Plasma Flow Switch Experiments On The Pegasus Facility

Plasma flow switch experiments conducted on Pegasus have shown that a conducting layer of plasma shunts the load slot preventing efficient switching of current to the load. This effect is seen computationally. The magnitude of the effect depends on the specific parameters of the switch plasma and current level. Computations have also shown that a plasma boundary layer 'trap' would effectively remove enough plasma from the inner conductor of the power flow channel so that efficient switching would occur. This plasma trap has been successfully demonstrated when used with a static load. It has not yet been tested with an imploding load.