Initial operation of the Decade Quad in lab mode

The Decade Quad NWE Simulator will be in operation at the Arnold Engineering and Development Center in the fall of 1999. In its initial configuration, its four identical modules (Marx, transfer capacitor, coaxial water line and conical MITL) each terminate in a plasma opening switch and large area bremsstrahlung (LAB) loads that combined will produce an X-ray dose of at least 16 krad (Si) over an area of at least 2250 cm/sup 2/. A validation test of the first conical MITL and POS load driven by the Decade Module 2 at Maxwell Physics International has successfully produced an X-ray dose consistent with these performance requirements. The initial assembly and check out of the Decade Quad pulsed power subsystems has been completed and is reported herein. Initial X-ray tests are currently underway.