Current shunting in experiments on z-pinch compression

Summary form only given, as follows. In experiments on z-pinch compression a substance under investigation is placed inside a metallic cylindrical liner. An electrical current pulse passes through the liner and creates a pulse pressure of the order of 1-10 GPa. The upper limit for the pressure achieved in these experiments is imposed due to the necessity to save the researched substance and to prevent its overheating. The additional possibilities of increasing of pressure and current in the liner appear in the case of breaking of the liner current after reaching of current and pressure maximums. In the paper we develop the method of pressure increasing at the expense of switching the current from the liner to the low-inductance shunting circuit. Analysis of electrical transient during with current shunting was made and the requirements to the elements of the shunting and the primary discharge electrical circuits are discussed. The design of the discharge chamber with the additional shunting electrodes of the electrodynamic installation is presented. In this chamber two-shunting modes are possible: self-breakdown mode and mode with the ignition of the shunting gaps. The breakdown voltage between the shunting electrodes is set by means of the gas pressure in the chamber. Experimental results on compression of steel and copper samples for the circuit with current shunting are presented.