Modification and Numerical Modelling of Dense Plasma Focus Device

A dense plasma focus device (DPF) is a pulsed power device that generates high energy particles, neutrons and X-rays through rapid compression of the plasma. The presented research investigates the modification of the DPF and use of numerical modelling to predict the neutron yield. The DPF is a 1 kJ device that uses a 1.3 uF capacitor and operated at 40 kV pulse. Spark gap switch SG181-C is integrated into the driver circuit to handle high current operations. Bus work is designed and modeled to predict the current waveform generated by the modified DPF. The control system is designed to be suitable for automation using DAQ and LabVIEW. Radial trajectories during pinch formation are analyzed using a numerical model. Two numerical models are used to investigate how neutron yield varies with pressure, pinch current and pinch duration. The modified DPF showed the neutron scaling to be fourth power of the pinch current.