Design of 5.5MJ charge dump power supply for the PPPL FLARE experiment

P. A. Melnik, A. H. Bushnell, P. E. Sieck, J. E. Stuber, S. Woodruff, F. Hoffmann, J. Jaraalmonte, H. Ji, M. Kalish, A. Zhao, T. E. Ziemba, K. E. Miller

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments (FLARE) is an intermediate laboratory experiment currently under construction at Princeton University by a consortium of five universities and two Department of Energy (DoE) national laboratories, located at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The goal of FLARE is to provide experimental accesses to new regimes of the magnetic reconnection process and related phenomena directly relevant to heliophysics, astrophysics, and fusion plasmas. The device comprises a vacuum chamber and 9 coils sets that are independently programmable to provide the poloidal and toroidal magnetic fields required to form plasma and study the effects of magnetic reconnection. Each of these 9 coil sets requires a separate pulsed power system, it is the design of the power systems that is reported here. The 9 separate pulsed power systems combine to produce over 5.5MJ of energy to the experiment and each presented their own unique challenges. The most energetic power system is a 3.4MJ, 19.2mF capacitor bank charged to 20kV that provides the guide field, with a rise time of approximately 12ms it delivers an average peak current of 40kA over 5.3ms to 12 coils wired in series. The poloidal field coils consist of two separate coilsets each requiring 540kA peak current which is produced by two 20kV, 2.64mF capacitor banks. The design of the two driver coilsets each charged to 60kV will also be presented.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2016 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference, IPMHVC 2016
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages635-639
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781509023547
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 17 2017
Event2016 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference, IPMHVC 2016 - San Francisco, United States
Duration: Jul 5 2016Jul 9 2016

Publication series

Name2016 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference, IPMHVC 2016

Other

Other2016 IEEE International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference, IPMHVC 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco
Period7/5/167/9/16

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Keywords

  • High energy RLC circuits
  • Modular capacitor bank
  • Plasma physics
  • Pulled power

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