Multi-megavolt, multi-axis, high-resolution flash X-ray source development for a new Hydrodynamics Research Facility at AWE Aldermaston

The Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, U.K., has a number of pulsed-power-driven flash X-ray machines for diagnosing the hydrodynamics of explosively-driven high-Z materials. The most powerful of these machines is Mogul-E, which operates at about 10 MV and 30 kA, delivering about 450 R @ 1 m in a 5 mm spot. Longer-term plans envisage the upgrading of existing facilities through the construction of a multi-axis Hydrodynamic Research Facility (HRF). It is proposed that the HRF will be furnished initially with three inductive voltage adder (IVA) machines operating at /spl sim/14 MV, each giving 600 R @ 1 m in a 5 mm spot. It is envisaged that, following further research, the outputs will be increased towards 1000 R, with, it is hoped, a reduction in X-ray spot size. More speculative proposals involve increasing the number of machines from 3 to 5, and/or the splitting of the output end of one or more machines to drive more than one X-ray source per machine. An overview of the research programme necessary to achieve these aims is presented.