Research on Erosion Property of Field-Distortion Gas Switch Electrode in Nanosecond Pulse

Wang, Hu; Zhang, Qiaogen; Wei, Jin; Liu, Xuandong; Qiu, Aici

doi:10.1109/tps.2012.2191162

Cited by 14 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The dynamic resistance of the plasma channel may affect the rate of voltage collapse across the switch during its closure, [6]; the rate of energy deposition and the total energy deposited into the spark gap, the energy losses during the switching process, and electrode erosion, [7]. Typically, in switching operations, it is desirable to minimise the spark gap resistance, in order to increase the efficiency of the energy transfer, and to reduce the power loss in PCSs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postbreakdown Transient Characteristics of a Gas-Filled Plasma Closing Switch

Yao

Timoshkin

MacGregor

et al. 2021

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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Gas-filled plasma closing switches (PCSs) are essential components of high energy density pulsed power systems, used to generate short, high-power (10s MW to several GW) impulses. In practical applications, PCSs are required to operate in high current (10s kA), high voltage (10s-100s kV) regimes, to produce fast-rising ns and sub-ns HV impulses. The transient impedance of a PCS affects the rise time of the generated impulses and the power delivered to the load. Thus, design and optimisation of PCSs require detailed information on the dynamic plasma resistance. The present paper is focused on an investigation of the timedependent resistance of the plasma channel(s) formed between the electrodes of a multi-electrode PCS. Experimentally-measured underdamped current and voltage waveforms were used to obtain the transient plasma resistance of the PCS. The PCS was filled with different gases: dry air, CO2, N2 and a 90%/10% Ar/O2 mixture, in the pressure range from 0 bar up to 10 bar (gauge). It was found that the plasma resistance drops rapidly from a few hundreds of Ohms to a few hundreds of milli-Ohms due to the Joule heating of the breakdown channel. The methods proposed by Braginskii and Kushner to model the transient post-breakdown resistance were used to obtain analytical plasma resistances for all of the gasses. These resistances have been compared with the transient resistance obtained using a Kirchhoff analysis of the lumped-element, post-breakdown RLC circuit. Based on this comparison, the suitability of the chosen analytical methods to determine the transient breakdown resistance in gases is discussed. The obtained results will help in optimisation of the operational performance of PCSs filled with environmentallyfriendly, low environmental impact gases.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postbreakdown Transient Characteristics of a Gas-Filled Plasma Closing Switch

Yao

Timoshkin

MacGregor

et al. 2021

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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“…Extensive research has been performed on the electrode erosion in gas switches [8]- [13]. Wang et al [8] have Manuscript …”

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confidence: 99%

Degradation of Performance Due to Electrode Erosion in Field Distortion Gas Switch in Long-Term Repetitive Operation

Liu

Gou

et al. 2014

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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Field distortion gas switches are extensively used in pulsed power systems. Switch performance typically degrades because of electrode erosion, which directly influences the output parameters, stability, and reliability of pulsed power systems. With the same value of pd, different pressure and gap lengths in gas switches can affect electrode erosion property and thus, the subsequent performance degradation, but few results have been published. In this paper, repetitive discharges have been undertaken in a three-electrode field distortion gas switch with fixed pd to study the influence of pressure and gap length on electrode erosion and switch performance. The morphology of electrode surface and time histories of both trigger jitter and the probability of prefire have been investigated during the whole life cycle of the gas switch. The results show that when pd is fixed, high pressure (>0.8 MPa) and a short gap make for low trigger jitter at the start of the switch life cycle but lead to more severe electrode erosion, expediting the degradation of performance in field-distortion gas switches. Meanwhile, the probability of prefire increases rapidly with the increase of pressure.Index Terms-Electrode erosion, morphology, probability of prefire, pulsed power system, three-electrode field distortion gas switch, trigger jitter.

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