The Radiation Effects and High Energy Density
Science Research Foundation seeks to advance science and engineering
in the areas of radiation effects sciences, high energy density science, and
pulsed-power science and technology to address critical national security issues.
Why our work matters
We address several issues key to nuclear security and maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear stockpile. For example, radiation effects science
ensures that engineered systems are able to operate as intended in the radiation
environments they encounter. In addition, high energy density science validates models that are used to certify
the performance of the stockpile, while pulsed-power science enables terawatt to
petawatt pulsed-power systems. Such systems efficiently deliver electrical energy — in
pulses that are flexible in shape and duration — to a variety of loads.
Our unique value
Advanced pulsed-power and radiation-effects facilities allow for cutting-edge research and vital national security applications:
- The Z machine uses the high magnetic fields associated with high electrical currents
to produce high temperatures, high pressures, and powerful soft X-rays for research in high
density physics. The Saturn X-ray source simulates the radiation effects of nuclear countermeasures on electronic
and material components.
- The High-Energy Radiation
Megavolt Electron Source
(HERMES) III accelerator is the world's most powerful gamma simulator, primarily used to demonstrate the effect of gamma-ray radiation.
- The Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) is used for reactor-driven laser experiments, space reactor fuels development, pulse reactor
kinetics, reactor heat transfer and fluid flow, electronic component hardening,
and explosive component testing. The ACRR is also routinely used for education and
training programs.
Our approach
Radiation-effects science
Goal
Ensure system performance in radiation environments
Strategies
- Pursue innovative solutions to improve — through
physical simulation and/or computational simulation — the understanding of the
radiation response of engineered systems
- Develop new radiation-resistant materials and
technologies
- Create and use new technology to generate
extreme radiation environments
High energy density science
Goal
Address critical national security issues through research at extreme temperatures, pressures,
and soft X-ray environments
Strategies
- Pursue a variety of scientific concepts to produce extreme environments of high energy density,
including high-photon energy X-ray sources for radiation-effects testing, very
high-pressure Hugoniot and off-Hugoniot dynamic materials-properties
measurements, and intense X-ray environments for radiation physics
- Explore innovative paths to high fusion yield in the laboratory, including stewardship applications enabled by high fusion yields
Pulsed-power science and enabling technologies
Goal
Enable the construction and operation of terawatt to petawatt pulsed-power
systems that deliver electrical energy in pulses that are flexible in shape and
duration to different types of loads
Strategy
Advance such areas as materials, switching, power
flow, and engineering to construct reliable pulsed-power systems that use linear transformer driver (LTD) architecture