ABSTRACT
Capacitor bank is the universal system being used as a pulsed power driver for generation of pulsed high current application. In pulsed power 178applications low-inductance and high-voltage capacitors are used to produce high-peak current (kA) and peak power in discharge conditions. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors have high-energy density and mainly used in power supply filters. This chapter describes the experimental analysis and behavior of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor when used to deliver pulsed high-peak current in an inductive load. With this aim we have made a 30 mF, 27 kJ capacitive storage pulsed power system with aluminum electrolytic capacitors in the laboratory. From the experiment we found that 30 mF, 27 kJ aluminum electrolytic capacitor bank delivers 35 kA peak current having a pulse duration of 850 ps when connected to a 4.5 μΗ inductive load. Solid-state switch (thyristor) is used to discharge the capacitor bank energy into the inductive load. This capacitor bank has energy/weight ratio of 1 kJ/kg. These capacitors can be used in many pulsed power applications like pulse forming system, electromagnetic launchers, rock fragmentation, and generation of pulsed high magnetic field inside a solenoid and also in space applications.
