CUOS Noon Seminar: Flow Visualization at Ultrahigh Pressure

Seminar Abstract: Flow Visualization at Ultrahigh Pressure

P.M. Nilson

Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

Flow visualization at fine phenomenological scales presents significant challenges, particularly above 1 Mbar (10¹¹ Pa). Progress on this topic has been challenged, not by our ability to create the requisite high-pressure conditions, but by the spatial and temporal resolutions of contemporary x‑ray imaging techniques. This talk will describe a high-resolution (micron-scale) diffractive x‑ray imaging system that we have developed on the OMEGA and OMEGA EP Laser Systems. The imaging system is demonstrated by measuring microjet formation and spike-tip morphologies at an embedded, blast-wave–driven interface. These results offer significant possibilities for an improved visualization of fine-scale features in a wide variety of complex hydrodynamic flows at millions to hundreds of billions of times atmospheric pressure. Application to inertial confinement fusion and high-energy-density physics research will be discussed.

This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0003856, the University of Rochester, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Biography: Dr. Philip Nilson

Dr. Nilson works in high-energy-density physics and inertial confinement fusion research. His research focuses on the properties of dynamically compressed materials and the physics of hot dense plasmas. He is also interested in the origin and dynamics of magnetic fields in plasmas. These research topics are motivated by frontier applications in planetary science, laboratory astrophysics, and controlled thermonuclear fusion with lasers. The research is carried out at the Omega Laser Facility at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics and is supported by extensive diagnostic development activities. Various experimental techniques, including high-resolving-power x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopies and short-pulse proton radiography, are being developed and tested to characterize the extreme states of matter that are generated. The data obtained are being used to improve the understanding of a wide range of high-energy-density phenomena by testing the next generation of collisional radiative and radiative magnetohydrodynamic models.

Pizza will be served free of cost