Double-Pole High Voltage High Current Switch

摘要

Substantial research has been done to find the best power supply to drive the Naval railgun. Inertial energy storage using rotating machines, high voltage and low voltage capacitors, and batteries have been candidates. Low voltage capacitors and batteries are, or may soon be, possible energy sources. These low voltage energy sources would require a pulse forming inductive network (PFIN) to transform the low-voltage electrical energy to power appropriate for the railgun. The PFIN electrical setup requires an opening switch that would carry high currents (50 kA) for times greater than 0.1 seconds and that could open against such high currents (circuit interruption). This thesis proposes a mechanical vacuum switch with an externally applied magnetic field to divert charged particles to an auxiliary electrode. A prototype switch suitable for H 5 kA has been designed but not yet tested. Computational results suggest that very large magnetic fields (>1T) may be required to divert heavy charged particles, e.g. Cu+.