Two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of a discharge channel

Kovalchuk, B. M.; Kharlov, A. V.; Kumpyak, E. V.; Tsoy, N. V.

doi:10.1063/1.4937359

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Design of the switch S and saturable inductor L are described elsewhere [7]. The switch S operates at atmospheric pressure in self-breakdown mode.…”

Section: Design Of the Triggering Generatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Triggered spark gaps with electrodynamical acceleration of spark channel were developed and investigated by Kovalchuk and colleagues [5,6]. Later two-electrode spark gap with inductive coupling in a triggering circuit [7] was introduced with sharp extension in operation range and charging voltage. In some applications unipolar pulse is not feasible and oscillatory regime (underdamped sinusoidal) has to be realized for the capacitor bank discharge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigation of a two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of spark channel in oscillatory regime of discharge

Kharlov¹,

Kovalchuk²,

Kumpyak³

et al. 2017

J. Inst.

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A: We have developed a compact gas switch intended for operation in oscillatory (low damping) regime of discharge. It is two-electrode switch with electrodynamic acceleration of a spark channel and a matched series injection trigger generator. A series inductance is employed for isolation of a trigger pulse from a surrounded circuit. Two operations regimes have been investigated, namely "fast" regime with current amplitude ~160 kA, total charge ~12 C, period of oscillations 60 µs, full pulse length ~400 µs and "slow" regime with current amplitude ~30 kA, total charge 18 C, period of oscillations 360 µs, full pulse length ~3 ms. The spark gap can be triggered reliably from 16 to 50 kV (at 72 kV self-breakdown voltage). Time delay in firing was less than 35 ns at 1 ns jitter at 30 mm gap and 40 kV charging voltage. The spark gap is designed for 50 kV charging voltage, at a current up to 200 kA, and up to 20 C charge transfer. Arc motion and electrodes erosion in this spark gap have been investigated. The main results are as follows: the arc channel moves on ~18 cm in fast regime and ~25 cm in slow regime. Results of the switch operation in slow and fast regimes with operational voltage of 40 kV and stored energy 32 kJ promise to get high lifetime. In this paper we present design for the spark gap and trigger generator. Test bed schematics and results of the tests are also described.

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“…Design of the switch S and saturable inductor L are described elsewhere [7]. The switch S operates at atmospheric pressure in self-breakdown mode.…”

Section: Design Of the Triggering Generatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of a two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of spark channel in oscillatory regime of discharge

Kharlov¹,

Kovalchuk²,

Kumpyak³

et al. 2017

J. Inst.

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show abstract

“…enabling their application in various domains [5]- [13]. For a single-shot or low repetition-rate operation two, three, or multielectrode products with good performance at high peak current (1-500 kA) and high peak voltage (2.5-100 kV) are all commercially available, such as the T-Series spark gap switches produced by L3 company [14] and the SG-Series spark gap switches produced by R. E. Beverly III & Associates [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Compact and Repetitively Triggered, Field-Distortion Low-Jitter Spark-Gap Switch

Song

Zhang

et al. 2019

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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This paper describes the development of a small field-distortion spark gap switch. Comprehensive experimental studies made with the switch revealed its self-breakdown characteristics, voltage operating range, time delay and jitter, repetition frequency and finally the electrode erosion processes and duration of its service life time. A series of design improvements were required to be implemented in the switch design. For example, to reduce the structural inductance of the switch and to improve its working characteristics, the main electrode was designed as a circular track structure. Similarly, to increase the operation stability and reduce the self-breakdown probability, the trigger electrode was designed as a disk-like structure. Moreover, to balance the gas pressure in the discharge region and increase the stability during closure, a circular hole was added at the center of the trigger electrode. The compact switch has a small size of only 150 mm × 42 mm, a weight of 1.5 kg and can successfully be operated at a voltage over 110 kV, at a repetition rate between 1 Hz to 50 Hz and having a jitter of less than 4 ns. It was experimentally demonstrated that during normal operation conditions, the switch life time exceeds 100,000 shots.

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Spark channel dynamics in railgun switches in unipolar and oscillatory discharges

Kharlov

2019

Laser Part. Beams

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Spark gaps are often used to commute energy in the discharge of a capacitive storage to a load. In some applications, a unipolar pulse is not feasible, and an oscillatory (underdamped sinusoidal) regime must be realized for the discharge of the capacitor bank. Spark gaps, which were developed for unipolar discharge, cannot be directly employed in an under-damped (oscillatory) regime since at the transition of the current through zero, the spark channel could stop motion and ignite in the following half period. This work has two main objectives: (i) To develop and test a simulation model of spark channel motion in linear rail geometry, which must be valid for both the oscillatory and unipolar regimes of capacitor bank discharge; and (ii) to investigate arc motion and electrode heating, depending on the current and charge transfer, over a wide range of operation. A self-consistent treatment of plasma motion and electrode heating (taking into account the radiation of a plasma channel) is applied in the present paper, and it is shown that radiation can significantly impact on the temperature of the electrodes. Electrode ablation and the temperature dependence of the main thermal parameters are also taken into account. Stainless steel (Cr/Ni/Ti 18/10/0.6÷0.8), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), tungsten (W), and molybdenum (Mo) are used here as electrode materials since these materials are widely used for the manufacture of electrodes. The results of numerical calculations are compared with experimental results, and conditions are defined for reduced electrode erosion.

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Two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of a discharge channel

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Investigation of a two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of spark channel in oscillatory regime of discharge

Investigation of a two-electrode gas switch with electrodynamical acceleration of spark channel in oscillatory regime of discharge

A Compact and Repetitively Triggered, Field-Distortion Low-Jitter Spark-Gap Switch

Spark channel dynamics in railgun switches in unipolar and oscillatory discharges

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