Factors affecting and methods of improving the pulse repetitionfrequency of pulse-charged and DC-charged high-pressure gasswitches

The results of this paper describe some of the factors which affect the repetitive operation of high-pressure gas switches (spark gaps) for both pulse-charged and DC-charged operation. Also discussed are methods which may be employed to improve the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of spark gaps operating under such conditions. Under pulse-charged conditions, the voltage recovery process of the spark gap has been shown to be restricted following partial density recovery by the residual ion population. This restriction may be minimized by applying a suitable bias voltage across the gap to remove the ion influence. It is also possible to manipulate the voltage-pressure (V-p) breakdown characteristic of a spark gap in order to improve the rate of rise of recovery voltage by reducing the recovery voltage dependence upon gas pressure. The combination of these effects has been shown to reduce the voltage recovery time of pulse-charged spark gaps from several hundred milliseconds to several milliseconds. Under DC-charged conditions, where no “dead time” is available for voltage recovery, it is possible to employ corona discharge effects, which occur in highly nonuniform fields, to stabilize and control the breakdown process. The use of corona stabilization has enabled the operation of a self-closing spark gap at a PRF of more than 5 kHz, without employing gas flow techniques. A triggered version of a corona-stabilized spark gap has also been developed which has demonstrated single run capabilities of 10⁷ (4 h continuous operation at 700 pps) and a lifetime of ~10 shots (maintenance free, sealed switch). The triggered corona switch has also demonstrated controlled switching up to a PRF of 1.2 kHz     

氮气火花开关击穿机制的理论和数值研究

三电极气体火花开关带有触发极,相比两电极开关,其开关导通的可控性较高,工作电压较低且抖动小,所以气体火花开关中三电极开关的应用较为广泛.本文针对大气压氮气环境下的两电极开关和三电极开关的击穿机制进行了理论与数值模拟研究.通过理论和数值计算发现,对于平板-平板的两电极开关来说,低电压下(小于6.3 kV)无法产生流注击穿,高电压下(大于6.3 kV)会先形成由阴极到阳极的负流注,然后再形成由阳极向阴极的正流注.而在三电极开关的击穿过程中,首先会在触发极和绝缘体之间发生击穿,然后这个通道不断向阴阳极扩展,最终形成阴阳极之间的电弧通道.在本文的计算工况下,如果需要阴极-触发极、阳极-触发极同时击穿的话,其阴极-触发极之间的外加电压需要大于1.18 kV,而阳极-触发极之间的外加电压需要大于3 kV.当考虑触发极的场致发射后,该击穿阈值可以显著降低.     

Over recovery in low pressure spark gaps-confirmation of pressurereduction in over recovery

The over recovery in sparkgaps (Nagesh, 1997, Nagesh et al., 1999) operating along the left-hand side of Paschens' characteristics is due to pressure reduction in the gap after the first pulse discharge. This pressure reduction leading to over recovery in low pressure spark gaps has been verified using a low pressure spark gap with two spark gaps placed one above the other in the same chamber. The breakdown voltage strength characteristics of the second gap has been determined for gap spacings of 3.5 mm to 10 mm, diffusion of plasma in the direction of vacuum pumping and opposite, at a pressure of 2.1 Pa for hydrogen gas. The vacuum pumping direction has a great influence on the breakdown strength characteristics of second gap after the first gap discharge. The breakdown voltage of the second gap can exceed its self breakdown voltage only 1) when the diffusion of plasma and vacuum pumping direction are same and 2) when the second gap spacing is greater than or equal to first gap spacing. Shorter gaps can always have breakdown voltage lower than or equal to their self breakdown voltage. The experimental setups, behavior of self breakdown voltages of second gap due to breakdown in the first gap, over recovery characteristics of spark gaps, the results, and discussions are presented here     

Theory of gas breakdown in an inhomogeneous field

Consideration is given to an independent electrical gas discharge in an inhomogeneous field, with photoionization of the gas as secondary mechanism. The condition for an independent discharge to exist is derived; this condition enables the breakdown voltage to be calculated, and also explains the short times required to form the discharge and the fact that the breakdown voltage is independent of the cathode material. The same condition may be considered as a criterion for the ignition of a self-sustaining corona in a long spark gap with nonuniform geometry.     

纳秒脉冲电压下气体开关的击穿特性

 采用快速Marx发生器产生ns量级的高电压脉冲,分别开展了不同脉冲电压值下气体开关自击穿实验,获得了气体开关在不同气压下的击穿电压和击穿延迟时间以及抖动。详细介绍了纳秒脉冲电压作用下,气体火花开关击穿电压和击穿延迟时间随工作气压变化的特点,指出了气体开关在不同场合应用时的要求。     

快脉冲直线变压器气体开关技术

阐述了Z箍缩驱动惯性聚变装置对快脉冲直线变压器气体开关的需求背景,介绍了快脉冲直线变压器气体开关技术发展的基本要求及国际研究进展,归纳了近年来主要研究成果和对当前研究有重要借鉴意义的结论,给出了提高静态稳定性、降低触发阈值和延长开关寿命的措施。介绍了气体放电的汤逊和流注理论,指出:在不大于1.5106 Pacm范围内,汤逊理论完全适用于描述气体开关自击穿过程。根据巴申定律、Meek击穿判据,给出了开关气压和间距设计要点,分析了多间隙开关间隙数量和间隙的电压分布均匀性对开关自击穿电压的影响。根据触发击穿延时经验公式,归纳了降低触发电压阈值的技术途径。介绍了1维的电极熔蚀判据,并总结了减轻电极烧蚀的方法和措施最后指出开关技术研究总体策略和方法。     

直流场畸变开关中混合气体击穿特性

氩气中一般含有大量亚稳态原子,在强外电场作用下容易产生自由电子,能够促进放电通道快速形成。采用场畸变型气体开关,在直流电压下设计了实验平台来探究气体开关中采用SF6-Ar或N2-Ar混合气体后放电时延及抖动的变化情况。改变多种气体状态进行一系列实验,并得出场畸变气体火花开关中SF6-Ar及N2-Ar的击穿特性,根据工程需要对气体种类及混合比例进行最优化设计。实验表明SF6-Ar中Ar质量分数达到20%及以上时,开关放电时延及抖动明显减小。     

纳秒脉冲电压下同轴场畸变开关多通道放电特性

使气体开关形成多通道放电是减小开关电感、通道电阻、电极熔蚀,提高开关寿命和稳定性的有效措施。设计了一种同轴场畸变气体火花开关,研究了开关在纳秒脉冲电压下的多通道放电现象。研究了脉冲电压上升速率与多通道放电特性的关系,比较了两种体积比的SF6/Ar混合气体多通道放电特性。实验结果表明:一定气压下,平均通道数随着脉冲电压上升率增加而增多,电流分布趋向均匀;相同脉冲峰值与气压比值,不同气压下,高气压下的通道数较多;SF6/Ar混合气体中,氩气含量较高情况下多通道放电特性较好。最后,结合J.C.Martin的多通道放电理论对实验结果作出了初步解释。     

Fast high-voltage pulse generation using nonlinear capacitors

Many pulsed power applications require short high-voltage pulses with a high-repetition rate. Conventional high-voltage discharge pulse-switches such as thyratrons, spark gap switches, and vacuum tube switches have a short lifetime, whereas the semiconductor switches have a long lifetime and high reliability. The semiconductor switches, however cannot be directly applied to fast high-voltage pulsed power generation due to their limited operating voltage ratings despite their relatively long switching times. Therefore, they are used with voltage amplification and a pulse compression stage. This paper describes two pulse generators that use the semi-conductor switches and nonlinear capacitors: one is based on an opening switch (IGBT) and inductive energy storage, the other is a combination of a closing switch (RSD) and capacitive energy storage     

Analysis of time-dependent characteristics for a pseudosparkdischarge in air

The time-dependent resistive voltage and resistance of a pseudospark discharge in air are obtained by solving the equivalent circuit equation using the measured values of the discharge current and breakdown voltage. Pulsed, underdamped discharge currents ranging from about 30 to 100 A are investigated experimentally. The gas pressures range from 0.005-0.1 torr. The discharges can be characterized by three phases: initial, quasi-stationary, and relaxation. The quasi-stationary phase occurs near the time of the current maximum. The variations of the resistive pseudospark voltage are similar to those observed in a spark discharge, which can explain the sparklike behavior of a pseudospark discharge. Details of the current-voltage characteristics and resistance are presented     

A high-current rail-type gas switch with preionization by an additional corona discharge

The characteristics of a high-current rail-type gas switch with preionization of the gas (air) in a spark gap by an additional corona discharge are investigated. The experiments were performed in a voltage range of 10–45 kV using a two-electrode switch consisting of two cylindrical electrodes with a diameter of 22 mm and a length of 100 mm and a set of laterally located corona-discharge needles. The requirements for the position and size of the needles are defined for which a corona discharge is ignited before a breakdown of the main gap and does not change to a sparking form, and the entire length of the rail electrodes is efficiently used. The fulfillment of these requirements ensures stable operation of the switch with a small variation of the pulse breakdown voltage, which is not more than 1% for a fixed voltage-pulse rise time in the range from 150 ns to 3.5 μs. A short delay time of the switch breakdown makes it possible to control the two-electrode switch by an overvoltage pulse of nanosecond duration.     

小型场畸变气体开关的击穿抖动特性

基于高功率重复频率脉冲功率源的应用需求,研制了一种三电极场畸变结构气体火花间隙开关,并开展了重复频率条件下的触发特性研究。实验研究了场畸变火花间隙开关的触发特性随重复频率、气体成分、工作压强和工作系数的变化关系,计算了气体开关的触发击穿时延和抖动参数,分析了影响开关触发特性的主要因素。实验结果表明:气体开关触发击穿的抖动随着重复频率增加而增大;填充气体中SF₆和N₂体积比1∶1时,混合气体的综合性能较好;工作系数主要影响开关第二放电火花间隙(间隙2)的击穿抖动。     

Electrostatic analysis for designing of efficient discharge cell structures in AC plasma displays

The high luminous efficacy of plasma display demands high luminance at reduced discharge power. The discharge power can be reduced by several steps, one of them being reduction of gas breakdown voltage. In this paper, improved discharge cell structures are introduced that favor reduction of the gas breakdown voltage. The simulated electric field profiles for these structures indicate the low voltage requirement with increased electric field concentration in the discharge gap. The experimental measurements of breakdown voltage and discharge delay time in the test panels also support the simulation results. The important features of these discharge cell structures are discussed.     

Generation of Electron Beams in the Range of Forevacuum Pressures

This paper presents the results of a study on the generation of electron beams at gas pressures ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 Torr. The fact that this range of pressures is attainable with mechanical pumps only has provoked interest in this problem. To generate an electron beam, use is made of a plasma source based on a hollow-cathode discharge in combination with a plane-parallel acceleration gap. In the given range of pressures, the peculiarities of emission and acceleration of electrons are related to the high probability of ionization of the gas in the acceleration gap and to the formation of an ion flow propagating toward the electron beam. This causes a decrease in discharge operating voltage and also an increase in plasma density in the emission region. Two types of breakdown are observed in the acceleration gap: an interelectrode breakdown and a breakdown in the plasma–electrode system. The designed electron source allows one to obtain beams of cylindrical cross section with currents of up to 1 A and energies of up to 10 keV.     

金属基底对石墨烯薄膜阴极气体击穿稳定性影响

利用石墨烯二维材料极好的场发射能力和发射稳定性,提出了石墨烯阴极提高气体开关击穿稳定性的技术路线。采用化学气相沉积法和基底腐蚀转移法两种方法制备金属基底石墨烯薄膜阴极。利用扫描电子显微镜和拉曼光谱表征了石墨烯薄膜阴极质量,确认了石墨烯层数和均匀性。实验研究了两种石墨烯薄膜阴极气体开关,在微秒脉冲均匀电场作用下的击穿特性,获得了击穿电压幅值和分散性的变化规律。结果表明:当气体为0.6 MPa N2、电极间距为5 mm时,铜基底石墨烯薄膜阴极平均击穿电压为85.9 kV,相对标准差为3.2%;不锈钢基底石墨烯薄膜阴极平均击穿电压仅为59.8 kV,相对标准差为2.4%。当两种阴极击穿电压均为80 kV时,相对标准差比较,不锈钢基底仅为铜基底的44%。分析认为,不锈钢基底石墨烯薄膜质量优于铜基底,石墨烯薄膜导致阴极表面微观场增强因子更高,表面分布更均匀,在电场作用下场致发射产生均匀稳定的大量初始电子流,降低了气体开关击穿电压,有效提高了击穿稳定性。     

高功率大电荷量重复频率气体开关实验研究

 在自行研制的纵吹式场畸变型气体开关上，开展了大电流、大电荷传递量重复频率实验研究，已实现的开关最大工作参数为：电压100kV，电流85kA，电荷传递量0.6C/脉冲,重复频率10Hz，单脉冲能量5kJ。结果表明，气流流速、电极烧蚀及绝缘筒污染对开关重复频率和工作寿命有较大影响。     

大电流两电极气体开关研究

 由于引燃管难以满足现在能源系统对放电开关承受大电流的要求，因此研制了大电荷转移量两电极气体开关。这种新型气体开关电极间距可调，无触发极，采用同轴结构，并将主电极置于金属腔体内，减少了放电对绝缘支撑的污染。主电极为铜钨合金材料，设计为平顶圆柱状，以提高烧蚀均匀度和热传导效率，减少电极材料喷溅，延长其寿命。绝缘支撑采用碗状结构，提高了机械强度，增加了沿面击穿距离。该开关工作电压达25 kV，放电电流超过100 kA（脉冲宽度600 μs），单次脉冲电荷转移量达50 C。实验结果显示该气体开关触发性能稳定，电极表面烧蚀均匀，多次大电流实验后电极表面保持完好，可应用于强激光能源系统。     

Modeling of pulsed spark discharge in water and its application to well cleaning

This paper presents a simulation model for the generation of strong pressure wave by means of pulsed spark discharge in water and its application to well cleaning. In the simulation model, one-dimensional time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic equations are coupled to a capacitive discharge circuit equation. A cylindrical conducting spark channel formed by electrical breakdown of water gap between a pair of electrodes is treated as a load of which resistance and inductance are allowed to change with time. For describing the spark channel properties accurately, precise calculations on thermodynamic properties and electrical conductivity are included in the simulation model. The simulation results show an excellent agreement with the experimentally measured shock pressure as well as the current and voltage waveforms. The simulation reveals that Joule heating of the spark channel during the very early phase of electrical discharge plays a key role in the formation of shock wave in water. The voltage on a capacitor at breakdown, the circuit inductance, and the resistance of the spark channel are found to be the most important parameters for the shock wave formation. With this technique, a pilot test for the cleaning of a clogged well has been performed in a water well which was constructed as a test-bed for riverbank filtration near the Anseong-cheon (river) in Korea. Well treatments have been carried out with an electrical energy of 510 J stored on a pulsed power system, at which the maximum shock pressure is measured to be around 7 MPa at the position of the well screen, i.e. 0.1 m away from the spark gap. A slug test shows 2.9 times improvement in the hydraulic conductivity of the well, which, combined with a visual inspection inside the well using an underwater camera, clearly demonstrates that the strong pressure wave generated by underwater spark discharge can effectively remove almost all incrustations formed in the well screen and thus improve well performance. Operating parameters for controlling the strength of shock pressure are discussed using the simulation model for extensive applications of the present technique to various types of water wells.     

Nanosecond pulsed power generator for a voltage amplitude up to 300 kV and a repetition rate up to 16 Hz for fine disintegration of quartz

A generator of high-power high-voltage nanosecond pulses is intended for electrical discharge disintegration of mineral quartz and other nonconducting minerals. It includes a 320 kV Marx pulsed voltage generator, a high-voltage glycerin-insulated coaxial peaking capacitor, and an output gas spark switch followed by a load, an electric discharge disintegration chamber. The main parameters of the generator are as follows: a voltage pulse amplitude of up to 300 kV, an output impedance of ≈10 Ω, a discharge current amplitude of up to 25 kA for a half-period of 80–90 ns, and a pulse repetition rate of up to 16 Hz.     

Study on a New Ignition Method of the Spark Gap Based on Plasma Ejection in Air

A new ignition method of the spark gap based on plasma ejection is proposed in this paper, as the conventional trigatron spark gap performs poorly under the low working coefficient (the ratio of the charging voltage to the self‐breakdown voltage) in air. The plasma is generated by the capillary discharge, which has high pressure, high temperature and high velocity. The capillary discharge device is placed inside the low voltage electrode. As long as the triggering signal is sent to the device, a column of the plasma flow is ejected in axial direction and develops rapidly towards the high voltage electrode. Subsequently, the gap is broken down and a high resistive channel is formed, where the thermal ionization takes place and the arc across the whole gap is generated and develops into a well conductive channel. The process of the thermal ionization of the high resistive channel varies with the change of the spark gap distance. The breakdown delay and the delay jitter of the spark gap increase with the spark gap distance, as both parameters are mainly determined by the developing process of the plasma ejection. The characteristics of the plasma flow determine the possibility of the breakdown of the spark gap under the low working coefficient. The ignition method based on capillary plasma ejection has been proved by the preliminary experiments, which indicate that under the gap length of 8 cm and the working coefficient of less than 3%, the effective ignition is still achievable.