81
A
Parallel Microwave/PIC Code for Breakdown Studies—Tech-X Corporation,
Dr.
Peter Stoltz, Principal Investigator, pstoltz@txcorp.com
Dr.
John R. Cary, Business Official, cary@txcorp.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83841
Amount:
$749,710
Waveguide breakdown is the limiting
factor in obtaining the large acceleration gradients needed for the Next Linear
Collider. Simulation of this
phenomenon in three dimensions would likely enable researchers to find
configurations with higher breakdown thresholds. However, because current
three-dimensional codes are not parallel, they take excessive computer time to
run. This project will adapt an
existing plasma simulation code, which is parallel and solves Maxwell’s
equations with charged particles and fluids, to simulate breakdown in
waveguides. Modifications will
include: (1) adding the effects of nonplanar boundaries, emission of particles
from the walls, resistive boundaries, and lossy dielectrics; (2) enhancing the
specification for both the domain decomposition and geometric objects; and (3)
improving user friendliness through visualization tools and, a preparser.
In Phase I, nonplanar boundaries, particle emission, and resistive
boundaries were prototyped. Results
were shown to agree with theoretical expectations.
In Phase II, the above features will be made robust and enhanced: nonplanar
boundaries will be extended to three dimensions, new particle emission
algorithms will be incorporated to study multipacting, resistive walls will be
enhanced, lossy dielectrics will be added, the geometric specification of domain
decomposition and three-dimensional objects will be improved, and user
friendliness will be improved. A
simulation of the microwave breakdown problem will be performed.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: A tool for waveguide simulations would be made available to the high-power microwave community. Such a tool would enable the optimization of power throughput and also enable calculations of waveguide loading.