Energy Losses in Switches
Abstract
Our experiments show energy losses between 2 and 10 times that of the resistive time predictions. The experiments used hydrogen, helium, air, nitrogen, SF6, polyethylene, and water for the switching dielectric. Previously underestimated switch losses have caused overpredicting the accelerator outputs. Accurate estimation of these losses is now necessary for new high-efficiency pulsed power devices where the switching losses constitute the major portion of the total energy loss. We found that the switch energy losses scale as (V peak I peak) 1.1846. When using this scaling, the energy losses in any of the tested dielectrics are almost the same. This relationship is valid for several orders of magnitude and suggested a theoretical basis for these results. Currents up to .65 MA, with voltages to 3 MV were applied to various gaps during these experiments. Our data and the developed theory indicate that the switch power loss continues for a much longer time than the resistive time, 'tr, with peak power loss generally occurring at peak current in a ringing discharge instead of the early current time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA637618
Entities
People
- D. O. Jobe
- J Seamen F.
- T. H. Martin
Organizations
- Sandia National Laboratories