PSEUDOSPARK DISCHARGE IN LONG-TIME CURRENT PULSE - ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND RECOVERY PHENOMENA

At high currents, the performance of triggered vacuum gaps is limited by the constriction of the are discharge on the anode, In a symmetrica l system within flat electrodes, a motionless anode spot appears in fr ont of the trigger spark. A pseudo-spark system within electrode cavit ies and specific gas pressure provides a good mechanism for avoiding a node spot phenomena, It appears possible to obtain a high intensity di ffuse discharge. In this paper, we present the experimental measuremen ts of the instantaneous voltage and discharge current, (peak current l ess than 50 kA, discharge time between 20 and 300 mu s). These measure ments allow us to determine the dynamical resistance, mean voltage and energy lost during the conduction phase, Consequently, we refine our knowledge of discharge development, Additionally we present a compleme ntary investigation on quenching behavior.