The conceptual design of 100-kA pulsed magnetic field generator for magnetized high-energy-density plasma experiments

TL;DR

This paper details the conceptual design of a high-energy pulsed magnetic field generator capable of producing 32-T magnetic fields for high-energy-density plasma experiments, significantly surpassing previous capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel high-voltage pulser design with increased energy storage and current delivery for stronger magnetic fields in plasma experiments.

Findings

Capable of generating 32-T magnetic fields.

Uses a 30 kV, 5 μF capacitor bank with spark gaps.

Achieves a 1 μs rise time for high-current pulses.

Abstract

This paper presents the conceptual design of a high-voltage pulser intended to generate 30-T magnetic fields for magneto-inertial fusion experiments at the OMEGA facility. The pulser uses a custom capacitor bank and two externally triggered spark gaps to drive a multi-turn coil. This new high-voltage pulser is capable of storing 10 times more energy than the previous system, using a higher charge voltage (from 20 to 30 kV) and a larger capacitance (from 1 {\mu}F to 5 {\mu}F). Circuit simulations show that this pulser can deliver 100 kA into a 60-nH, 14-m{\Omega} coil with a rise time of 1 {\mu}s. For a coil with 2 turns with an average coil diameter of 7.8 mm, this current translates into a 32-T peak magnetic field at coil center. This is a factor of three increase in the peak magnetic field compared to the present generator magnetic field capabilities.