Experience of Pseudospark Switch Operation in Pulse Power Applications

Abstract

The paper demonstrates the results of TDI1-200k/25SN-P pseudospark switch (PSS) developed by Russian company "Pulsed Technologies Ltd" application. PSS was used in pulsed power unit intended for electric-discharge fracture of rocks and concrete blocks and splitting off from monolith. The pulsed power unit has a pulse current generator with the capacity of 560 [mu]F, stored energy of up to 63 kJ, operating voltage of up to15 kV, current pulse amplitude of up to 200 kA and pulse duration more than 200 [mu]sec. The study also shows the current waveforms determined in the short-circuit experiment of the pulse current generator and in the experiments of the electric-discharge fragmentation of concrete at the charging voltage of 13 kV. PSS was operated in ringing single-pulse mode with the exceedance of more than two maximum permissible parameters: current pulse amplitude, current pulse duration and maximum pulse energy. Internal electrode erosion of PSS is shown and possible reasons of asymmetric current feed are discussed.