Physical efficiency limits of inch-sized helical MFCG's

Abstract

Helical magnetic flux compression generators (MFCG) are attractive energy sources with respect to their specific energy output. A variety of one-time use applications would benefit from small inch-sized helical generators with high specific energy output. However, it is widely accepted that the generator performance deteriorates with decreasing size. Previous experimental data have shown that the increase of the ohmic resistance of the MFCG with a reduction in size is the primary cause for the observed behavior when the initial generator inductance is held constant. We will analyze the situation in more depth and quantify how much the efficiency is determined by ohmic losses and intrinsic flux losses (flux that is left behind in the conductors and lost for compression) for different generator sizes and geometries. Our simple constant diameter MFCGs exhibit more intrinsic than ohmic losses (69% compared to 16%), while our MFCGs with tapered armatures display less intrinsic and more ohmic flux losses (13% compared to 66%), however, at increased overall efficiency. We will show experimental and calculated data and discuss the physical efficiency limits and scaling of generator performance at small sizes.