Development and fielding of high speed laser shadowgraphy for electro-magnetically driven cylindrical implosions

Summary form only given. Experimental characterization of a converging shockwave in a cylindrical geometry provides fundamental benchmarks used in the modeling of hydrodynamic phenomena from solid density implosions. A high-speed laser shadowgraphy system for detailed imaging of a cylindrical convergent shockwave provides diagnosis where multiple sampling of the shock front position and radial shape are desired. We present the development of an advanced laser shadowgraphy system: a novel laser source, the fiber optic delivery system, double-pass target imaging, and fast frame camera image acquisition, recently fielded on a set of hydrodynamic implosion experiments. Labeled the Near Term Liner Experiments (NTLX), an experimental series of four shots were conducted at the Shiva Star Pulsed Power Facility in Albuquerque, NM for the High Energy Density Hydrodynamics Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory.