Design and Preliminary Experimental Results on a Uniform-Field Test Fixture for Power Flow Experiments

Electrodes that produce a uniform electric field across their surfaces are desired for a variety of high-voltage systems including spark-gap switches and transversely excited atmospheric lasers. Here, the implementation of uniform-field electrodes to a parallel-plate load is described for the study of vacuum power flow under pulsed-power applications. We begin with an overview of general uniform-field geometries, and provide an open-source program that generates these geometries as described by Ernst. Following that, a modification to an existing power-flow experimental platform, that adopts a uniform-field geometry, is introduced and its utility is described. Lastly, preliminary experimental results are presented and future steps are outlined.. Authors: Mason, Tyler J. [University of Rochester, NY (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0009000546633406); Curry, Randy D. [I-Pulse, Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000288342608); Chavez, Cameron [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000290288444); Sarracino, Alex [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000274073304); Abere, Michael J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000239016478). DOE Contract: NA0003525; NA0004144. Subjects: Capacitors; electric breakdown; electric fields; electrodes; high-voltage techniques; magnetic insulation; plasma sheaths; power transmission lines; pulsed power systems; spark gaps