HERMES II was a high-voltage, gamma-ray simulator at Sandia National Laboratories. The picture below is an artist's depiction of HERMES II. It consists of an oil-filled, Blumlein, pulse-forming, transmission line that drives an electron-beam accelerator. A Marx generator drives the Blumlein. A Marx generator is a capacitor bank that has the capacitors charged in parallel and discharged in series. A Marx generator can produce very high voltage pulses. The HERMES II Marx generated a 10 MV pulse.

More than a decade after HERMES II entered service as a valuable national asset, its Marx generator was failing. Moreover, replacement capacitors were unavailable. Dr. McClenahan managed the project to replace the Marx generator. He designed the Marx, based on a proven design used at Sandia. He planned and managed the project from beginning to end. Finally, He directed the experiments to bring the new Marx on line. The new Marx came on line months ahead of schedule and performed more reliably than the original Marx. It extended the life of HERMES II for more than a decade.

The photograph on the right depicts the replacement Marx inside the HERMES II tank. It consists of 16 rows of eight capacitors. Each row hangs from the top of the, insulating, oil tank by two polyethylene straps.

We have a wealth of experience using and developing Marx generators. We can design one for you. Click on the link below to discuss your needs with us.

Dr. McClenahan has a wealth of experience in High-Voltage, Pulsed Power and Plasma and Nuclear Physics. Furthermore, he is an accomplished programmer and database developer. Click here to see his.

Dr. McClenahan has a wealth of experience in High-Voltage, Pulsed Power and Plasma and Nuclear Physics. Furthermore, he is an accomplished programmer and database developer. Click here to see his.

While at the U. S. Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Dr. McClenahan was the project officer for the Shiva electromagnetic implosion experiments on the 1 MJ fast capacitor bank depicted bellow. Dr. McClenahan developed the first successful imploding plasma load fielded on the 1 MJ bank. He also developed the first, successful, low-inductance, imploding-plasma load for the 1 MJ bank. We are well versed in the design and diagnosis of high-power, fast, capacitor banks. We can design and build voltage, current, and timing diagnostics. Let us help us with your needs. Click on the link below to contact us and discuss your needs.

We are familiar with opening switch technology. While at the U. S. Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Dr. McClenahan performed experiments aimed at developing copper-foil fuses as fast-opening switches. The illustration below depicts the cross section of the fuse design he developed.

From these experiments, we developed design criteria for copper foil fuses. These criteria allow a user to design a fuse, based on the required performance. We also determined the limits of validity for these criteria. Furthermore, we developed a computer code that accurately models the time-dependent behavior of these fuses within the validity limits.

We have designed and built slow capacitor banks to drive magnetic fields. We know how to trigger and crowbar capacitor banks. Moreover, we can diagnose all aspects of the capacitor bank and magnetic field.