Validation of Three Dimensional Simulations against Integrated Experiments for Plasma-Jet Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion*

The Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) BETHE has routinely demonstrated formation of an imploding plasma liner via the merging of 36 discrete jets. Magnetized targets are formed by head on collision of two hydrogen jets magnetized by the interaction with fields from external solenoids. Diagnostics on the plasma liner formation experiment include, but are not limited to, time gated imaging at stagnation, laser interferometry, and density gradient measurements using normalized Bremsstrahlung radiation. Three dimensional simulations using SPFMax of the 36 jet liner experiment produce synthetic diagnostic signatures that are compared directly with these experimental data. The merging of the plasma jets is nearly collisionless below a certain density when the ion/electron collisional mean free path is comparable or longer than the jet diameter. These effects are studied in SPFMax to study the role played in the imaging, interferometry, and density gradient of the stagnation region.