A Compact Torus Plasma Flow Switch

Experiments to form and accelerate compact toroid CT plasmas have been performed on the 9.4 MJ Shiva Star fast capacitor bank at Phillips Laboratory Kirtland AFB, New Mexico since late 1990. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of employing a CT as a very fast opening switch to drive fast Z-pinches by performing a series of 2 12-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations. Comparisons are made between computer simulations of conventional and compact torus plasma flow switches. We find that a CT switch leaves less switch plasma on the electrode walls, and can deliver current to an implosion load faster and more uniformly than a conventional plasma flow switch.