Title :
Operational parameters of a pulsed electrothermal plasma source: pulse power system characterization and measurement
Author :
Dale, G.E. ; Bourham, M.A. ; Mayo, R.M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Missouri Univ., Columbia, MO, USA
Abstract :
The Plasma Interactions with Propellants Experiment (PIPE) is a facility designed for the study of materials and propellants exposed to a pulsed, high-heat flux plasma produced with an electrothermal plasma gun. PIPE is powered by a single 340 /spl mu/F capacitor with a maximum charging voltage of 10 kV, for a maximum discharge energy of 17 kJ. This paper describes voltage and current measurements made with a high-frequency compensated voltage divider and a Pearson coil. For these experiments, the gun was operated in air at 2 Torr at discharge energies between 1.1 and 8.1 kJ. The maximum current ranged between 10 and 45 kA. The maximum gun power ranged between 30 and 160 MW. Typical discharge duration is on the order of 100 /spl mu/s. Much of the data is shown to fit simple empirical relations.
Keywords :
electric current measurement; electrothermal launchers; plasma guns; plasma interactions; pulsed power supplies; voltage dividers; voltage measurement; 1.1 to 8.1 kJ; 10 kV; 10 to 45 kA; 100 mus; 17 kJ; 2 torr; 30 to 160 MW; 340 muF; PIPE; Pearson coil; Plasma Interactions with Propellants Experiment; current measurements; discharge duration; discharge energies; electrothermal plasma gun; high-frequency compensated voltage divider; maximum charging voltage; maximum current; maximum discharge energy; maximum gun power; pulse power system characterization; pulse power system measurement; pulsed electrothermal plasma source; pulsed high-heat flux plasma; voltage measurements; Capacitors; Coils; Current measurement; Electrothermal effects; Electrothermal launching; Plasma materials processing; Plasma measurements; Plasma sources; Propellants; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Pulsed Power Conference, 1999. Digest of Technical Papers. 12th IEEE International
Conference_Location :
Monterey, CA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5498-2
DOI :
10.1109/PPC.1999.823589