Research and Production of Plasma Disruptive Switches in EAST Poloidal Field Power Supply Finished

Recently, components of large-current gate tube switches in EAST poloidal power supply system were manufactured and assembled successfully. Now, it enters the phase of batch production.  The switch is only the fast direct-current gate-tube switch in China with the segmented DC of 15 KA and the segment time of 4 ms. Due to this, ASIPP obtained two items of patents. 

In the EAST poloidal power supply system, there are 12 plasma disruptive switches. Main parameters are rating DC of 15 KA, rating voltage of 2.4 KV, and ground pressure resistance of 5 KV. Before this, the switch could only be bought in foreign countries with the price of 25 million. So the team of poloidal field power supply decided to made by themselves.

To make the switch is not so easy, for it is a switch of non-standard and the structure is also complicated. No sample could be found for reference. With the support from leaders of ASIPP and EAST project headquarters, researchers and workers in the team of poloidal field power supply tried every effort to cooperate with the manufacturer. In the manufacturing process of 3-year,  problems were all solved successfully. Now all the switches has been transported to ASIPP before the National Day.  (Gao Ge and Shi Lin report.)