2 research outputs found
Determination of breakdown voltage along the surface of a cylindrical insulator
This paper investigates the electric breakdown along the surface of a cylindrical dielectric, part of a coaxial transmission line. The particular geometry of the insulator is very common, as it is used at the input or output of most high-power, high voltage generators. The streamer propagation criterion is used to calculate the flashover voltage. Studies of the dependence of the flashover voltage on the distance between the electrodes obtained in tests with DC voltage and also by applying voltage impulses with different durations and rise-times are reported. The highest difference between the estimated values and the experimental data is less than 15%, which proves the applicability of the criterion for determining the surface breakdown voltage within the geometry under study. In particular, the results of these studies are used in the design of a compact 0.5 MV pulsed power system currently under development
Development and test of a 500-kV compact Marx generator operating at 100-Hz PRF
This article presents the electrical and mechanical design of a compact 13-stage 0.5-MV Marx generator operating at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 100 Hz. The fast-switching process of the generator is based on spark gaps, operated under pressurized air and leading to the generation of an output pulsed voltage with a peak of 0.5 MV and a rise time of 15 ns when operated on a 300- load. Corona-stabilized electrodes are installed near the main gap of the switches to improve their operational stability and increase the PRF. To ensure compactness, the Marx generator is housed in a cylindrical metal vessel with a height of 92 cm and an outer diameter of 34 cm, having a total volume of 74 L. A highly accurate simulation using both PSpice and CST software packages was used to predict the impulse waveform at the output of the generator and to help in optimizing the generator design. The tests show a good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions