Explosive pulsed power driven plasma gun experiment

Summary form only given. The Los Alamos Trailmaster plasma implosion program is exploring the concept of coupling together a plasma flow switch (PFS) and an explosive pulsed power system to drive a foil-plasma z-pinch experiment. The PFS provides an opening switch inside the vacuum region of the experiment and allows energy to be delivered past the vacuum-dielectric interface at lower voltage than is possible with external switches. Experiments are being conducted to determine whether conventional fuse or explosively formed fuse (EFF) opening switches offer better performance in the role of the external switch in this system. In the experiments, a MK-IX generator powers a ~60-nH storage inductor and the external switch then diverts current to the plasma gun of a PFS. The goal is to drive the PFS plasma to a velocity of ~7 cm/μs while carrying as much current as possible. Circuit models suggest that currents of 14-16 MA will be delivered to the end of the gun where it will ultimately be available to deliver about 1 MJ of kinetic energy to a z-pinch implosion. Operation of both fuse and EFF opening switches at currents in the range of 12-16 MA has been demonstrated