Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13:

Helical magnetic flux compression generators (HFCGs) have been in use for about five decades. There remain limitations to their performance. Recently and for the first time, calculations of high accuracy of HFCG output have been made. The calculated results assume that there are no electrical breakdowns in the generator resulting in a decrease of flux delivered. It has been very difficult to build high performance generators within desired size constraints as a result. The goal of the Phase I effort is to be able to design and build HFCGs that can operate at higher voltages than are presently achieved. Reaching this goal has required the development of advanced computational tools that allow the calculation of all the vector components of both the electrostatic and inductive internal electric fields within the generators, and identification and understanding of the primary reason, or reasons, for field-induced breakdown. Using the two existing 2D codes, FlexPDE and CALE, calculations were completed on the constant pitch region of a HFCG and the results incorporated into CAGEN. We have achieved our goals: the complete inclusion in the model code CAGEN for predicting the electric fields within an explosively powered helical flux compression generator. We accomplished this task by using purely two-dimensional physics equation solutions from the trademarked code FlexPDE.