High Voltage Explosive Flux Compression Generators

Helical magnetic flux compression generators have been used for five decades to amplify electrical energy and current from high explosives. Although they can now be modeled quite accurately, there are practical limitations, based on internal electrical breakdown, that limit both their compactness and ability to operate at high output voltages. The Care’n LLC proposes to overcome this limitation through careful application of 3D electrostatic and inductive electric field calculations based on magnetic and electric vector potentials. Furthermore, we will assess the heretofore unaddressed issue of MHD field generation due to the motion of insulating gas through the magnetic field. The results of these studies will be incorporated into the FCG modeling code, CAGEN, which already accurately calculates the performance of helical FCGs, without any empirical factors, in the absence of electrical breakdown. The code will then be used to explore optimization strategies that take into account, explicitly, electrical breakdown thresholds.