Flux Compression Generators

The US Army has programs that require very compact explosive drive power supplies. One such power supply is the Flux Compression Generator (FCG). Flux compression generators convert the chemical energy of explosives into electrical energy by compressing an initial magnetic field. A major advantage of FCGs is that they can be relatively small and can fit into platforms of interest, unlike conventional power supplies such as battery powered Marx generators. Unfortunately, as the size of FCGs decrease , they have higher losses due, in part, to size and tolerance scaling. However, it may be possible to take advantage of this characteristic for higher losses to couple part of the energy that would have been lost out of the flux trapped region into Radio Frequency (RF) energy. For Army platforms of interest, the geometries of interest are ¡Ý1.5 inches (40 mm) in diameter and ¡Ý1 inch (25 mm) in length. We propose to explore innovative ways to convert energy typically lost due to mechanisms such as stator clocking and flux pocketing.