Magnetic insulation of electron flow in curved transmission lines
- Berkeley Research Associates, Springfield, VA (United States)
- Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
- Science Applications International Corp., McLean, VA (United States)
Magnetically insulated transmission lines with curved sections are often used to transport electrical power in pulsed power generators. These sections can have substantial current losses, which are difficult to model accurately with circuit codes. The authors study the electron flow in curved transmission lines with the particle-in-cell code ISIS. ISIS is formulated using nonorthogonal boundary-fitted coordinates that allow the computational mesh to conform to the conductors. The authors examine a triplate transmission line with a 90{degree} degree bend. Two dimensional simulations with and without the bend show that the critical current for magnetic insulation agrees with the predictions from Brillouin flow within a constant factor of 1.6. They also find that the impedance of an electron beam diode decreases when the diode is attached to a transmission line with a bend compared to when the same diode is attached to a straight transmission line. This appears to result from additional power reflection off the bend in the transmission line and from changes in the vacuum electron flow launched in the bend and the diode. They will also examine the transition from a coaxial to a triplate transmission line.
- OSTI ID:
- 42958
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940604--; ISBN 0-7803-2006-9
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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