Performance of a high current, low pressure hydrogen radial pseudospark switch

Cravey, W.R.; Devlin, G.L.; Savage, M. E.; Simpson, W. W.

doi:10.1109/ppc.1997.679346

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…This switch was chosen after extensive testing of many switch options at SNL [9,10,11]. The ST-300 has a limited life of approximately 280,000 coulombs for the NIF application.…”

Section: ) Switchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview and status of the power conditioning system for the National Ignition Facility

Newton

Fulkerson

Hulsey

et al.

IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts. PPPS-2001 Pulsed Power Plasma Science 2001. 28th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Sc

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The National Ignition Facility (NIF) Power Conditioning System (PCS) is a modular capacitive energy storage system that provides over 34 kilojoules of energy to each of the nearly 8000 flashlamps in the NIF laser. Up to 400 megajoules of energy can be stored in the NIF PCS system, discharged through spark gaps and delivered to the flashlamps through a coaxial transmission line system requiring nearly 100 miles of high-voltage cable. The NIF PCS has been under development for nearly 4 years. During this time, the system was developed and designed by Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM (SNLA) in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Extensive reliability testing was performed at SNLA on the First Article NIF Test Module (FANTM) test facility and design improvements were implemented based on FANTM test results, leading to the final design presently undergoing system reliability testing at LLNL. Low-cost energy-storage capacitors, charging power supplies, and reliable, fault-tolerant components were developed through partnerships with numerous contractors. Extensive reliability and fault testing of components has also been performed. This paper will provide an overview of the many efforts that have culminated in the final design of the NIF PCS. The PCS system design will be described and the cost tradeoffs discussed. Plans for fabrication and installation of the NIF PCS system over the next 6 years will be presented.

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“…This switch was chosen after extensive testing of many switch options at SNL [9,10,11]. The ST-300 has a limited life of approximately 280,000 coulombs for the NIF application.…”

Section: ) Switchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview and status of the power conditioning system for the National Ignition Facility

Newton

Fulkerson

Hulsey

et al.

IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts. PPPS-2001 Pulsed Power Plasma Science 2001. 28th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Sc

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Final results from the high-current, high-action closing switch test program at Sandia National Laboratories

Savage

2000

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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We tested a variety of high-cunent closing switches for lifetime and reliability on a dedicated 2 MJ, 500 kA capacitor bank facility at Sandia National Laboratories. Our interest was a switch capable of one shot every few minutes, switching a critically damp@ DC-charged 6.2 mF bank at 24 kV, with a peak current of 500 kA. The desired lifetime is 24 thousand shots.Typical of high-energy systems, particularly multimodule systems, the primary parameters of interest related to the switch are: 1) reliability, meaning absence of both pre-fires and no-fires, 2) total switch lifetime or number of shots between maintenance, and 3) cost. Cost was given lower priority at this evaluation stage because there are great uncertainties in estimating higher-quantity prices of these devices, most of which have been supplied before in only small quantities.The categories of switches tested are vacuum discharge, high-pressure discharge, and solid-state. Each group varies in terms of triggering ease, ease of maintenance, and tolerance to faults such as excess current and current reversal.We tested at least two variations of each technology group.The total number of shots on the switch test facility is about 50 thousand.We will present the results from the switch testing. The observed lifetime of dtierent switches varied greatly: the shortest life was one sho~one device was still operating after six thousand shots. On several switches we measured the voltage drop during conduction and calculated energy dissipated in the switch; we will show these data also.

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Development status of the pal sealed-off pseudospark switches

Heo

Park

Nam

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

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Performance of a high current, low pressure hydrogen radial pseudospark switch

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

Overview and status of the power conditioning system for the National Ignition Facility

Overview and status of the power conditioning system for the National Ignition Facility

Final results from the high-current, high-action closing switch test program at Sandia National Laboratories

Development status of the pal sealed-off pseudospark switches

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