Pulsed current threshold of Multilam/sup TM/

The Atlas pulsed-power facility presently in the design and construction phase at Los Alamos will be capable of delivering a damped sinusoidal current pulse with a peak current of 27-32 MA at 4 /spl mu/s. Multilam connections are used in several locations, primarily due to maintenance requirements of removable connections. Multilam is a commercially available strip of louvered material used to make electrical connections. The manufacturer provides a continuous current rating as well as a pulsed current rating for each type of Multilam available. However, the current pulse rating may not be appropriate if the application pulse width is different from the pulse width used to obtain the rating. LA0/0.25/55 AG Multilam from MultiContact(R) has been tested for damage threshold at currents in excess of the given pulse rating. The time to peak of the damped sinusoidal current pulse applied to the Multilam was 2.5 /spl mu/s, where the pulse rating is typically for pulses in the order of milliseconds. The observed damage threshold for this Multilam with a /spl sim/7 /spl mu/s applied current pulse is found to be 150% of the reported rating.