Development of small, tapered stator helical magnetic flux compression generators

For some applications of magnetic flux compression generators, shorter pulse widths, with associated higher voltages and power level, are required. We have developed a family of small, tapered stator generators that begin to address these applications. Specifically, the three versions of these FCGs developed use stator angles of 10/spl deg/, 12/spl deg/, and 13/spl deg/ with respect to the generator axis. The armature diameter is 2.54 cm, and the armature expansion ration is about 2:1. The shortest pulse, in terms of full-width-half-maximum (FWHM), produced is 398 ns in the current derivative. The peak value for dl/dt is about 3.5 x 10/sup 10 /amps/sec.