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This paper is aimed at finding the effect of varying inductive energy storage systems’ (IESSs) inductance on resistance of an electrically exploded conductor-based opening switch and profile of current transferred into load, which has not yet been fully understood. Based on experimental results obtained, it is observed that when the inductance of IESS is varied, the magnitude of load current changes so as to conform to the magnetic flux conservation law but its rise time remains unchanged. Resistance of the opening switch and energy deposited in it has been estimated using recorded voltage and current waveforms. It has been found that with increasing inductance of IESS, the resistance of switch increases, whereas energy deposited in it decreases. Using these estimated values of energy, a possible explanation of observed behavior in resistance is presented. Effect of a mismatch between the inductance of IESS and load is seen to only affect the energy transfer efficiency or magnitude of load current but not its rise time emphasizing the novel finding that for a given load, the rise time of load current is independent of the inductance of IESS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the testing of a commercially available gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) for application in inductive-store power supplies. GTOs have been used as a component of inductive-store systems directly and as part of compound switches. These GTOs are generally available commercially and typically have extensive datasheets. However, the inductive-store application differs significantly from conventional switching applications, which significantly reduces the utility of the datasheets; GTOs are typically used at 100–1000 Hz in a fairly continuous manner, whereas in an inductive-store system, a GTO may be conducting for a relatively long time before doing a single turn off. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]