The Atlas pulsed power facility for high energy density physics experiments

The Atlas facility, now under construction at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), will provide a unique capability for performing high-energy-density experiments in support of weapon-physics and basic-research programs. Here, the authors describe how the primary element of Atlas is a 23-MJ capacitor bank, comprised of 96 separate Marx generators housed in 12 separate oil-filled tanks, surrounding a central target chamber. Each tank will house two, independently-removable maintenance units, with each maintenance unit consisting of four Marx modules. Each Marx module has four capacitors that can each be charged to a maximum of 60 kilovolts. When railgap switches are triggered, the Marx modules erect to a maximum of 240 kV. The parallel discharge of these 96 Marx modules will deliver a 30-MA current pulse with a 4-5-ys risetime to a cylindrical, imploding liner via 24 vertical, tri-plate, oil-insulated transmission lines. An experimental program for testing and certifying all Marx and transmission line components has been completed. A complete maintenance module and its associated transmission line are now under construction and testing.