A two-terminal fault location method for gas switch prefire in linear transformer driver.

Large-scale linear transformer drivers (LTDs) are composed of numerous high-power gas switches, and switch prefire is a frequent operational fault. To detect and locate the faulty switch accurately and efficiently, a two-terminal location method is proposed. A B-dot sensor is integrated on the gas switch's shell to collect the discharging signal. All the B-dot sensors are connected in parallel through cables of equal length. The fault position can be determined by the time delay of the signals at the two terminals. A diode is inserted between the B-dot sensor's coil and the cable core to ensure low-loss transmission of the signal. Two methods are applied in fault location, including time-of-arrival (TOA) and time reversal (TR). For the TOA method, an energy criterion and a phase criterion are applied and compared. The accuracy of the energy criterion is greatly influenced by the signal-to-noise ratio, while the phase criterion requires a reasonable estimate of the actual delay to account for the impact of phase periodicity. The TR method based on a precise simulation model is established, which demonstrates high precision in location. The TR method has been tested and validated on a single stage LTD module. Moreover, the location method for double switches prefire is discussed theoretically. The method proposed in this paper will be helpful to improve the efficiency of the commissioning, operation, and maintenance of the large-scale LTD devices.

The numerical simulation of a four-stage linear transformer driver module based on the Preisach magnetic core model.

The use of linear transformer drivers (LTDs) is widely considered the most promising technological approach for the development of future pulsed-power accelerators. In large-scale pulsed-power accelerators, abnormal conditions like switch prefire can occur frequently during tests and normal operations due to the presence of a large number of switches. The diagnosis of such faults based on signature waveforms requires further investigation. According to previous research, the characteristics of the magnetic cores greatly influence the fault waveforms. In this paper, a full-cycle mathematical model of the magnetic core is established utilizing a classical Preisach model based on experimental results. This model is coupled with the LTD circuit model in simulations, and simulation results are obtained under the condition of switch prefire. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results from a four-stage LTD module with a sharing shell and de-ionized water insulated transmission line. The magnetization process of the cores is also determined under prefire conditions. Analyses of the magnetization process indicate that the completely demagnetized core shows high permeability under positive excitation and that the permeability abruptly decreases as the excitation is reversed. The hysteresis characteristics result in a phenomenon in which the output voltage in the prefired stage is almost unipolar. Finally, the features of the fault voltages captured in the experiments are also explained.

Study on discharge characteristics of six-gap gas switch with corona assisted triggering.

To improve the triggering characteristics of the gas switch used for linear transformer driver, a method of corona assisted triggering based on the pre-ionization in switch gaps is proposed and applied to a six-gap gas switch. The principle is demonstrated by electrostatic field analysis and verified by the experimental study on the discharge characteristics of the gas switch. The results indicate that when the gas pressure is 0.3 MPa, the self-breakdown voltage remains about ±80 kV, and its dispersivity is lower than 3%. The effect of corona assisted triggering on the triggering characteristics increases with the higher permittivity of the inner shield. The positive trigger voltage of the switch with the proposed method can be reduced from 110 to 30 kV at a charging voltage of ±80 kV when the jitter is equal to that of the original switch. There are no pre-fire or late-fire when the switch operates continuously for 2000 shots.

Characteristics of the cylindrical reflex triode driven by a four-stage linear transformer driver.

A cylindrical reflex triode was designed and directly driven by a four-stage linear transformer driver to generate high intensity pulsed warm x rays. We developed a numerical model of the cylindrical reflex triode and simulated and studied the experimental electron distribution and the radiation characteristics. The working voltage of the cylindrical reflex triode is 220 kV, and the current is about 600 kA. Under the voltage pulse with a rise time of 100 ns, the electron beam spot is uniform, and the duration of the gap without short circuit reaches 200 ns. The x-ray dose is 385 rad (Si), with an irradiation area of 615 cm2 and a uniformity of less than 2:1. The radiation field distribution is basically consistent with the simulation results. Compared with the two-stage series diode on the Flash-II accelerator, the x-ray conversion efficiency of the cylindrical reflex triode is increased about 1.6 times.

Modeling and tests of nested transmission lines for current adding on a four-stage linear transformer driver.

Linear transformer driver (LTD) technology allows a pulsed-power generator to be transportable due to its salient features in compactness and modular design. To further reduce the footprint of an MA-class pulsed-power generator, nested transmission lines were designed and tested for current adding in a four-stage gas-insulated LTD module. The current adder assembly contained two modules that were charged in opposite polarities. Each module held two LTD cavities that shared a common electrode of the nested transmission line with deionized water insulation. Post-hole convolutes were installed for the aggregation of the output current of different modules. More specifically, numerical simulations were conducted to calculate the nested line inductance, which revealed that the total system inductance was ∼10 nH in the nested geometry. Experimentally, testing on the four-stage LTD prototype showed that the LTD module can deliver a 1.2 MA current peak with a rise time of 140 ns to a short circuit load under the charging voltage of ±50 kV, which validated the applicability of using nested lines for current adding in an MA-class LTD module.

A gas-insulated mega-ampere-class linear transformer driver with pluggable bricks.

This paper presents the design and test of a gas-insulated linear transformer driver (LTD) cavity aimed at the Z-pinch experimental device CZ-34. The LTD cavity has a diameter of 2290 mm and a height of 346 mm. It consists of 23 main bricks and 1 trigger brick. Each main brick is comprised of two 100 nF capacitors connected electrically in series with a field-distortion gas switch. The trigger brick is comprised of two 50 nF capacitors connected in series with a compact multi-gap gas switch. All bricks are placed in the cavity filled with compressed SF6 and are pluggable like drawers. The trigger pulse generated by the trigger brick passes through an azimuthal transmission line to the trigger ring and makes the main bricks discharge synchronously. The LTD cavity can deliver ∼1 MA current pulse with a rise time of 115 ns to 0.08 Ω liquid resistance load when the charging voltage is ±100 kV, which is in good agreement with the circuit simulation results. Experimental results demonstrate the successful application of using gas insulation and pluggable bricks. The technical feasibility of the charging configuration, triggering method, and isolation resistors is verified. There is little difference in output performance as return-current rods replaced the outside metal cylinder, which provides a new path for the design of LTD cavities in series.

A 80 kV gas switch triggered by a 17 µJ fiber-optic laser.

A gas switch triggered by µJ laser pulses was developed. The switch employed a 10 mm-gap GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) mounted in parallel with one of its two gaps. The dark current-voltage characteristic of the PCSS was obtained, and the gas switch characteristics at different bias voltages were experimentally investigated. The results indicate that the switch can be triggered reliably by using a 17 µJ laser pulse, and the jitter is less than 3 ns at the bias voltage of 80 kV and 60% of the self-breakdown voltage.

Note: Multi-gap gas switch with low trigger-threshold voltage by mounting resistors and capacitors in parallel with switch gaps.

To reduce the trigger threshold voltage of the multi-gap gas switch used for linear transformer drivers, a method is proposed by mounting resistors and capacitors in parallel with the switch gaps. Based on the circuit model of the six-gap gas switch, the gap voltage distribution during the triggering process is analyzed. When the multi-gap gas switch is triggered, the voltage distribution between gaps is mainly determined by the stray capacitance between electrodes. In such condition, the trigger voltage is not fully applied on the trigger gap, and as a consequence, a higher trigger voltage is required for obtaining a low jitter. The effects of capacitor parameters on the triggering characteristics of the switch are experimentally investigated. Compared with the original switch design, the results indicate that at a charging voltage of ±80 kV and operating at 60% of the self-breakdown voltage, the trigger voltage is reduced from 110 kV to 75 kV while the 3.2 ns jitter of the switch is preserved.

Note: Novel trigger pulse feed method for mega-volt gas switch.

It is difficult to feed the trigger pulse into an electrically triggered mega-volt switch, and the present note presents a novel trigger pulse feed method. The trigger pulse is introduced via a damping resistor, which is mounted between the inner and outer cylindrical electrodes of the pulse transmission line. The mega-volt pulse is damped because the voltage is resistively divided by the resistor and trigger cable arrangement. Both the complex breakdown processes of the switch and its insulation issues are experimentally studied. The function and the beneficial effects of the damping resistor, installed together with an additional inductor, are discussed. Finally, the parameters of these two damping components are set to 500 Ω and 2 µH values for which the switch has been demonstrated to work successfully at over 2.3 MV.

Development of a Marx-coupled trigger generator with high voltages and low time delay.

Coupled by the Marx of the "JianGuang-I" facility, a high voltage, low time-delay trigger generator was developed. Working principles of this trigger generator and its key issues were described in detail. Structures of this generator were also carefully designed and optimized. Based on the "JianGuang-I" Marx generator, a test stand was established. And a series of experiment tests were carried out to the study performance of this trigger generator. Experiment results show that the output voltage of this trigger generator can be continuously adjusted from 58 kV to 384 kV. The time delay (from the beginning of the Marx-discharging pulse to the time that the output pulse of the trigger generator arises) of this trigger pulse is about 200 ns and its peak time (0%∼100%) is less than 50 ns. Experiment results also indicate that the time-delay jitter of trigger voltages decreases rapidly with the increase in the peak voltage of trigger pulses. When the trigger voltage is higher than 250 kV, the time-delay jitters (the standard deviation) are less than 7.7 ns.

Low voltage pulse injection test of a single-stage 1 MV prototype induction voltage adder cell.

Low voltage pulse injection tests have been done on a 1 MV prototype induction cell. The tests mainly aim at measuring azimuthal uniformity of feed currents and evaluating cell electrical parameters. Tests are conducted under two cases that the cell is fed by a single pulse and two pulses, respectively. The results indicate that, in the case of the single-point feed, the best current uniformity with an azimuthal variation of 19.3% is acquired when azimuthal lines connect to cathode plates with lower half circumferences. In the case of two-pulse synchronous feed, the current uniformity becomes better, and a current with an azimuthal variation of 11.8% is achieved. Moreover, the effects of asynchronous feed on current uniformity are also experimentally investigated. The results imply that, for given injecting pulses with the duration of 70-80 ns, a time deviation less than 30 ns could be acceptable, without obvious degradation on the feed uniformity and current addition. In addition, the influences of the current uniformity and amounts of feed pulses on cell equivalent inductances are evaluated. The experiment results show that, the equivalent inductance would nearly keep a value of 130 nH as the current variation is less than 50%. However, the extreme asymmetry of feed currents or the increase of amounts of feed pulses would produce additional inductance.