TY - JOUR
T1 - Spectral analysis of pulsed volume breakdown in SF6 at high pressures
AU - Krile, John T.
AU - Vela, Russell
AU - Neuber, Andreas A.
AU - Krompholz, Hermann G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Manuscript received December 7, 2006; revised April 26, 2007. This work was supported by Sandia National Laboratories. The authors are with Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA (e-mail: jkrile@ieee.org; russell.vela@gmail.com; andreas.neuber@ttu.edu; hermann.krompholz@ttu.edu). Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPS.2007.902014 Fig. 1. Cross-sectional view of the LTGS with the laser-triggered gap on the right and the self-break cascading section on the left. The cascade section is where envelope failures occur [2].
PY - 2007/8
Y1 - 2007/8
N2 - The Z-machine, which is located at Sandia National Laboratories, is currently undergoing refurbishment to increase the output drive current. Due to increased switching voltage requirements, some switch failure modes have been identified with the laser-triggered gas switch design, including envelope surface flashover. In order to improve the performance and lifetime of these switches, a basic understanding of the underlying physics of the failure mechanisms is required. A small-scale experimental setup has been constructed to approximate conditions within the switch. The possible impact of the SF6 volume spark between the switch electrodes on the envelope surface flashover is investigated. Measured optical spectra of the SF6 volume spark over a wide pressure range, from rough vacuum to 40 psig overpressure, are analyzed regarding their potential to contribute to switch failure.
AB - The Z-machine, which is located at Sandia National Laboratories, is currently undergoing refurbishment to increase the output drive current. Due to increased switching voltage requirements, some switch failure modes have been identified with the laser-triggered gas switch design, including envelope surface flashover. In order to improve the performance and lifetime of these switches, a basic understanding of the underlying physics of the failure mechanisms is required. A small-scale experimental setup has been constructed to approximate conditions within the switch. The possible impact of the SF6 volume spark between the switch electrodes on the envelope surface flashover is investigated. Measured optical spectra of the SF6 volume spark over a wide pressure range, from rough vacuum to 40 psig overpressure, are analyzed regarding their potential to contribute to switch failure.
KW - Breakdown
KW - SF
KW - Spectroscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548218219&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TPS.2007.902014
DO - 10.1109/TPS.2007.902014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34548218219
SN - 0093-3813
VL - 35
SP - 1163
EP - 1169
JO - IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
JF - IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
IS - 4 III
ER -