Versatile test environment for compact pulsed power system evaluation

This paper describes our efforts to develop a test environment that accurately approximates elements of several battery-driven compact Marx generator (CMG) systems currently in use, but which avoids the high-voltage and electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues of operating the actual CMG´s. A triggering circuit, lumped capacitance, and load resistor housed in a cart filled with SF₆ provide the necessary elements to represent the CMG. Two 20 kW AC-DC supplies were used to substitute for battery packs and furnished the medium voltage (hundreds of volts) required to drive the high voltage (HV) capacitor charging power supplies (CCPS). The prime motivation of this work is to explore rep-rate operation at tens of Hz and provide guidance for optimizing HV power supply settings and battery design. The test stand provides a unique testing environment for several applications. We report verification of the test bed operation using a well understood configuration of power supplies with well documented control and trigger systems. The performance of a series/parallel combination of multiple HV power supplies for rep. rate operation is also examined. Battery pack voltage droop effects on HV power supply calibration are described. We then discuss use of the test bed to explore the operating characteristics of a novel 100 kV (plusmn50 kV) capacitor charging power supply recently developed by North Star Research, Corp. (NSRC)