Non-explosive test bed for flux compression generator fuses

Date

2006-08

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

Helical Flux Compression Generators (HFCG) of a 50 mm form factor have been shown to produce output energies on the order of ten times the seeded value and a typical deposited energy of 3 kJ into a 3 ¥ìH inductor. By utilizing an electro-explosive fuse, a large dI/dt into a coupled load is possible. Our previous work with a non-optimized fuse has produced ~ 100 kV into a 15 §Ù load, which leads into a regime relevant for High Power Microwave (HPM) systems. It is expected that ~ 300 kV can be achieved with the present two-stage HFCG driving an inductive storage system with an electro-exploding fuse. In order to optimize the electro-explosive wire fuse, we have constructed a non-explosive test bed which simulates the HFCG output with high accuracy. We have designed and implemented a capacitor based, magnetic switching scheme to generate the near exponential current rise produced by the HFCG. The varying inductance approach utilizes four stages of inductance change and is based upon a piecewise linear regression model of the HFCG waveform. The non-explosive test bed will provide a more efficient method of component testing and has demonstrated positive initial fuse results. By utilizing the non-explosive test bed, we hope to reduce the physical size of the inductive energy storage system and fuse substantially. We will discuss the a-priori calculated baseline fuse design and compare the experimental results of the optimized fuse with the baseline design. The overall goal will be to create an accurate PSpice model applicable to higher current systems utilizing the Electro-explosive Fuse.

Description

Keywords

Test bed, Explosive opening switch, Electro-explosive

Citation