An air insulated linear pulse transformer for electrodischarge technology

Abstract

Abstract A linear pulse transformer with air insulation at atmospheric pressure was created and tested under both constant resistance and non linear loads. The maximum power of the transformer output pulse reached ∼500 MW at a matched load with a charge voltage 50 kV. The transformer transferred ∼60% of the stored energy to the load over a characteristic time of about 1 μs. The scalability the generator was studied by connecting two identical transformers in series which gave a power output of ∼850 MW with doubled output voltage and reduced current. The frequency mode of operation was studied using one and two transformers with a charge voltage of 50 kV and a load that was, close to matched. In both cases, the power maximum and jitter showed no significant changes at any of the frequencies tested (up to 5 Hz). These results mean that the use of this generator can be recommended for a wide field of applications due to its scalability and low internal impedance.