RITS-3 self-break water switch maintenance

Author

Puetz, E. ; Portillo, S. ; Hahn, K. ; Molina, I. ; Cordova, S. ; Maenchen, J. ; Johnson, D.L. ; Gignac, R. ; Wilkins, F.

Author_Institution

Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, NM, USA

fYear

2004

fDate

23-26 May 2004

Firstpage

421

Lastpage

423

Abstract

The radiographic integrated test stand (RITS-3) is a 5-MV, 160-kA, 70-ns inductive voltage adder accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories used to develop critical understanding of x-ray sources and flash radiographic drivers. On RITS-3 three pulse forming lines (PFLs) are used to drive three inductive voltage adder cavities. Each PFL contains a fast-pulse-charged, self-breakdown annular water switch that is used for initial pulse shaping and timing. Low loss in the switches combined with good synchronization is required for efficient operation of the accelerator. Switch maintenance is closely monitored over time to determine the effects of wear on switch breakdown performance.

Keywords

maintenance engineering; pulse shaping; pulsed power switches; radiography; 160 kA; 5 MV; 70 ns; Sandia National Laboratories; annular water switch; fast-pulse-charged water switch; flash radiographic drivers; inductive voltage adder accelerator; inductive voltage adder cavities; pulse forming lines; radiographic integrated test stand; self-break water switch maintenance; switch breakdown performance; synchronization; x-ray sources; Electric breakdown; Laboratories; Life estimation; Monitoring; Pulse shaping methods; Radiography; Switches; Testing; Timing; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Power Modulator Symposium, 2004 and 2004 High-Voltage Workshop. Conference Record of the Twenty-Sixth International

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8586-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MODSYM.2004.1433602

Filename

1433602