The Influences of Low Temperature on System Performance of Inductive Pulsed Power Supplies

To improve the efficiency of inductive pulsed power supplies (IPPS), liquid-nitrogen (LN
₂
) cooling has been recommended to limit the energy loss. However, the low-temperature environment not only significantly reduces the resistances of the inductors but also slightly reduces their inductances. To fully evaluate the overall impacts of low temperature, eight performance indices are proposed, i.e., charging time T
₀
, efficiency η, primary/secondary current multiplication ratio m
₁
/m
₂
, ratio between the maximum capacitive energy and the total inductive energy η
_C
, maximum voltage across the main switch U
_Sopm
, muzzle velocity proportional term ∝ v, and total energy loss caused by the inductors' internal resistance E
_R
. Using the typical slow transfer of energy through the capacitive hybrid circuit topology as an example, a semianalytical parametric analysis method is proposed to analyze this multiparameter problem. The results indicate that whether indices m
₁
, η
_C
, and U
_Sopm
will be improved or worsened after adopting low temperature depends on specific system parameters, while the other five indices will be improved for any inductor and system parameter. Furthermore, by using a theory of equivalent inductance, the results are explained qualitatively. A test platform that introduces the LN
₂
cooling is established for verification, and the results agree well with the theory. The proposed semianalytical method can also be extended to any time subsection circuit topologies of IPPS for the performance analysis.