A Facility for High-Repetition-Rate Switch Testing at Medium Power

Abstract

A one-ohm, 2.5 gigawatt, liquid-filled pulse forming line has been built which can be resonantly charged to 100kV in one millisecond,or pulsed charged at variable repetition rates. The facility average power is 200 kW but can exceed this in a burst mode. This paper describes the facilities to support switching experiments and some of the test results. One goal is to develop a high rep-rate spark gap without gas flow. Based on previous work, high pressure,light gases such as hydrogen will be needed as well as a"stiff" trigger to break down the gap well below D.C. The gas handling system can operate up to 70 atm. and includes flash arresters and emergency shutoffs. The triggering system uses a thyratron to discharge a capacitor through a transformer. Data is digitized locally and transferred optically for manipulation. The facility is set up to use optical diagnostics and interferometry.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA635503

Entities

People

  • Edwin D. Ball
  • R. K. Hutcherson Jr.
  • Stuart L. Moran

Organizations

  • Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Barometric Pressure
  • Capacitors
  • Electric Fields
  • Electrodes
  • Electron Tubes
  • Flow
  • Gas Flow
  • High Pressure
  • Hydrogen
  • Inductors
  • Medium Power
  • Power
  • Repetition Rate
  • Shock Waves
  • Spark Gaps
  • Switches
  • Transformers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering