Performance Characteristics of a 1 MV Miniature Marx Bank

In this paper we report results of experiments with a compact Marx bank generator. The Marx was constructed with 25 spark-gap switched stages, each stage consisting of two Murata 2 nF capacitors with N4700 ceramic dielectric rated at 40 kV. In order to evaluate the Marx efficiency and repetition rat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Peterkin, F E, Stoudt, D C, Hankla, B J, Boulais, K A, Bernardes, J S
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
CAPACITORS
COAXIAL CONFIGURATIONS
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
ELECTRONIC SWITCHING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
MARX BANK GENERATORS
OC(OPEN CIRCUIT)
PERFORMANCE(ENGINEERING)
PULSE GENERATORS
REPETITION RATE
SHORT CIRCUITS
SPARK GAPS
TEST AND EVALUATION
VOLTAGE
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Summary:In this paper we report results of experiments with a compact Marx bank generator. The Marx was constructed with 25 spark-gap switched stages, each stage consisting of two Murata 2 nF capacitors with N4700 ceramic dielectric rated at 40 kV. In order to evaluate the Marx efficiency and repetition rate, inductive isolation with 5 uH per stage was implemented for the charging circuit. The Marx was charged with a 1500 J/s capacitor charging power supply. The system was controlled and monitored with a laptop computer through a fiber optic interface. We report results from operating the Marx from one quarter to full output voltage , nominal 250 kV to 1 MV open circuit (OC). Short duration testing showed that the Marx could be triggered continuously at a repetition rate varying from 20 to 50 Hz, depending on the charging voltage. Various representative loads were used for diagnostic purposes and for comparison to modeling efforts. When operated into a short circuit, the Marx current oscillated at 14 MHz with a peak amplitude of about 10 kA. The Marx was also operated with and without a coaxial ground enclosure to investigate the influence of this geometry on pulse characteristics. We compare the results of circuit modeling with the experimental measurements and show good agreement. See also ADM002371. 2013 IEEE Pulsed Power Conference, Digest of Technical Papers 1976-2013, and Abstracts of the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. Held in San Francisco, CA on 16-21 June 2013. U.S. Government or Federal Purpose Rights License.