Project : MEGAVOLT GENERATOR
Project name: MegaVolt impulse generator
Object: The objective of this study is to propose replacement solutions for nuclear electromagnetic pulse generators developed in the 1980s-1990s by defining innovative solutions combining modernization and non-polluting technologies.
Start date: October, 2020
End date: September, 2023
Coordinator: CEA Gramat / Benjamin LASSALLE
Scientific manager at the SIAME: PECASTAING Laurent
Permanent members of the SIAME involved: RIVALETTO Marc
Contract Type: CEA thesis in the framework of the Common Lab SAGE
Partner(s) : CEA/Gramat
Project description
In order to study the interaction of an electromagnetic pulse with the systems (military or civil), the CEA Gramat implements various large experimental simulators. The voltage sources associated with these simulators were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. They are composed of an antenna fed by a Mega-Volt class pulse generator made up of a Marx generator associated with two temporal compression stages (Transfer stage and Peaking stage) allowing to reach very fast rise times (of the order of the billionth of a second). The electrical insulation, the compactness and the rise time performances of these sources are essentially based on the performances of the SF6 gas (sulfur hexafluoride). Nevertheless, this gas has a major disadvantage. It is a greenhouse gas approximately 23000 times more harmful than CO2.
The objective of this study is to propose solutions to replace these generators by defining innovative solutions combining modernization and non-polluting technologies. These solutions must allow to obtain equivalent performances, but also certain evolutions and substantial improvements compared to the current means.
