Energy Efficiency Analysis of the Discharge Circuit of Caltech Spheromak Experiment |
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Authors: | Kumar D Moser A L Bellan P M |
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Institution: | Applied Physics Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; |
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Abstract: | The Caltech spheromak experiment uses a size A ignitron in switching a 59-$ muhbox{F}$ capacitor bank (charged up to 8 kV) across an inductive plasma load. Typical power levels in the discharge circuit are $sim$200 MW for a duration of $sim!! 10 muhbox{s}$. This paper describes the setup of the circuit and the measurements of various impedances in the circuit. The combined impedance of the size A ignitron and the cables was found to be significantly larger than the plasma impedance. This causes the circuit to behave like a current source with low energy transfer efficiency. This behavior is expected to be common with other pulsed plasma experiments of similar size that employ an ignitron switch. |
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