The Veloce Pulsed Power Generator for Isentropic Compression Experiments

Summary form only given. Veloce is a medium-voltage, high-current, compact pulsed power generator developed for cost effective isentropic and shock compression experiments at Sandia National Laboratories. It is based on a strip line design where no oil, water, and vacuum are used for insulation, thus making it easy to operate and maintain. The machine delivers up to 3 MA of current rapidly (~ 440-530 ns) into an inductive load where significant magnetic pressures are produced. The resulting magnetic pressure can be used either to drive ramp pressure waxes (peak pressures up to 12 GPa) into material samples or to launch a flyer plates to high velocities (1-4 km/s). Because of its lower cost per shot and greater availability, Veloce is well suited for studying isentropic compression experiments (ICE) in much greater detail than previously allowed in larger pulsed power machines. Several key issues in ICE, such as panel and sample preparation, uniformity of loading, and edge effects, have been examined extensively on Veloce. In addition, magnetic hydrodynamic simulations using the Alegra code have been performed to interpret the experimental results.