Plasma Flow Switch Experiments on the Pegasus Facility

Abstract

Plasma flow switch experiments conducted on Pegasus have shown that a conducting layer of plasma shunts the load slot preventing efficient switching of current to the load. This effect is seen computationally. The magnitude of the effect depends on the specific parameters of the switch plasma and current level. Computations have also shown that a plasma boundary layer "trap" would effectively remove enough plasma from the inner conductor of the power flow channel so that efficient switching would occur. This plasma trap has been successfully demonstrated when used with a static load. It has not yet been tested with an imploding load.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA637953

Entities

People

  • A. Greene
  • B. Anderson
  • C. Findley
  • D. Peterson
  • H. Kruse
  • Henn Oona
  • J. C. Cochrane Jr.
  • J. V. Parker
  • R. R. Bartsch
  • Robert M. Bowers

Organizations

  • Los Alamos National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Capacitors
  • Computations
  • Energy
  • Energy Storage
  • Implosions
  • Information Operations
  • Layers
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Mathematics
  • New Mexico
  • Switches
  • Switching

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.