Experimental setup for optmization of electro-explosive fuse

Defense application of High power microwave (HPM) devices require compact systems delivering the same magnitude of energy as that of large scale system. Magnetic flux compression generators (MFCG) are devices with large energy densities capable of delivering large currents, but HPM devices require high voltages. This can be achieved by using MFCG driving an inductive energy storage system with an electro-explosive fuse (EEF) in the current path. EEF interrupts the large current outputs and the resultant voltage transient (LdI/dt) can be further sharpened using a peaking gap and delivered to the load. This paper describes the performance of an experimental set up that is intended to be used as a test bed to study the optimization of the fuse dimensions to achieve maximum voltage multiplication.