Experimental and theoretical studies of effective power supplies for plasma loads of the pulsed plasma accelerator type are presented. Increasing the power supply of plasma loads while maintaining the conditions of their matched operation and, as a result, increassing the total energy input into the plasma formations of a pulsed plasma accelerator, is an urgent research task. The comparative characteristics of the accelerator operation when using power sources based on capacitive storages and spiral-type explosive magnetic generators with a current pulse generation device are presented. A technique that allows working out the optimal operating modes of a pulsed plasma accelerator by conducting a series of preliminary experiments with high-voltage capacitive storages and calculations based on semiempirical models is described in order to proceed to explosive experiments with a generator in the future. The aim of this approach is to matched the output parameters of explosive magnetic generators with the dynamics of plasma motion in the accelerator. A series of laboratory experiments on the efficient transfer of energy from explosive magnetic generators to a pulsed plasma accelerator at current levels in the plasma load of over 3.5 MA is presented.

Explosive-magnetic generators (EMGs) unlike capacitive storages (CSs), as a rule, have growing power. The effective operation of pulsed plasma loads, such as pulsed plasma accelerators (PPAs), plasma foci, plasma breakers, etc, can be provided at realization of the mentioned advantage of EMG as a power source. A technique of laboratory experiments with PPA is presented in this paper. The experiments with PPA powered by CS precede the explosive experiment with EMG. The dependencies of the load operation modes on the start parameters are determined by the analysis of the experimental data. They included the dynamics of the inductance and the position of the current shell inside the PPA. The technique allows reducing the number of expensive explosive experiments and supplements the database of nonlinear dependencies of the load parameters under various amplitudes of the current pulse that is important for mathematical modeling. The technique based on experiments together with the estimations allowed solving the problem of matching of non-linear loads type PPA with EMG. Thus, the productivity of experiments with EMG increases greatly. The developed technique can be adapted to a wide class of nonlinear loads.

In this paper, we consider the model of engineering calculation for the matching of the explosive-magnetic generators (EMG) and pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA) at amplitudes of currents reaching 2.5 MA. The main features of the model are taking into account the dynamics of change in the inductance of PPA and the using of the concentrated mass approximation for the current shell. The taken assumptions were checked by experimental data on real PPA powered by EMG. It is shown that the built model has sufficient accuracy for preliminary calculations for design and installation of such technique.

A model of a high-power current pulse generator based on an explosive magneto-cumulative generator with electrically exploded copper-conductor breakers capable of generating a powerful electromagnetic pulse impact in a limited space of 16 m3 is described. An experimental setup has been constructed that contains tools for diagnostics of the parameters of the electromagnetic pulse impact. The results of experimental studies in the form of measured pulse values of the current in and voltage across the load are presented. An electric field intensity of ~0.5 MW/m has been achieved. The rate of the increase in the magnetic field density reached 0.12 T/μs.

Experimental models of microsecond duration powerful generators of current pulses on the basis of explosive magnetic generators and voltage impulse generator have been developed for the electromagnetic pulse effects on energy facilities to verify their stability. Exacerbation of voltage pulse carried out through the use of electro explosive current interrupter made of copper wires with diameters of 80 and 120 μm. Experimental results of these models investigation are represented. Voltage fronts about 100 ns and the electric field strength of 800 kV/m are registered.

A mobile testing complex prototype on the basis of an explosive magnetic generator (MTC EMG) is developed to simulate a lightning current pulse. The main element of this complex is a current pulse generator comprising a EMG with a pulse transformer for energy release into the load. The electric chain of the MTC EMG is theoretically analyzed taking into consideration energy losses in active resistances in the primary circuit of the transformer and the inductive-resistive nature of the load, which resulted in the minimization of energy losses in the primary circuit depending on the electric chain parameters. It was found that, if the energy losses are minimized, the efficiency of transferring the EMG energy into the load exceeds 50%. As a result of the field tests of the MTC EMG, its basic characteristics were determined and the waveforms of the current pulses and voltages in the load were obtained. It is shown that the results of the mathematical simulation of current pulses in the load are in good agreement with the experimental data.

The results of experimental study of two-stage explosive magnetic generator with magnetic flux trapping (EMG MFT) and opening switch in the primary circuit are presented. It was shown that this type of generator demands less than 3 μs to achieve the maximum of current derivative (30 - 100 kA/μs) and maximum of the output voltage. The generators with such parameters are necessary for a number of loads, for example, for the plasma accelerator with growing inductance. At the same time the problem of emerging surge in the secondary circuit of the generator was solved through the introduction of a separate single-turn closing switch with high breakdown voltage. The comparison of the performance of two types of EMG MFT is described. The first type generator was with opening switch in the primary circuit, the second one was without breaking of the primary circuit. They had approximately the same initial input parameters (inductances of the primary and the secondary circuits and the coupling coefficients) and the same inductance of model load - 1.16 μH.

Results are given of theoretical and experimental investigations of schemes of matching of magnetocumulative generator (MCG) and load, which include a helical MCG, storage inductance coils, solid-state switch, and explosive current breaker. Magnetocumulative generators in combination with constant and variable storage inductances are developed and investigated. The results of numerical studies are checked in experimental runs under a model load with inductance of 100 nH and under a load with variable inductance. The possibility is demonstrated of using the MCG developed as the effective power supply for a pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA).

Представлены результаты теоретических и экспериментальных исследований схем согласования взрывомагнитного генератора (ВМГ) и нагрузки, включающих спиральный ВМГ, накопительные индуктивности, твердотельный замыкатель и взрывной прерыватель тока. Pазработаны и исследованы ВМГ в сочетании с постоянными и переменными накопительными индуктивностями. Расчетные исследования проверены в экспериментальных пусках на модельную нагрузку с индуктивностью 100 нГн и на нагрузку с переменной индуктивностью. Показана возможность применения ВМГ разработанной конструкции в качестве эффективного источника питания импульсного плазменного ускорителя (ИПУ).