Measuring high impulse current distribution: application to electromagnetic launchers

The study of high-current transients is involved in several research fields, such as high-power electronics, nuclear fusion, applied superconductivity, and electromagnetic launch. Measuring such high currents is not always an easy task because of the critical environment with high magnetic fields that may induce high voltages on the measurement circuits. Moreover, the conductors are often not accessible for a direct current measurement, meaning that the currents need to be reconstructed from indirect measurements, such as magnetic fields or voltages on accessible parts of the circuit. Additionally, the uncertainty of the models that link these quantities to the unknown currents has a critical role.