High Energy, Low Inductance, High Current Fiberglass Energy Storage Capacitor for the Atlas Machine Marx Modules

Abstract

The Los Alamos National Laboratory s Atlas Marx design team envisioned a double ended plastic case 60kV, 15nH, 650kA, energy storage capacitor. A design specification was established and submitted to various vendors. Maxwell Energy Products drew from its development of large fiberglass case, high voltage, low inductance "FASTCAP" capacitors manufactured for Maxwell Technologies ACE II, ACE III and ACE IV machines. This paper discusses the LANL specification and Maxwell Energy Products successful design, Model No. 39232, 34.1 uF, 60kV, 13 x 29 x 27 , the only capacitor qualified by LANL for the 23 Mega Joule Atlas application. Maxwell s past experience in this type of capacitor will be covered. The performance data will be reviewed and the life test data compared to the original calculated design life. Challenges included Maxwell's keep it simple design goal which was maintained to minimize the effort required to create and manufacture a nearly 600 pound capacitor.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA638825

Entities

People

  • F. W. Macdougall
  • J. B. Ennis
  • James C.Bucky Cochrane
  • Roland A. Cooper
  • W. A. Reass
  • W. Mark Parsons

Organizations

  • Los Alamos National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Capacitors
  • Energy
  • Energy Storage
  • Fiberglass
  • High Energy
  • High Voltage
  • Life Tests
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Production
  • Pulsed Power
  • Quality Control
  • Reliability
  • Specifications
  • Standards
  • Voltage

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Software Engineering