Flux Compressors for Sub-Millisecond Pulses

Abstract

The Center for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin (CEM-UT) has been developing specialized pulsed power supplies for a variety of applications. The compensated pulsed alternator (compulsator) was invented [l] at CEMUT in 1978. At that time, it was developed as a power supply to drive laser flashlamps. Since then, due to its tremendous potential, it has been applied to diverse fields such as fusion, directed energy weapons, low frequency sound sources, electromagnetic (EM) launcher, and a variety of industrial applications. Several of these machines have been built and tested, successfully demonstrating the principle of operation. This paper provides an overview of short (< 1 ms) pulsewidth compulsators. A brief background is presented first followed by a discussion of the state of the art air-core compulsators and their capabilities. Some insight into the means of further reducing the pulse width is also provided.