General-purpose fault detection for pulsed power applications

A general-purpose electronic fault detection system has been designed for use with pulsed power experiments. Intended for use with a repetitively pulsed system, the fault detection electronics have the ability to shut down operations in the event of a fault, which would lead to damage if subsequent shots were allowed to proceed. The fault detection system is a collection of electronic modules that analyze in real time any number of pre-conditioned data acquisition signals. The results of the multi-channel analysis are logically OR-ed, which control the passage of an external trigger signal. Each data acquisition signal can be analyzed for level, level at time, or frequency. Pre-conditioning of the signals can provide for specific analysis by such methods as integration, differentiation, or rectification. In particular, the operation of the detection system with a dual-resonant charged Blumlein is reviewed. The channel, which protects against Blumlein failure to self-trigger, is examined in detail.