We are currently developing a high explosive pulsed power system concept that we call Ranchero. Ranchero systems consist of series-parallel combinations of simultaneously initiated coaxial magnetic flux compression generators, and are intended to operate in the range from 50 MA to a few hundred MA currents. One example of a Ranchero system is shown in Fig. 1. The coaxial modules lend themselves to extracting the current output either from one end or along the generator midplane. We have previously published design considerations related to the different module configurations,l and in this paper we concentrate on the system that we will use for our first imploding liner tests, a single module with end output. The module is 1.4-m long and expands the armature by a factor of two to reach the 30-cm OD stator. Our first heavy liner implosion experiments will be conducted in the range of 40-50 MA currents. Electrical tests, to date, have employed high explosive (HE) charges 43-cm long. We have performed tests and related lD MI-ID calculations at the 45-MA current level with small loads. From these results, we determine that we can deliver currents of approximately 50 MA to loads of 8 NH.
