Design of a replacement Marx generator for the Mevex x-ray machines

A replacement Marx generator for one of AWE's flash radiographic machines is required to mitigate component obsolescence. The design uses twelve 250 nF capacitors to charge a 14 nF Blumlein to 700 kV. For ease of maintenance the generator is removable from the oil tank by use of a rail system. Electrostatic codes have been used to design a new earthing system with access to the hidden capacitor terminals. The paper describes the design and the results of the Marx construction and high voltage commissioning into a resistive load.