Trajectory Calculation of Horizontally Injected Laser Fusion Energy Target in Residual Gas

Abstract

A calculation method is presented for the trajectory of a horizontally injected spherical laser fusion energy target in a reactor filled with residual gas. To evaluate the gas resistance and the placement error of the position measurement unit (PMU) set along the injection path, a test injection is successively made two times and the target positions in flight are measured by PMUs. Two unknown system parameters, gas resistance and placement error, are determined by solving an equation system. After determining the system parameters, the arrival position and arrival time of the newly injected fusion target at the reactor center can be calculated by simple arithmetic with the time data and position data of the injected target in flight.