Fast discharge energy storage development for improving X-ray simulators

Design studies have been completed to investigate the impact of improvements in fast energy storage systems on the designs of: larger future simulators (such as a 15-MA PRS simulator), simulator upgrades of operational machines (such as double-EAGLE), and for very compact, smaller simulators. The fast energy storage system that has been investigated and is presently under development (see companion papers) is a fast Marx generator (FMG) with (LC)/sup 1/2/ = 200 ns and (LC)/sup 1/2/ = 300 ns, depending on the capacitance per stage. This new fast Marx energy storage system uses newly developed, low-inductance rail switches and low-inductance capacitors. These components are configured in a low-inductance FMG stage and then stacked in series to form a unit for the voltage required and a number of units in parallel for the required system inductance and stored energy. A four-stage fast Marx prototype has been demonstrated with a total of 60 kJ energy stored and an output voltage of 680 kV. A design sketch of a 15-MA PRS machine driven by a fast Marx will be presented. This generator would consist of 48 eight-stage FMG units and would drive the PRS directly without further pulse compression. The second concept presented will be a very compact e-beam or Bremsstrahlung machine. This concept will consist of an eight-stage FMG driving a vacuum-inductive store. The vacuum store will be switched into an e-beam load using a plasma opening switch (POS).