2. Mission

Accurately predicting the response of reentry systems and other space assets to impulsive loading from material vaporization following intense x-ray exposure is important for predicting their survivability in hostile nuclear environments. The direct generation of intense bursts of x-rays has been developed at NNSA’s high energy density (HED) facilities. NIF and the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a suite of capabilities to test materials across a wide range of x-ray energies and over a wide range of fluences. This has enabled material response testing of new and legacy materials. The limitation has been that test articles were limited to small, planar samples. Complex, 3D geometries have not yet been explored. Without a giant technological leap in x-ray output on current facilities, or construction of new HED test facilities, complex, 3D geometries will not be able to be tested in the appropriate test environments. This challenges the certification of new materials or modified designs. NIF DLI provides a new technique to study the effects of impulsive loading on materials and structures while overcoming prevous size and geometry restrictions.