Repetitive operation of water-filled Blumlein generator

A water-filled Blumlein generator was operated at different repetition rate s of up to 15 Hz, and its temporal performance was investigated. The Blumle in generator having an impedance of 10 Omega provides a rectangular voltage pulse with an amplitude of 200 kV and a duration of 75 ns into a matched l oad. The resistance of the water in the line decreases quickly at > 10 Hz d uring a continuous operation for an hour and results in a decrease in the o utput voltage of the Blumlein line. The generator works with a repetition r ate of up to 6 Hz without serious degradation in the voltage, while the ave raged power density dissipated in the water is approximately 40 mW/cm(3). T he increase in the water temperature during operation is only a few degrees . This implies that the resistive heating of the water is not the dominant cause of the decrease in the water resistance. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.