An explosive opening superconducting switch

Author

Francavilla, T.L. ; Ford, R.D. ; Lupton, W.H. ; Alford, N McN ; Saunders, C.S.

Author_Institution

US Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA

Volume

27

Issue

2

fYear

1991

fDate

3/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1870

Lastpage

1873

Abstract

A superconducting YBCO tube was tested as an opening switch to demonstrate novel switching concepts for inductive energy storage. The tube was connected in series with a 1.2-mH inductor and a 4800-μF capacitor bank which was charged to a predetermined level and discharged through the circuit. No measurable dissipation was observed for test discharges of 8-ms duration, with maximum pulse amplitude increasing for each test while the YBCO was superconducting at 77 K. At the highest current pulse maximum of 95 A, the switch was opened by exploding a short length of detonating cord inserted into the center of the tube. The current decreased to zero, and the voltage increased to maximum in approximately 160 μs, resulting in a voltage gain of over 25 for current commutation purposes

Keywords

barium compounds; high-temperature superconductors; inductive energy storage; switches; yttrium compounds; 4800 muF; 77 K; YBaCuO; capacitor bank; current commutation; explosive opening superconducting switch; high-temperature superconductor; inductive energy storage; inductor; Circuit testing; Electron tubes; Energy storage; Explosives; Inductors; Pulse measurements; Switched capacitor circuits; Switches; Voltage; Yttrium barium copper oxide;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.133561

Filename

133561