Design, manufacturing, and assembly of the magnetic compressor nozzle and support structures for the ECLAIR experiment*

We present the mechanical design of the ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) compatible compression coils and support structures for the ECLAIR experiment [1]. ECLAIR is a concept exploration experiment designed to test the Helicity Driven magneto-inertial fusion concept. This fusion concept uses magnetic reconnection and magnetic compression to achieve fusion conditions and aims primarily for space propulsion. [2, 3] This is the second prototype compressor built between UMBC, Caltech, and HelicitySpace Corporation. The first prototype successfully demonstrated the magnetic and electrical properties of the nozzle. Although it was built to withstand high currents and magnetic fields, it was tested with relatively low currents, and some parts were built with non-UHV materials. The second prototype is engineered for mounting into ECLAIR UHV chamber at the HelicitySpace laboratory. This prototype will be used to demonstrate the magnetic compression of multiple collimated plasma jets converging into the nozzle with fields exceeding 1 T.

[1] J. Samaniego et al, this poster session.

[2] S. You. “Helicity Drive: A Novel Scalable Fusion Concept for Deep Space Propulsion''. In: AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2020 Forum. 2020, p. 3835.

[3] S. Pree et al., this poster session.