Research
Presently, the Plasma, Power Electronics, and Pulsed Power Research Programs are Funded at nearly $4,500,000 per year. The work conducted at the Center For Pulsed Power and Power Electronics focuses on:
- Electrical space propulsion devices
Shape Charge Research Video Clip - Breakdown in liquids and solids
- Industrial applications of pulsed power technology
- Various novel switch concepts
- The interaction of arc channels with electrodes and insulators
- High power microwave studies
- The surface physics of insulators
- Electrodes and insulator development for electromagnetic launchers
- Insulators for H.V. applications in space
- Solid state power electronics
- Erosion resistant materials for space propulsion
- Sub-nanosecond pulse phenomena
- Electron beam generation
- Inductive Energy Storage
- Explosive Generation of Pulsed Power
- Explosive magnetic flux compression generators
- Explosive ferromagnetic and piezoelectric generators
- Corona formation and mitigation
- Circuit and rotating machine modeling
- Liquid Breakdown
Some past program examples in the Texas Tech University Pulsed Power Laboratory:
- Relativistic Klystron Development (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DOD MURI)
- Nanosecond and Sub-Nanosecond Breakdown of Dielectric Media (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DOD MURI)
- High Power Microwave Breakdown of Dielectric Interfaces (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DOD MURI)
- Development of High Current Triggered Vacuum Spark Gaps (Primex Physics International/US Army)
- High Efficiency Power Supplies for Electric Propulsion Thrusters (NASA/BMDO)
- Insulator Properties at Cryogenic Temperature (Wright Aeronautical Laboratories/BMDO)
- Solid State Cryoelectronics Design (Wright Aeronautica Laboratories/BMDO)
- Expendable Pulsed Power and High Power Microwave Devices (Air Force Office of Scientific Research)
- Solid State Opening Switches (TTU Center for Energy Research)
- Cylindrically Symmetric Vircators (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/AASERT)
- Power Electronics for Space Propulsion (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/BMDO/AASERT)
- High Speed Diagnostics for High Power Microwave Research (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DURIP)
- Ultra Clean Vacuum System for High Power Microwave Research (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DURIP)
- Laboratory Building Extension (NSF/State of Texas)
New programs in the Texas Tech University Pulsed Power Laboratory (1997-1998):
- Explosively Driven Pulsed Power for Directed Energy Munitions (Air Force Office of Scientific Research/DOD MURI)
- Inductive Energy Storage (FOA/Sweden and AFOSR/DOD MURI)
- Compact, Limited Life, HV Power Supply Design (AFRL, Phillips Site)
- Intelligent (Adaptive) Power Supply Design for Hall Effect Electric Space
- Propulsion Thrusters (Army Research Office/BMDO/AASERT)
- Compact Pulsed Space Propulsion Thrusters (NASA LeRC)
Programs in the Texas Tech University Pulsed Power Laboratory (1998-1999):
- Design Methodology for Super Efficient Power Supply Design (CER/TTU)
- Commercial Chemical Spill Cleanup Using Arcjet Plasma Sources (CER/TTU)
- Control Design for Hall Effect Electric Space Propulsion Thrusters (BMDO/AFOSR)
- High Speed Diagnostic Instrumentation (AFOSR)
- Dusty Plasmas (AFOSR)
- Integrated Solid-State Laser Module Research (AFRL/WPAFB)
- High Temp Superconducting Opening Switch (FMV, Sweden)
- Ultrafast Gas Breakdown (Army SDC)
- Explosively Driven Electric Power Sources
Graduate Studies
Numerous grants and contracts support a variety of research that provides opportunities for graduate students to interact with prominent researchers in industry and at national laboratories. These associations are valuable to the research in progress and the long term benefits are inestimable. Financial support ($2000-$2600/month per student) for graduate study is for the most part obtained from Research Assistantships and Graduate Fellowships. All supported students pay in-state tuition and part of the tuition and fees are paid.
The Center For Pulsed Power and Power Electronics at Texas Tech has generated many theses and dissertations over the past thirteen years. Plasma and pulsed power related graduate courses offered in the EE Department include:
-
Electromagnetic Field Theory
- Pulsed Power Technology
- Gas Breakdown Phenomena
- Pulsed Power Diagnostics
- Plasma Theory
- Laser Engineering
- Electrical Space Propulsion
- High Power Microwave Sources
- Power Electronics
- Machine Modeling and Control
Lab and Support Facilities
A new EE research building, largely devoted to pulsed power related research was completed in 1998. The P3E Center occupies a total floor area of over 15,000 square feet. Fifty percent of the research space is comprised of high-bay facilities.
Computer resources available to the Pulsed Power Program include several state-of-the-art WinXP MPS workstations with multi-gig memory , high-end 3-D graphics co-processors and high-speed network connections. Also available in the lab are various Pentium 4 class PC's, color and black & white laser printers, scanners, image converter cameras, mega pixel digital cameras, and a Windows domain server with redundant hard drives and domain backup server.
Software being run includes numerous "standard" and locally developed code, specialized computer codes. We also have the availability of the following codes of special interest to the proposed work:
- MAGIC -- a 21/2 -D, PIC code
- SOS -- a 3-D, PIC code
- COSMOS -- a 3-D electromagnetic code
- EMINENCE -- a 3-D electrodynamics code
- EEDF -- a Russian code for calculating the electron energy distribution in a wide range of gases and EM fields
- P-SPICE -- the professional version of a popular circuit simulation code, which enables us to do a surprisingly wide range of pulsed power systems simulations
- SHOOTER -- a Russian computer code especially designed for the study of wave propagation in corrugated structures
- ABAQUS -- Nonlinear finite element program for plastic deformation analyzers
- LSDYNA-3D -- Dynamic large deformation, finite element code
- NASTRAN -- General propose finite element code, 3-D
- TCH -- 3-D Hydrodynamics Code
- AUTOCAD -- CAD tool
- MAXWELL
- CADENCE
A representative sample of the equipment and facilities used in the pulsed power research is given below.
- Pulsed high voltage, high current diagnostic equipment, including conventional probes and optical detectors of electric fields
- Fast oscilloscopes and digitizers (up to 4.5 GHz analog equivalent)
- Capacitor banks
- Numerous spark gaps, rail gaps, ignitrons, thyratrons, and solid state switches
- Numerous high voltage, d.c. power supplies
- Various advanced field plotting and circuit analysis codes
- Marx generators (up to 2 MV)
- Blumlein generator
Facilities Clip - Line pulsed and PFN's (down to 200 ps risetime)
- Laboratory power capability: 500 kVA single outlet; 1 MVA total
- Scanning electron and optical microscopes
- A-D converters and minicomputers
- Screen rooms and high bay areas for high voltage work
- Pulsed and CW lasers with a wide range of wavelengths and power outputs
- Optical equipment, detectors, spectrometers
- Optical Multichannel Analyzers
- Image converter streak and framing cameras
- High voltage, high power loads
- Residual gas analyzers
-
Spectroradiometer
- Microwave equipment
- Rotating prism and mirror framing cameras
- Numerous vacuum stations
- Microwave interferometers
- Magnetic coil systems and associated power supplies
- Various large vacuum tanks
- FTIR-spectrometer
- Closed cycle refrigeration system
- Fluorescence detection system of CW and transient measurements
- Programmable picoammeter and voltage sources
- Febetron, 600 keV
- High power microwave equipment
- Explosive confinement chambers
- High capacity cryogenic vacuum pump system
- Infrared Imaging Camera
- Image intensifier converter
- HP Network Analyzer
