Modelling the pulsed power, inductive voltage adder, machine: PIM, using a transmission line code

Summary form only given. PIM is an X-ray generating pulsed power machine capable of voltages around 3 MV and currents of 40 kA in 80 ns pulses. It comprises a Marx generator feeding a single Blumlein pulse forming line; the pulse then propagates in parallel into two inductive cells, which add the voltage in series onto a magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL). At the end of the MITL an electron beam diode converts the electron beam energy into Bremsstrahlung X-rays. The work described involved creating a circuit model of the machine capable of being easily modified to aid in the design of modifications optimising the voltage pulse for increased electron beam performance. The code has now been used for this purpose and been extended for use on other machines at AWE.