Study of the Energy Source Based on Helical MCG with Simultaneous HE Charge Axis Initiation

Magnetic cumulative generators are powerful sources of magnetic energy pulses. The duration and shape of current pulses produced by these generators are within a rather narrow range that is governed by the detonation rate of the strongest high explosives used in these generators. To generate current pulses having different shapes and duration over a wide load range, various arrangements and devices matching generator and load parameters are applied. To attain these ends, such arrangements and devices may use inductive coupling of the generator contour with the load contour, storage of the magnetic energy produced by MCG and its switching onto the load using breaking units of electrically exploding wires or explosive current and various plasma-erosion opening switches. The main objective of these arrangements and devices is to generate a load current pulse of the required shape, whose power would be comparable or higher than the MCG power. When using breaking units of electrically exploding copper wires (EEW), the current source power gain is rather low [1]. Therefore, to generate high power energy pulses fast MCGs should be used. Helical magnetic cumulative generators with simultaneous high explosive charge axis initiation (HSMCG) make it possible to generate power energy pulses on the loads having rather high inductance (several microhenries) with the voltage pulse amplitude of several hundred kilovolts. A short contour deformation time of these MCGs (~10 mus) allows various generator current contour breaking units to be used efficiently for generating current pulses in the load with the rise time of 1 mus and less. This paper presents the experimental results of studies into HSMCG where the initial field was generated using an external solenoid and the flux capture scheme [2,3]. The generator operated into the load that included the inductive storage and the current contour breaking unit. The construction diagram of this generator is shown in fig.1.