Design and Performance of the Pre-Fire Detection System for the FRX-L Main Capacitor
Abstract
The Main Capacitor Bank of the FRX-L (Field- Reversed Configuration eXperiment) supplies current (1.6 Meg amp) to a single-turn coil that is used to create high-density plasmas for magnetized-target fusion (MTF) experiments. The energy stored in the main bank (200 kJ) is transferred to the load coil via an array of four Maxwell rail-gap switches in parallel. Each switch is capable of transferring approximately a quarter of the main bank charge flow without damage. Therefore, if a single switch pre-fires it is subject to much greater stress than it is able to tolerate. In this paper, we discuss the design and performance of a system that is able to discriminate between a switch pre-fire, trigger noise, and normal operation and initiate a trigger in time to safely prevent damage. This system consists of innovative electric field detectors, fiber-optic isolation of signals and high-speed solid-state circuitry that interfaces with the Maxwell trigger system without modification.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA635313
Entities
People
- C. Grabowski
- J. M. Taccetti
- James C.Bucky Cochrane
- K. W. Hosack
- M. C. Thompson
- P. Sanchez
- T. Intrator
- William J. Waganaar
Organizations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory