Preliminary Results of 1.5 kJ Mather-Type Plasma Focus with Stainless Steel Anode

A new low energy (1.5 kJ) Mather-type dense plasma focus, called Sahand University of Technology Dense Plasma Focus (SUT-DPF) device has been designed, constructed and operated. The paper reports on the preliminary results with argon as filling gas. A Rogowski coil has been used to measure the experimental discharge current. The current signal contains a set of data from physical processes in the device as well as discharge current characteristics. The device circuit parameters were calculated using the short-circuit test. In a typical discharge experiment, these values were obtained: the discharge period was 15.4 ± 0.1 μs, the discharge current 100.8 ± 0.7 kA, the total inductance of the device 197 ± 3 nH and electrical resistance of circuit 11.3 ± 1 mΩ. The Rogowski coil sensitivity was obtained 49.65 ± 0.3 kA/V. A resistive voltage divider was also used to measure the transient voltage across the plasma. The experimental results showed that the pinch time at a constant pressure of the argon gas, decreased by increasing the charging voltage. The optimum pressure for 5, 6.5 and 7.5 kV obtained 0.75, 1 and 1.5 mbar, respectively.