Transient Analysis of Circuit Containing Massive Conductors

Abstract

Inductive electrical components made of massive conductors are usually adopted in the high-power circuit. Since they are not the types of filaments, the diffusion of the electromagnetic fields inside the conductors plays an important role in the transient discharge. Though the behavior of the circuit can be described reasonably using constant electrical parameters, the voltage drop in the massive conductor is not expressed accurately when constant resistance and inductance are used in the analysis of the transient discharge. To obtain a more accurate waveform of the pulsed current, we have used a comprehensive method calculating the correction voltage in the voltage drop. Once the resistive voltage drop and the magnetic flux for a step-function current are obtained either analytically or numerically, the voltage drop in the massive component for any current waveform can be calculated using the Duhamel's integration. The equations of the circuit containing massive conductors can be solved through a few iterations using the method estimating the voltage drop. As an example, the method was applied to an analysis of an RLC circuit containing a massive pulse-forming inductor. Electromagnetic responses of the inductor for a step-function current were calculated numerically with the help of a finite element method. The current waveform calculated using the method of correction voltage showed a good agreement with the measured waveforms.