STRETCH meat grinder with ICCOS

Inductive pulse power supplies attract interests since their energy densities are one order of magnitude higher those of capacitive ones at the same power-output capacity. IAT (Institute of Advanced Technology) put forward an inductive pulse power topology called STRETCH (Slow Transfer of Energy Through Capacitive Hybrid) meat grinder. In this topology, an active switch is used to cut off the charging current. Limited by the cutting off current ability of IGCT, it may encounter difficulties in extending to higher energy systems. Other than that, the cost of the system is very high. In this paper, the principle of STRETCH meat grinder is presented firstly. Then the STRETCH meat grinder with ICCOS (Inverse Current Commutation with Semiconductor devices), which was proposed by German-French Institute of Saint Louis (ISL), is proposed. The process of ICCOS in STRETCH meat grinder is illustrated in details. Finally, simulations are made based on Simplorer^®8 to explain how ICCOS works clearly. A preliminary discussion of how to design ICCOS is also presented. And we come to a conclusion that the STRETCH meat grinder with ICCOS exceeds the limitations of the original one and has potential applications for high energy systems in the future while cutting down the cost greatly.