The weapons programs at Los Alamos have one principal mission: ensure the safety, security, and effectiveness of nuclear weapons in our nation’s enduring stockpile. One critical component of this mission is DARHT, the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility.

DARHT consists of two large x-ray machines that produce freeze-frame radiographs (high-powered x-ray images) of materials that implode at speeds greater than 10,000 miles an hour. Such radiographs help scientists ensure that weapons in the stockpile are safe and effective and that—if ever necessary—they will perform as designed.

Hydrotest Results and Application

With both beams operational, DARHT can take four sequential radiographs on one axis and one radiograph along a perpendicular axis, providing the first-ever simultaneous views of an implosion from two directions. The exposure time of such radiographs—60 billionths of a second—freezes the action of an imploding mockup to much less than a millimeter.

To do this, DARHT orients the two linear-induction accelerators at right angles to one another. A linear-induction accelerator uses magnetic cores to enable better coupling of electrostatic fields, thus accelerating electrons or other particles to extremely high energies.

At DARHT, such electron beams are focused on a metal target. As the high-energy electrons hit the target, the electrons are deflected, converting the beam's kinetic energy to powerful x-rays.

Along with other tools, such as advanced laser interferometers and electronic position indicators, DARHT produces data sets during these hydrotests that are used to verify computer codes for nuclear weapons. The data sets of full-scale implosions are compared to simulations derived from the computer codes.

Bolstering the Nuclear Deterrent of the United States
The DARHT program has proposed to increase the rate of hydrotests. DARHT personnel also plan to improve its multi-image capability. Such improvement could potentially increase the number of radiographs possible with each test.

The results of these studies will help improve and verify computer models, which in the absence of actual nuclear testing are critical in assessing the effects of aging and remanufactured nuclear weapons.

DARHT and its data-rich radiographs supply real-world validation for the codes and thus effectively enhance the confidence and credibility of stewardship efforts designed to ensure the national security of the United States.