Analysis of Cygnus Electrical Signals
- Nevada National Security Site, Mission Support and Test Services LLC
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories
The United States initiated the Subcritical Experiment (SCE) program to support a stockpile stewardship mission shortly after the 1992 moratorium on underground nuclear testing was established. Many SCE’s are conducted at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nevada. Cygnus is a high-energy radiation generating device (RGD) located and operated at the NNSS and is a primary diagnostic for the SCE program. The Cygnus Dual Beam Radiographic Facility consists of two identical radiographic sources, Cygnus 1 and Cygnus 2. From creation of the high power V-I drive to energy transport and X-ray conversion at the rod-pinch diode, the Cygnus machines utilize the following components: oil-filled Marx generator, water-filled pulse-forming line (PFL), water-filled coaxial transmission line (CTL), three-cell vacuum induction voltage adder (IVA), and rod-pinch diode. The diode pulse has the following electrical specifications: 2.25 MV, 60 kA, 60 ns. Each source has the following X-ray specifications: 1 mm diameter, 4 rad at 1 m, and 50 ns radiation pulse. SCEs are both single-event and high-value; therefore, a high level of performance in reliability and reproducibility are key issues of Cygnus. Prior to executing such a SCE, there are a formidable number of shots (e.g., each of the two Cygnus RGDs charging and discharging properly into the rod-pinch diode load) that must be executed to determine reliability and reproducibility of the Cygnus RGDs. For every shot on Cygnus, voltages and currents along the machine are recorded and analyzed. In this paper we summarize attributes of the voltage and current waveforms at different locations using distribution plots. These distribution plots are used to quantify the reliability and reproducibility for Cygnus. This analysis methodology will provide a standard to trouble shoot results of individual Cygnus shots, and also to monitor long term Cygnus performance. Accordingly, this type of extensive analysis will contribute to optimized Cygnus performance on SCEs.
- Research Organization:
- Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), North Las Vegas, NV (United States); Las Vegas, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-NA0003624
- OSTI ID:
- 1558460
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/03624-0553
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2019 IEEE Pulsed Power and Plasma Science Conference (PPPS 2019), June 23-28, 2019, Orlando, Florida, USA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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