High Voltage Pulsed Power Supply Research Articles

Design, Construction and Programming of a Low-Cost Pulsed High-Voltage Direct Current Power Supply for the Electrophoretic Deposition of Silicon Carbide Mixed with Graphite and/or Alumina for Thermoelectric Applications

This document describes a proprietary design, construction, programming and testing of a low-cost pulsed high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power supply with an output of 430 V and power of 25 W. The design obtained allows costs to be reduced compared to commercial ones, highlighting that the manufacturing of this HVDC is easy to replicate. To demonstrate the operation of the pulsed power supply prototype, coatings of silicon carbide (SiC) and SiC mixed with graphite (C) and/or alumina (Al2O3) were made using the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. After processing, samples underwent a heat treatment at 500 °C to evaluate their thermoelectric (TE) efficiency. The samples were analysed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. The Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity were measured in a temperature range of 100–500 °C in a nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. The electrical conductivity of the SiC 6C-4Al sample was 0.65 S/cm at 500 °C, while the maximum Seebeck coefficient was 2500 μV/K of the SiC 6C-4Al sample at 200 °C. The thermal conductivity of SiC 6C-4Al was in the range of 0.35–0.37 W/m·K, which was much lower than the SiC sample free of alumina and graphite in the same measured temperature range. In conclusion, the SiC 6C-4Al sample presented the highest figure of merit with a ZT ≈ 0.01.

Development of a New Bipolar Square Wave High-Voltage Pulse Power Supply

Development of a New Bipolar Square Wave High-Voltage Pulse Power Supply

Active Disturbance Rejection Control of Full-Bridge DC–DC Converter for a Pulse Power Supply with Controllable Charging Time

In this paper, a control method of a full-bridge DC–DC converter for a pulse power supply with controllable charging time based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) is presented. For this application, the scheme objective is to achieve a flexible charging current to adjust the charging time of the pulse power supply. Due to the existence of switching devices in the system, the dynamic characteristics of the control system are complicated; an LADRC (Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control) controller is constructed to regulate the charging of the converter current so as to improve the flexibility and dynamic performance of high-voltage pulse power supply. LADRC linearizes the extended state observer and links its parameters to the observer bandwidth to simplify the design of ESO. The proportional coefficient or differential coefficient is connected with the bandwidth of the controller to simplify its tuning, simplify the nonlinear function, more parameters, and complicated adjustment of the ADRC in practical application. The inner loop current regulator assembled is beneficial to the dynamic performance of the loop. The resulting double closed-loop structure improves steady-state and transient current-tracking performance. In addition, stability analysis of the proposed strategy is also performed. The proposed control approach is compared with PI. To verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme, an experimental prototype was constructed and tested to confirm the superiority of the proposed method in terms of dynamic performance.

Development of a High-Voltage Pulsed Electric Field Sterilization Power Supply Using a New Topology Circuit

Traditional thermal sterilization technology is easy to implement and safe, but it will destroy food nutrition and change food taste. Therefore, people began to turn their attention to non-thermal sterilization. High-voltage pulsed electric field sterilization technology is one of them; it has attracted much attention because of its high efficiency and little damage to food. Different types of loads will cause serious trailing of the pulse falling edge. In view of this situation, this paper proposes a new topology circuit that combines a solid-state switch with a half-bridge Marx generator. It can be used for high-voltage pulsed electric field sterilization. By improving the structure of the classical Marx circuit, the high-voltage pulse power supply of the new topology circuit has the characteristics of steep rising edge and short falling edge delay; does not require isolation inductance or isolation resistance, which solves the isolation problem between the DC charging power supply and the high-voltage terminal; and has a good voltage-clamping function and load adaptability. The working process of the topology circuit under resistive, capacitive and inductive loads and the voltage clamping effect when the solid-state switch does not work properly in the discharge process are analyzed in detail. The power supply is composed of an adjustable DC power supply, five-stage half-bridge Marx generator and control protection circuit. A field programmable gate array (FPGA) is used as the controller to generate control signals, and optical fiber isolation is used to provide control signals for the main loop. The power supply can output a high-voltage square wave pulse with a voltage amplitude of 10 kV, maximum pulse number of 1000 per second, maximum pulse width of 20 μs, pulse rise time of smaller than 300 ns and short pulse drop time, and the repeated voltage amplitude, frequency and pulse width are adjustable, which can meet the requirements of a high-voltage pulse sterilization experiment.

Control system of high-voltage pulse power supply for compact torus injector based on EPICS

The Compact Torus Injector (CTI) is a magnetic confinement fusion device feeding system, which injects the excited compact toroidal plasma into the target device at high speed, and controls the fuel injection and injection speed to achieve optimal control of the density pressure profile of the magnetic confinement fusion device. As the important subsystem of the CTI, the CTI High-Voltage Pulse Power Supply (HVPPS) system consists of five sets of power supply. This paper uses EPCIS as a development platform to design the control system of the CTI HVPPS which realizes timing sequential control, status detection, parameter setting and read-back status of the CTI power supplies with different communication interfaces and protocols. The discharge experiments are performed on the CTI. The experimental results prove that the control system meets the real-time control requirements of CTI devices for HVPPS. (Abstract)

Novel High Power Pulsed Mode Operation of Commercial Continuous-Wave Magnetron

In this article, for the first time, we proposed and studied the operation of industrial 1 kW continuous-wave (CW) S-band magnetrons in a high-power pulsed mode. It turns out that these devices in standard version have a superior pulsed performance: range of stable regulation of pulse power with high efficiency up to 8 kW, pulse duration from <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.3~\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to continuous mode, and repetition rate of at least 1 MHz. The possibility of forming sequences of paired pulses with an adjustable time shift from <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1~\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> has been demonstrated. The parameters are provided both in the free-running and injection-locking modes. A specialized high-voltage pulse power supply (PPS) with adjustable parameters was designed for measurements. On a passive resistive load, the PPS provides output high voltage of 4.0–5.2 kV, output current up to 3 A in pulse and 0.5 A in average mode, pulse duration from <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.1~\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , pulse edges less than 0.1 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , and repetition rate up to 1 MHz. The effect of limiting the pulsed microwave power by emission current was detected for the first time. The investigated CW magnetrons in pulsed mode can be used in microwave technology, accelerator equipment, and for research purposes.

Многофункциональная система визуализации на основе лазера и усилителя яркости на парах бромида меди

A multifunctional system meant to image the surface of energetic materials during combustion based on copper bromide vapor gain media is proposed. The system allows quickly implement various methods of active visualization and is based on a high-speed video camera, an illuminating laser, and a copper bromide vapor brightness amplifier. Depending on imaging needs, the main components of the system can be configured as a laser-illuminating system, a single-channel laser monitor, or a laser monitor with synchronous laser illumination. A high-voltage pulsed power supply allows connecting both one laser tube and two at the same time, while switching operating modes can be carried out on- the-fly. The source generates one or two synchronized sequences of high-voltage pulses for pumping gasdischarge tubes with a voltage of up to 6 kV and a frequency of 20 kHz. Due to the use of gas discharge tubes with independent control of temperature parameters, the operating modes with a pump power of 500–700 W for each channel can be realized. To generate pump pulses for laser media, a two-channel thyratron circuit for the direct discharge of storage capacitors were used, charged by a common stabilized voltage source provided by a step-down pulse stabilizer and a pulse shaper for charging storage capacitors based on a bridge inverter. A transistor modulator with adjustable delay lines carries out synchronization of the laser illumination and the brightness amplifier in the mode with synchronous laser illumination with an accuracy of ±1 ns.The experimental data of the system operation in various modes are presented. The imaging results for the surface of mixtures of metal nanopowders during combustion, obtained with various configurations of the laser system, are presented.

The controllable synthesis of NiO/Ni/C nanosheets via pulsed plasma in ethylene glycol solution for oxygen evolution electrocatalysis.

NiO-based composites exhibit high catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, high-performance NiO/Ni/C nanosheet catalysts were obtained by liquid-phase pulsed plasma (LPP), which was generated between two nickel electrodes in ethylene glycol (EG) solution by a homemade high-voltage pulse power supply. Melted nickel nanodrops were ejected from nickel electrodes which were bombarded by the energetic plasma. Simultaneously, high-temperature nickel nanodrops promoted the decomposition of the organics which were converted in the EG solution by the catalysis of LPP and formed hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets. Due to the high surface energy of the hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets, the spherical particles of Ni/NiO were adsorbed on the surface to compose the NiO/Ni/C composites. The pore size distribution of the composites could be controlled with different EG concentrations. When the EG concentration was 10 vol% (EG30), the composites possessed a H2 + H2 + H3 type pore size distribution and maximum active site area, leading to an exceptional OER activity (289.2 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm-2).

Fusion power supply advances by the J-TEXT engineering team

To meet the stringent requirements of the fusion power supply for large-scale fusion devices, the J-TEXT engineering team has carried out key technology research and applications in several important directions of fusion power supply. This article presents the advances made by the J-TEXT engineering team in recent years in the following areas: (1) a high-voltage power supply for an auxiliary heating system; (2) a breakdown protection device for an auxiliary heating power supply; (3) magnetic field compatibility; (4) a high-voltage pulsed power supply for a field-reversed configuration; (5) a large physics experimental facility control system. The research backgrounds, technical progress, test results, applications, summaries and prospects are described in detail in each part. These innovative research results and valuable engineering experience can promote the progress of fusion power supply technology, and also lay a foundation for the development of power supplies with higher parameters in the future.

A Prototype High-Voltage Pulsed Power Supply for Control of the ITER Shattered Pellet Injection System Flyer Plate Valve

A high-voltage pulsed power supply (HVPPS) has been designed, prototyped, and tested for driving an eddy current actuated propellant valve for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) disruption mitigation system. The high-voltage (HV) dc supply output voltage is software programmable, and the energy storage capacitor bank can be readily reconfigured as 200, 400, 600, and 800 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{F}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , enabling testing and optimization of both the valve drive and valve systems. Multiple system parameters are monitored before, during, and after each firing of the valve. The system parameters are both displayed and stored for further analysis. Control of the setup, firing sequence, and data collection is automated using a LabVIEW-based control program. The programmability and reconfigurability of this system collectively provide a flexible and robust platform for system refinement and optimization. In this article, a summary of the system will be provided including operational sequences, HV switching and associated triggering methods and circuits, and results measured while firing a solid frozen pellet. In addition, planned refinement activities toward meeting all requirements for ITER integration will be discussed.

Modular pulsed power supply for characterization of high-power microwave devices.

Developing a robust and reliable high-voltage (HV) pulse power system (PPS) is essential for the characterization and testing of microwave tubes and industrial applications. This paper presents the design, simulation, and implementation of a modular and versatile high-voltage pulse power supply used in microwave device characterization and testing. A microcontroller-based digitally controlled pulse generation unit is also developed to generate the trigger pulses for high-voltage switching modules to control the turn-ON and turn-OFF of the switching devices. The digitally controlled pulse generation unit provides better resolution of pulse width, pulse repetition frequency, and system protection over the entire range of operations. The pulse generation and control circuit controls the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and pulse wide (PW). The PRF and PW can be varied from 100 to 1000Hz and 10 to 100 µs, respectively. The experimental prototype with ten series-connected high-voltage modules is connected to achieve a 25kV pulsed output voltage. The experimental results of HV-PPS on a resistive dummy load and 5GHz klystron tube are presented in this work.

Optical Wave Microphone Measurement and Visualization of Pressure Waves Generated From a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Element Driven by a High-Voltage Pulse Power Supply

In this study, pressure waves generated by applying a pulsed high voltage (HV) to a surface dielectric barrier discharge element were measured using optical wave microphone. The authors conducted experiments by changing parameters, such as the magnitude, polarity, and repetition rate of the applied pulsed voltage, and the distance between the laser of the optical wave microphone and the electrode of the surface discharge element. In the measurements at different distances between the laser and the electrode, the propagation of pressure waves was observed, and the propagation speed could be estimated. Measurements taken within 4 mm from the HV electrode suggested the influence of shock waves due to significant intensity and propagation speed above the speed of sound in air. Furthermore, the sound field of the surface discharge driven by the pulsed HV was measured by using the optical wave microphone computer tomography (CT) scan technique, and the two-dimensional sound field distribution was made.

Improvement and test of high-voltage pulsed power supply for HFRC

Field-reversed theta-pinch (FRTP) is commonly used to form high-performance field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasmas, and it is employed for the initial plasma formation in the HFRC device. The high-voltage pulsed power supply which is used to feed the θ-pinch coils in HFRC has already demonstrated its importance for initial plasma formation. This paper presents two attempts to improve the performance of the high-voltage pulsed power supply. To reduce the space occupation and increase the accuracy of the triggers of hydrogen thyratron, a newly designed high-voltage floating trigger is proposed in this paper. Experimental tests show that the optimized trigger can work stably under a floating voltage of 35 kV with a voltage rising rate of about 12 kV/μs and a total jitter time of less than 60 ns. Besides, a high-voltage laminated busbar is proposed to reduce the stray parameters. Experimental tests show that it can withstand a voltage of 34 kV. The peak current and frequency of each branch of the power supply are increased by at least 10%. Tests of the entire power supply show that the power supply can work stably under a voltage of 34 kV. The oscillation frequency of the Pre-Ionization (PI) branch can reach 152.0 kHz and the peak current of the Main branch can reach 78.3 kA. The results show the validity and reliability of the improvements.

A modular switched-capacitor voltage multiplier-based multi-module high-voltage pulse generator for electrostatic precipitators applications

Due to the severe impacts of climatic change, many recent developments in air cleaning systems have received an increasing attention. The best solution for expelling pollutant particles, met in industrial and commercial applications, is the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). One of the key components in the ESP system is the high-voltage power supply. Many recent studies have proven that the sectionalization of industrial ESPs enhances their particle collection efficiency. Consequently, this paper proposes a new modular switched-capacitor voltage multiplier-based multi-module high-voltage pulse power supply. In the proposed configuration, the two different patterns of output pulse are adopted. The proposed scheme is characterized by its modular structure and its capability of providing two isolated high-voltage pulse generators for each two ESP bus sections from one low-voltage AC source with an adjustable repetition rate, a controllable pulse width, and the desired values of the base and pulse voltages. A detailed illustration and simulation results are presented for the proposed approach. A comparative study is presented to elucidate the advantages of the proposed topology in contrast with the existing topologies. Finally, a -1.2-kV, 0.36-kW experimental setup has been built to show the viability of the proposed concept.

Investigation of stimulated growth effect using pulsed cold atmospheric plasma treatment on Ganoderma lucidum

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) driven by pulsed high-voltage power has specific advantages in various fields, such as the growth promotion of edible fungi in plasma agriculture. Compared with other strains, Ganoderma lucidum has the significant advantage of high medicinal value, but the shortcomings of low yield, long growth cycle, and an uneven market quality. In this study, Ganoderma lucidum was treated with a CAP powered by a homemade pulsed high-voltage power supply. Three groups of Ganoderma lucidum were treated under different conditions. The stalk lengths and pileus areas of Ganoderma lucidum were recorded to evaluate growth status. Results showed that treatment frequency affected growth status considerably. Ganoderma lucidum was treated with 40 s plasma once a week and showed an improved growth status with a 33.63% increase in average stalk length and a 28% increase in the number of individuals whose pileus areas was greater than the average. Meanwhile, the growth speed was accelerated. However, treatment at an excessive frequency would damage and slow down the growth of Ganoderma lucidum.

Decomposition of Saccharides and Alcohols in Solution Plasma for Hydrogen Production

Solution plasma or in-liquid plasma, which is generated by gas-phase discharge within bubbles in a solution, is an exciting reaction field for biomass conversion. However, it is not fully elucidated how the solution plasma works to degrade biomass or how biomass is degraded in it. In this study, various saccharides and alcohols, mainly sucrose, were treated in solution plasma using a high-voltage pulse power supply to study the degradation mechanisms. Hydrolysis and gasification were observed in the solution-plasma treatment of sucrose. The former was mainly influenced by the water temperature, and the latter was mainly influenced by the discharge power. Therefore, it was inferred that hydrolysis occurred in the hot-compressed water region around the plasma, and gasification occurred at the interface between the plasma and water. Gasification of saccharides and alcohols produced H2-rich gases, but gasification was faster for high-volatility alcohols and slower for non-volatile saccharides. The formation of H2-rich gas can be attributed to H2 formation by the water–gas shift reaction of CO and direct H2 formation from water, in addition to H2 from the sample.

A unipolar compact nanosecond pulsed power supply with high power factor for dielectric barrier discharge applications.

A high voltage with a very short duration and fast rising time is beneficial to generate uniform and diffuse plasma in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) loads, and a power supply with a high power factor (PF) can reduce the impact on the power grid. According to two requirements, a unipolar high voltage pulsed power supply with power factor correction (PFC) is proposed in this paper. The power supply consists of a unipolar pulse high voltage generating unit, a PFC unit, and a driving circuit. By introducing a feedback clamping diode and a reverse current blocking diode in a flyback converter, repetitive nanosecond pulses are generated in the unipolar pulse high voltage generating unit. Because a discontinuous current mode strategy is adopted in the PFC unit and the driving signal is shared by the two units, a compact structure of the power supply is achieved, and a high PF is obtained. To validate the proposed pulsed power supply, an experimental setup is built for a DBD excimer lamp. The results show that the proposed power supply has the capability of not only providing a unipolar nanosecond pulse high voltage for the DBD excimer lamp but also achieving PF close to 1 and total harmonic distortion of less than 24%.

Decomposition of hexane and benzene by dielectric barrier discharge plasma and reaction temperature: Comparison of performance of DC nano-second pulsed power supply and AC high voltage power supply

The VOC decomposition performance of a dielectric barrier discharge plasma powered by a DC nano-second pulsed power system was compared with that of an AC high voltage power system. Benzene and hexane were selected as a representative aromatic VOC and a chain-structured VOC, respectively, and the decomposition of each VOC was conducted at the same applied voltage in both systems. The energy of electrons released from the plasma was analyzed, and the ozone production ability was evaluated under a constant applied voltage at different temperatures. Compared with AC high voltage system, the DC nano-second pulsed power system had about 32 times, 26 times, and 30 times better performances for ozone production yield, benzene decomposition yield, and hexane decomposition yield, respectively. For benzene decomposition, the ring cleavage reaction was constant at all reaction temperatures. On the other hand, the mineralization of hexane was largely improved by higher temperatures, because the dehydrogenation reaction was accelerated. Consequently, benzene decomposition was easier than hexane decomposition at the same energy.

Energy Yield and Removal Efficiency of NO x Curtailment Process With High Voltage Pulse Powered DBD Electrode Configurations

Experimental investigation on the NO_<i>x</i> removal efficiency and energy yield (EY) of eight dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor configurations is done in this work. A high voltage pulsed power supply developed in the laboratory is used to generate nonthermal plasma (NTP) in the reactors with eight types of electrodes varying in shape and dimensions. Simulated NO_<i>x</i> gas with a concentration of 350 ppm is passed at a flow rate of 8 l/min through the reactors. Different pulse voltage amplitude and repetition rate are applied to the reactors for generating NTP in the confined airgap. Gas concentrations at the inlet and outlet, applied voltage, and voltage across the monitoring capacitance were measured at each of these operating points. Corresponding discharge power, specific energy density (SED), NO_<i>x</i> removal efficiency, and EY were calculated. NTP treatment without any catalysts/adsorbents attained NO_<i>x</i> removal efficiency of 95&#x0025; and above using screw thread electrode, 5 mm rod electrode, pipe electrode and coiled wire electrode configurations. But considering the discharge power, SED, and hence the EY of the process, DBDs with pipe electrode and wire electrode were found to be effective with lower energy consumption. Based on this observation, the selection of appropriate DBD configuration and electrical input parameters can be made according to the intended EY for a specific process.

The Research on Megahertz High-Voltage Pulsed Power Supply Based on Delay Drive Control

The nanosecond pulse generator, which works continuously at megahertz repetition rate, plays an important role in high-energy accelerators, electromagnetic biological effects, pulse laser modulation, and other fields. However, due to its own frequency limitation, a single SiC MOSFET switch cannot reach the required frequency. The use of multichannel MOSFET will make the drive control become more complex, thus facing more serious electromagnetic interference at high frequency. In this article, the method of pulse superposition is used to realize the output of megahertz pulse. At the same time, a delay driving circuit applied to the megahertz pulsed power supply is proposed. This solid-state hardware delay is carried out by using the deep saturation principle of the transistor, and multiple switches can be driven by only one signal. To verify its working principle, the experimental prototype is built which is composed of two modules. A single module contains two switches in parallel to achieve frequency superposition. Two modules are connected in series to increase the output voltage. The results show that the circuit can work stably at 1-MHz frequency. The repetitive pulse output with amplitude of 1.5 kV and pulsewidth of 320 ns can be obtained on the resistive load. Adding a truncated signal under a capacitive load, it can also achieve a voltage output with frequency of 1 MHz.