Design Approaches To Pulsed Power Drivers For Electromagnetic And Electrothermal Gun Systems

For a variety of high energy applications, pulsed power systems provide both energy storage and power conditioning. The pulsed power drivers for electromagnetic rail (EM) and electrothermal (ET) guns store energy from several megajoules to tens of megajoules and deliver currents ranging from 100 kA to several mega-amperes over a duration of up to 10 ms. Recent trends in the development of EM and ET systems reflect a growing need for compact, transportable pulsed power driver systems. This paper discusses the fundamental issues and the primary design philosophy as well as advances in the critical pulsed power components.