Design criteria for prevention of armature "turn-skipping" in helical magnetic flux compression generators

Helical magnetic flux compression generators (MFCGs) are capable of producing ultra-high power electric pulses by trapping and compressing a seed magnetic field into a load coil via an explosive-driven armature. The efficiency of helical MFCGs is generally very low, about 10%, due to large magnetic flux losses. One of the main sources of magnetic flux loss is the "turn-skipping" phenomenon, in which the expanding armature fails to establish contact with every turn of the helical coil, resulting in magnetic flux loss in the skipped turns of the coil. The "turn-skipping" phenomenon is related to non-uniform or asymmetric expansion of the armature, as well as detonation end effects. Equations describing the "turn skipping" phenomenon are developed in terms of the eccentricity of the armature with respect to the helical coil, the armature's wall thickness variations and the length of the detonation end effect. Design criteria for prevention of "turn-skipping" are presented in order to achieve optimum MFCG performance.