LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
At the National Ignition Facility (NIF), achieving fusion ignition for the first time ever in a laboratory required one of the most complex hardware control systems in the world. With approximately 1,200 control racks, 66,000 control points, and 100, 000 cables, maintaining the NIF control system requires an exquisite choreography around experimental operations while adhering to NIF’s safety, security, quality, and efficiency requirements. To ensure systems operate at peak performance and remain available at all times to avoid costly delays, preventative maintenance activities are performed two days per week as the foundation of our effective maintenance strategy. Reactive maintenance addresses critical path issues that impact experimental operations through a rapid response 24x7 on-call support team. Prioritized work requests are reviewed and approved daily by the facility operations scheduling team. NIF is now in the second decade of operations, and the aging of many control systems is threatening to affect performance and availability, potentially impacting planned progress of the fusion ignition program. The team is embarking on a large-scale refurbishment of systems to mitigate this threat. Our robust maintenance program will ensure NIF can capitalize on ignition and push the facility to even greater achievements. This paper will describe the processes, procedures, and metrics used to plan, coordinate, and perform controls hardware maintenance at NIF.
LLNL Release Number: LLNL-ABS-848420
LLNL, Livermore, USA
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s largest and most energetic 192-laser-beam system which conducts experiments in High Energy Density (HED) physics and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). In December 2022, the NIF achieved a scientific breakthrough when, for the first time ever, the ICF ignition occurred under laboratory conditions. The key to the NIF’s experimental prowess and versatility is not only its power but also its precise control. The NIF controls and data systems place the experimenter in full command of the laser and target diagnostics capabilities. The recently upgraded Master Oscillator Room (MOR) system precisely shapes NIF laser pulses in the temporal, spatial, and spectral domains. Apart from the primary 10-meter spherical target chamber, the NIF laser beams can now be directed towards two more experimental stations to study laser interactions with optics and large full beam targets. The NIF’s wide range of target diagnostics continues to expand with new tools to probe and capture complex plasma phenomena using x-rays, gamma-rays, neutrons, and accelerated protons. While the increasing neutron yields mark the NIF’s steady progress towards exciting experimental regimes, they also require new mitigations for radiation damage in control and diagnostic electronics. With many NIF components approaching 20 years of age, a Sustainment Plan is now underway to modernize NIF, including controls and information systems, to assure NIF operations through 2040.
LLNL Release Number: LLNL-ABS-847574