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Design and Performance of a Plasma-Jet Triggered Graphite Trigatron Switch

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Abstract

Due to compact structure, low cost and robustness, trigatron switch is considered as one of the most compelling switch in pulsed power system. While for the high reliability demand of the high current, high coulomb transfer power system (HHPS), the trigatron switch displays a narrow operating voltage range and a degradation tendency of the trigger performance due to serious electrodes erosion. Therefore the optimization of the trigatron switch is needed to meet the demand of the HHPS. In this paper, a trigatron switch triggered by plasma-jet is designed and studied for the HHPS. The performance of the plasma-jet triggered trigatron switch was measured. The effect of the plasma jet on discharge processes was observed by using a high speed camera. The results indicated that the plasma-jet had a significant influence on widening the operating voltage range and stabilizing the trigger performance, this could be helpful to extend the lifetime of the trigatron switch in HHPS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, People’s Republic of China

    Li Chen, Yizhi Huang, Zhan Liu, Lei Xiao & Lanjun Yang

Authors
  1. Li Chen
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  2. Yizhi Huang
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  3. Zhan Liu
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  4. Lei Xiao
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  5. Lanjun Yang
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Correspondence to Lanjun Yang.

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Chen, L., Huang, Y., Liu, Z. et al. Design and Performance of a Plasma-Jet Triggered Graphite Trigatron Switch. J Fusion Energ 34, 949–953 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-015-9901-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-015-9901-z

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