Replacement of Marx Generator by Tesla Transformer for Pulsed Power System Reliability Improvement

Abstract

A technology scheme that replaces Marx generator with Tesla transformer was put forward to improve the reliability of the pulsed power system. In order to validate the technology scheme, a Tesla transformer was designed and tested. The excitation of the primary consists of two 4-μF polypropylene film capacitors which are separated by a threeelectrode field distortion gas switch. A deionized water dielectric pulse forming line (PFL), with 13-nF equivalent capacitance, acts as the secondary capacitor. The actual transformation ratio is 9.7 approximately, and the PFL voltage is as high as 1.2 MV when two capacitors are charged to ±62 kV by the bipolar high-voltage direct current. The prefire probability of switch is described by the Weibull distribution and the working ratio of the switch is elaborately chosen so as to balance the prefire probability and the trigger jitter. For ±62 kV charge voltage and 0.2-MPa pressured air dielectric, the prefire probability of switch is only 1 × 10 -7 and the jitter of that is 5 ns. When confidence is 0.90, the failure probability of pulsed power machine is 2.8 × 10 -4 according to the Binomial distribution correspondingly.