K. Ware, R. Gullickson, J. Pierre, R. Schneider, I. Vitkovitsky
{"title":"Technologies for development of more affordable large X-ray simulators","authors":"K. Ware, R. Gullickson, J. Pierre, R. Schneider, I. Vitkovitsky","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.825462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.825462","url":null,"abstract":"Pulsed power conditioning elements between the energy-storing capacitor banks and the radiation loads have been the major cost driver for large simulators. The cost is driven by the pulsed power requirements needed to provide the necessary spectral and temporal characteristics of the radiation output for Nuclear Weapons Effects Testing (NWET), as well as for assuring efficient production of the radiation. During the past forty years, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has developed pulsed power elements and systems that are lowering the cost of X-ray simulators. This paper discusses these technologies including capacitors, closing switches, water pulse lines, vacuum interfaces, plasma opening switches, and vacuum power flow.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"178 1","pages":"264-270 vol.1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73934108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Spielman, W. Stygar, K. Struve, S. Rosenthal, M. Desjarlais, Michael R Douglas, J. Asay, C. Hall, M. Bernard, T. Gilliland, T. Wagoner
{"title":"Conductor energy losses at 10 MA/cm on Z","authors":"R. Spielman, W. Stygar, K. Struve, S. Rosenthal, M. Desjarlais, Michael R Douglas, J. Asay, C. Hall, M. Bernard, T. Gilliland, T. Wagoner","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823684","url":null,"abstract":"Very high current generators are being developed to drive compact loads leading to conductors carrying very high current densities. Losses in conductors include resistive, magnetic field diffusion, pdV work, and material motion contributions. We have designed and executed experiments on Sandia's 100-ns rise time, 20 MA Z accelerator to quantify those losses at current densities reaching 10 MA/cm. In these experiments we delivered nearly 20 MA to both high-current density and low-current density short circuit loads. We used B-dot probes and VISAR techniques to measure the magnetic field near the load. A reduction in the delivered current of /spl sim/15% over the 20 MA peak current prediction made without resistive losses was observed. Comparisons of these data with radiation magneto-hydrodynamics codes (RMHD) are presented. Implications on the efficiency of next generation pulsed power drivers are discussed.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"19 1","pages":"991-994 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86277163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Maenchen, S. Cordova, J. Gustwiller, D.L. Johnson, P. Menge, I. Molina, C. Olson, S. Rosenthal, D. Rovang, O. Oliver, D. Welch, V. Bailey, I. Smith, D. Droemer, E. Hunt, G. Macleod, L. Woo
{"title":"Inductive voltage adder driven X-ray sources for hydrodynamic radiography","authors":"J. Maenchen, S. Cordova, J. Gustwiller, D.L. Johnson, P. Menge, I. Molina, C. Olson, S. Rosenthal, D. Rovang, O. Oliver, D. Welch, V. Bailey, I. Smith, D. Droemer, E. Hunt, G. Macleod, L. Woo","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.825465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.825465","url":null,"abstract":"Inductive voltage adder (IVA) accelerators were developed to provide high-current (100s of kA) power pulses at high voltage (up to 20 MV) using robust modular components. This architecture simultaneously resolves problems found in conventional pulsed and linear induction accelerators. A variety of high-brightness pulsed X-ray radiographic sources are needed from submegavolt to 16-MeV endpoints with greater source brightness (dose/spot/sup 2/) than presently available. We are applying IVA systems to produce very intense (up to 75 TW/cm/sup 2/) electron beams for these flash radiographic applications. The accelerator electromagnetic pulse is converted to a directed electron beam at the end of a self-magnetically insulated vacuum transmission line. The cantilevered cathode threading the accelerator cavities terminates in a small (l-mm diameter) needle, producing the electron beam which is transported to a grounded Bremsstrahlung converter within a strong (/spl sim/50 T) axial magnetic field. These systems produce mm-sized stable electron beams, yielding very intense X-ray sources. Detailed simulations of the electron beam generation, transport, and target interaction are presented along with scaling laws for the radiation production and X-ray spot size. Experimental studies confirm these simulations and show this reliable, compact, and inexpensive technology scales to 1000-R doses a meter from a mm-diameter source in 50 ns.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"132 1","pages":"279-282 vol.1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88355774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Gunin, V. F. Landl, S. Korovin, G. Mesyats, V. Rostov
{"title":"Experimental studies of long-lifetime cold cathodes for high power microwave oscillators","authors":"A. Gunin, V. F. Landl, S. Korovin, G. Mesyats, V. Rostov","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823644","url":null,"abstract":"Electron beam parameters and material consumption were measured for edge-type explosive-emission cathodes made from different materials, working in a BWO-based HPM source, at a large number of pulses. Most of the materials demonstrated several degradation of emission properties and decrease in microwave emission after 10/sup 4/-10/sup 6/ pulses. A graphite cathode demonstrated stabilization of its emission parameters after 10/sup 7/ pulses and successful operation during 10/sup 8/ pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 100-150 pps.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"19 1","pages":"833-836 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77172260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The thermohydraulic generator: a pulse power source of intense pressure pulses","authors":"W. Hartmann, J. Kieser, K. Rohde","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823597","url":null,"abstract":"Intense pressure pulses, often focussed to form strong shockwaves, are used for a variety of medical and industrial applications. In this contribution, a new principle-the thermohydraulic generation of strong pressure (sound) pulses-is reported which promises a considerably extended lifetime. The energy efficiency is comparable to that of commercial shockwave sources based on the magnetodynamic principle. The underlying physics is that of the generation of strong thermoelastic waves in electrically conducting media, in particular in electrolytes, by direct ohmic heating with intense current pulses. A simplified model is discussed to describe the pressure amplitudes and the influence of the thermoacoustic properties of the electrolyte. The source is scalable over a large range, and is arbitrarily adaptable in its shape. Large-area plane waves with amplitudes of up to 5 MPa have been achieved, as well as a self-focusing geometry with peak pressures of over 70 MPa.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"89 10","pages":"654-657 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91502207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chengmu Luo, Chengrong Li, Xinxin Wang, Zhifeng Xie, X.M. Guo, Min Han
{"title":"Experimental study of a small gas-puff Z-pinch plasma device","authors":"Chengmu Luo, Chengrong Li, Xinxin Wang, Zhifeng Xie, X.M. Guo, Min Han","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823590","url":null,"abstract":"An experiment was carried out on a small gas-puff Z-pinch plasma device with capacitor bank of 16 /spl mu/F and charging voltage 22 kV. Discharge current was measured by Rogowski coil. A compact Thomson ion energy analyzer was installed in the discharge chamber for determining the energy spectra of ion beam emitted from the Z-pinch plasma. The energy spectra of argon ion beams with single, double and triple charges were determined using the analyzer. A Mach-Zehnder laser interferometer was installed to measure the electron density and the movement of Z-pinch plasma. The electron density of the plasma just before pinch instant is larger than 9.00/spl times/10/sup 18//cm/sup 3/, the corresponding radius and the pinch velocity of the plasma are 1.42 mm and 1.86 cm//spl mu/s, respectively. The yield and the time variation of X-ray emitted from the pinch plasma were also measured.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"49 1","pages":"628-631 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88933556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Elizondo, R. Smelser, P. Aragon, D. Torres, K. Prestwich, K. Nielsen, H. Davis, B. Hinkley
{"title":"Atlas tri-plate standoff insulators' design and test results","authors":"J. Elizondo, R. Smelser, P. Aragon, D. Torres, K. Prestwich, K. Nielsen, H. Davis, B. Hinkley","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823792","url":null,"abstract":"The Atlas system consists of 96 Marx generators, arranged in a circle. Sets of four generators feed a tri-plate transmission line, and the tri-plate lines in turn feed a central load region. The space between the plates is a nominal 2.00 cm (0.787 inch). This spacing and support of the central plate are provided by a set of insulators referred to as the tri-plate standoff insulators (TSI). The insulators were designed to provide the required mechanical support, ease of replacement or removal for maintenance, and the electric field gradient standoff. Two materials were selected: one was chosen because it has reasonable mechanical properties and a dielectric constant close to that of oil (polypropylene /spl epsiv/=2.3); the other material was selected because of its increased mechanical strength, even though the dielectric constant is higher than that of oil (Nylon MC 901 and 907 /spl epsiv/=3.7). Testing of the insulators was performed in a three-foot diameter tri-plate assembly. The test setup accepts four insulators at a time. The nominal operational voltage for the tri-plates is 240 kV at a t/sub eff/ of 0.87 /spl mu/s. The testing was performed at up to 450 kV with a t/sub eff/ of 2.8 /spl mu/s. The insulators were successfully tested until oil breakdown between the plates was reached, with no insulator flashover.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"293 1","pages":"1407-1409 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81619488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Gaudreau, J. Casey, T. Hawkey, M. Kempkes, J. Mulvaney
{"title":"Solid state modulator for klystron/gyrotron conditioning, testing, and operation","authors":"M. Gaudreau, J. Casey, T. Hawkey, M. Kempkes, J. Mulvaney","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823762","url":null,"abstract":"Conditioning, test, and operation of high power microwave tubes, such as klystrons and gyrotrons, is a complex process. Each tube must be conditioned over increasing voltages and input power levels to achieve reliable performance without damage to the tube itself. Effective conditioning requires significant freedom to control voltage, pulsewidth, and PRF, at very high power (20 MW+) and voltage (100 kV+). Conventional modulator technologies capable of switching these high power levels are limited in their flexibility, and require significant operator knowledge and time to reach full performance. This process represents a significant cost factor in the development, production, conditioning, and operation of high power microwave tubes. To address these issues Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI) is working with Communication and Power Industries (CPI), in Pale Alto CA., to bring solid state technology to the high power tube testing process. This paper addresses the design of the solid state switches and the initial testing experience at DTI and CPI.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"44 1","pages":"1295-1298 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88148830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Bowman, E. Ballard, G. Barr, G. Bennett, J. Cochrane, H. Davis, T. Davis, G. Dorr, R. Gribble, J. Griego, M. Hood, H. J. Kimerly, A. Martinez, T. McCuistian, R.B. Miller, S. Ney, K. Nielsen, P. Pankuch, W. Parsons, C. Potter, R. Ricketts, H. Salazar, D. Scudder, C. Shapiro, M. Thompson, R. Trainor, G. Valdez, W. Yonemoto
{"title":"An overview of the mechanical design of the Atlas pulsed power machine","authors":"D. Bowman, E. Ballard, G. Barr, G. Bennett, J. Cochrane, H. Davis, T. Davis, G. Dorr, R. Gribble, J. Griego, M. Hood, H. J. Kimerly, A. Martinez, T. McCuistian, R.B. Miller, S. Ney, K. Nielsen, P. Pankuch, W. Parsons, C. Potter, R. Ricketts, H. Salazar, D. Scudder, C. Shapiro, M. Thompson, R. Trainor, G. Valdez, W. Yonemoto","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.823669","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.823669","url":null,"abstract":"Atlas is a pulsed-power facility being designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to perform high-energy density experiments in support of Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship and basic research programs. Atlas will consist of 24 individual maintenance units, each consisting of 4 240-kV Marx units. Maintenance units are contained in large oil tanks arrayed in a circle about a central target chamber. Total stored energy of the capacitor bank will be 23 MJ. Maintenance units will discharge through an output shorting switch into a vertical tri-plate transmission line, and from there into a transition area/collector inside a large vacuum chamber. An overview of mechanical design aspects of the Atlas machine is presented. These include maintenance unit design and design of the tri-plate transmission line and transition region. Findings from fabrication and testing of prototype systems are discussed.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"33 1","pages":"933-936 vol.2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87108183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Y. Saveliev, W. Sibbett, S. Spark, B. Kerr, M. I. Harbour, S. C. Douglas
{"title":"Comparative study of a relativistic magnetron performance with various cathodes","authors":"Y. Saveliev, W. Sibbett, S. Spark, B. Kerr, M. I. Harbour, S. C. Douglas","doi":"10.1109/PPC.1999.825446","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.1999.825446","url":null,"abstract":"Cathode plasma expansion into a vacuum gap is one of the major physical mechanisms affecting the relativistic magnetron (RM) performance and causing a so-called pulse shortening. Therefore, development of new cathode technologies may lead to a significant enhancement of the microwave pulse length, efficiency and power of RMs. The authors are currently conducting a series of experiments with various cathodes with an aim towards improving the RM characteristics. The first results of this research were reported at the BEAMS'98 Conference (Haifa, Israel). In this paper, a more detailed analysis of the experimental data is presented. A primary objective in this research was to determine how the cathode geometry and type of the emission surface would influence major RM characteristics such as microwave pulse duration, output power and magnetron efficiency. The authors found that the cathode geometry influences strongly the RM operation but that the type of emission surface has much less significance. The cathode end caps, which have been mostly abandoned after transition from classical to relativistic magnetrons, were shown to be able to increase the microwave power and RM efficiency without facilitating the pulse shortening effect.","PeriodicalId":11209,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference. (Cat. No.99CH36358)","volume":"41 1","pages":"198-201 vol.1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85720447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}