DECADE QUAD DESIGN AND TESTING STATUS

The Decade Quad (DQ) is a high power generator that will be built at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Tullahoma, Tennessee by the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA). The DQ will consist of four independent command triggered pulsed power modules. The building at AEDC has been completed and has the capacity to accommodate up to four DQ machines for a total of 16 modules. Two full power modules (DM1 and DM2) have been built and tested to verify the Decade design at PRIMEX Physics International. Each module consists of a 5’70 kJ Marx generator that pulse charges a water transfer capacitor. The transfer capacitor discharges into a water output line through an array of six parallel triggered gas switches. The water output line then pulse charges the inductive store/opening switch pulse compression stage. When the opening switch opens, the inductive store discharges into an electron beam bremsstrahlung diode load. Two full power prototype modules have been built and tested into electron beam bremsstrahlung loads. Over 3508 mdchine shots have been taken on the two modules. The measured pulsed power and the radiation output performance from the single module has been used to predict the radiation output from the Decade Quad. The new machine will be capable of producing 16 krads(Si) over a 2250 cm2 test area with a 47 ns radiation pulse width. A future upgrade of the Decade Quad is planned to provide the capability to drive imploding plasma radiation loads for soft (1-5 keV) x-ray production. A design sketch of the Decade Quad pulsed power configuration for driving a plasma radiation source has been completed. The Decade Quad circuit model has been coupled to an imploding load model to quantify the effects of the I x Mot voltage on the pulsed power system and to estimate the kinetic energy delivered to the load. A range of implosion times and inductances were assessed to determine the optimum low risk design configuration.