premier simulation code in that field for more than a decade. In 2000, Dr. Dahlburg joined the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division [TEWD] of NRL, as Head of the Distributed Sensor Technology Office. From that Office, reporting to Dr. John A. Montgomery of TEWD, she was Co-PI on the ONR/MCWL-sponsored SECNAV Small UAV initiative, Dragon Eye (which presently numbers among the Popular Science Top 100 Best of What’s New 2001 [Popular Science (December 2001)]), and PI for the NRL Micro Air Vehicle and Non-Conventional Aerodynamics Programs. Dr. Dahlburg’s technical collaborations have included scientists in both the national and international physics and engineering communities. General Atomics Report GA–A23852 4–3 FY01 ICF Annual Report Project Staff Dr. Dahlburg has served on numerous review and other committees for the Department of Energy, the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the American Physical Society [APS], among them being named to the USDOE Fusion Energy Advisory Committee in 1998, to the USDOE Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee in 2000, and to the LLNL National Security Advisory Committee in 2001. Her professional honors include five NRL Alan Berman Research Publication Awards, and being named APS Centennial Speaker (1998-99) and APS/DPP Distinguished Lecturer (1999-00). Her clearances include DoD TS and USDOE Q. Jill Dahlburg is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. 4–4 General Atomics Report GA–A23852 Project Staff FY01 ICF Annual Report 4.3.2. Center for Advanced Technology and Cryogenics Excellence The Center for Advanced Technology and Cryogenics Excellence focuses on the design, assembly, and testing of cryogenic target systems for ICF. Working as a team with UR/LLE, LANL, NRL, and LLNL we designed and built several cryogenic systems. A significant achievement for the center so far has been the design and testing of the Omega Cryogenic Target System with the significant participation of UR/LLE. This system fills, transports, and inserts cryogenic direct drive targets into the Omega target chamber in Rochester. Operational since late 2000, it is now routinely used to fill cryogenic direct drive targets. This year, we completed fabrication of the Deuterium Test System, the first apparatus available for conducting layering experiments on full-scale NIF indirect drive ignition targets, a crucial step in the ignition goal of Stockpile Stewardship. It will have the capability to fill targets by permeation to a pressure high enough that a full thickness fuel layer is generated upon cooling the target.We are an integral part of the design team for the NIF Cryogenic Target System, assigned to the lead the development of the Target Cryostats subsystem and the Layering subsystem, and provide general design support as requested on other systems and subsystems. Also in support of NIF, we are working with LANL to develop and build the NIF Beryllium Capsule Deuterium-Tritium Fill System, a system designed to fill hollow beryllium capsules with high-pressure DT gas by bonding two machined hemispherical shells together in a high temperature, high pressure, DT environment. The Center for Advanced Technology and Cryogenics Excellence is also the center for developing innovations in target fabrication with the emphasis on mass production. This includes (under another DOE contract) developing techniques to substantially decrease the cost of an ICF target from approximately $2.5K per target today to 25¢ per target for future IFE plants. The Center for Advanced Technology and Cryogenics Excellence supports the current ICF program in cryogenic engineering and is preparing for future programs by developing mass production techniques for target fabrication. Gottfried Besenbruch (Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry, Justus Liebig University) is Associate Director of the Division of Inertial Fusion Technology and head of the Center for Advanced Technology and Cryogenics Excellence. Dr. Besenbruch has 35 years of experience in research, the development of technologies, and the design and construction of process plants. In his first 20 years at GA, he worked in the nuclear field, first as a scientist and later as a program manager. The work centered on developing fuel for General Atomics Report GA–A23852 4–5 FY01 ICF Annual Report Project Staff the High Temperature Helium Gas Cooled Reactor