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Stan’s Legacy

VIC5 - 8x Extreme HV Plate

Extreme high voltage 8-cell series configuration for specialized experiments.

From the archive's library.

The parts

The drive no drive was saved with it; these are the engine's defaults

kHz

The pulse frequency the loop is driven at.

V

The peak voltage applied across the loop — after the transformer, if there is one.

%

How much of each pulse period the drive is on.

Hz

The slow gate switching the pulse train on and off.

%

How much of each gate period the pulses are let through.

Separate, or on one core with fields aiding or opposing.

How much of one choke's flux threads the other. Zero for separate cores.

From the parts

Every number handed to the simulation that you did not type, and where it came from. Each derivation that ran a calculation links to that calculation's page with these numbers in, so it can be checked alone.

  • σ On the way 390.6 µS/cm

    Tap Water (Hard)'s conductivity, from its dissolved solids reading.

    Dissolved solids to conductivity

  • L₁ Charging choke 38.54 mH

    The charging choke's inductance: 100 turns on PC40 Ferrite Pot Core (μᵣ 2300, 0.8 cm², 6 cm path).

    Inductance of a winding on a core — 1 note on that page

  • L₂ Blocking choke 38.54 mH

    The blocking choke's inductance: 100 turns on PC40 Ferrite Pot Core (μᵣ 2300, 0.8 cm², 6 cm path).

    Inductance of a winding on a core — 1 note on that page

  • R Series resistance 0.4123 Ω

    Series resistance, added up: Bifilar Choke 2 - 100T AWG18 (Finish-Finish) 0.0962 Ω + Bifilar Choke 2 - 100T AWG18 (Finish-Finish) 0.0962 Ω + Plate - 8x Series (Extreme HV) 0.22 Ω. Wiring and connections are not counted.

  • C Cell capacitance 3.39 nF

    One pair of plates of Plate - 8x Series (Extreme HV) — 309.6768 cm² at a 6.35 mm gap — in tap water (typical).

    Flat-plate cell capacitance and field

  • C Cell capacitance 423.7 pF

    8 such cells in series. The inductance handed to the array calculation is the two chokes added plainly, for its resonance figure only; the capacitance does not depend on it.

    Multi-cell array — 2 notes on that page

  • Cell leak resistance 41.99 Ω

    The leak across one pair of plates, from its geometry and Tap Water (Hard) at 391 µS/cm. 8 such cells in series: 8 times that.

    Leak resistance across a plate cell — 1 note on that page

  • V Drive amplitude 60 V

    The drive amplitude of 12 V stepped up through Forward Mode 1:5 Step-Up (100:500). The 1 A primary current given to the ratio calculation is for its current figures only; the voltage ratio does not depend on it.

    Transformer step-up to the cell

  • Both chokes are recorded as bifilar windings, but the arrangement is set to independent. If they share a core, choose an aiding or opposing arrangement and a coupling coefficient.

Result

f₀ Resonant frequency 27.85 kHz

Where the loop — both chokes and the cell — actually rings. Compare with the drive frequency.

L Loop inductance 77.07 mH

Both chokes together, with the mutual term if they are coupled.

M Mutual inductance 0 mH

Signed: positive aiding, negative opposing, zero if independent.

Z Characteristic impedance 13.49 kΩ

√(L/C) — what the loop looks like at resonance before resistance.

Q Q factor 32712

How sharp the resonance is against the series resistance.

U Resonant rise 1963 kV

The cell voltage at resonance — Q times the drive.

ζ Damping ratio 1.528e-5

Below 1 the loop rings after each pulse; above 1 it sags.

τ Decay time constant 373.9 ms

How fast the ring dies away.

I Peak current 1.834 mA

What the drive pushes at the drive frequency, not at resonance.

W Average power 0.3466 µW

Dissipated in the resistance, averaged over pulses and gate.

n Pulses per gate 50

How many pulses arrive before the gate closes.

S Staircase peak 60 V

Where the step-charge staircase tops out against the leak, after n pulses.

With your numbers
27.85kHz=12π77.07mH·423.7pF
LaTeX
27.85\,\mathrm{kHz} = \frac{1}{2\pi \sqrt{77.07\,\mathrm{mH} \cdot 423.7\,\mathrm{pF}}}

Worth knowing

  • Q factor and voltage rise — A Q of 32712 is very high for a circuit with water in it, and implies a bandwidth of only 0.8514 Hz. Confirm the series resistance includes the cell’s own losses — using just the choke’s winding resistance is the usual way to arrive at a Q like this on paper and not on the bench.
  • Q factor and voltage rise — A predicted 1963 kV across the cell is past where insulation, standoffs and the water itself hold up. Check the field strength across the gap before trusting this.
  • Current and power under a pulsed drive — The drive is at 0.36× the loop's resonance (27.9 kHz). The net reactance of -32.7 kΩ is what limits the current here, not the resistance; on resonance the same drive would push 146 A.
  • Step charging accumulation — Only 0% of the voltage survives between pulses, so there is no staircase — each pulse is very nearly starting from nothing. The cell is discharging through the water faster than it is being charged.
  • Step charging accumulation — The burst reaches 2% of what perfect retention would give. Raising the drive frequency shortens the gap between pulses and helps; raising the water resistance helps far more.
  • The drive is at 10 kHz and the loop rings at 27.9 kHz — 0.36× resonance. The resonant rise of 1963 kV above is what this loop would do driven on resonance; at the drive frequency the cell sees the drive through -32.7 kΩ of reactance instead. Either move the drive or change a choke so the two agree.

This result is a link — the address bar holds your numbers, so it can be pasted into a post and opened to the same answer.

The working, step by step

  1. The drive as timing: how long each pulse is, how many fit inside one gate, and what fraction of the time the drive is on.

    With these numbers
    100µs=110kHz50µs=100µs·50%10050=50%100·10kHz100Hz25%=50%·50%100
    LaTeX
    100\,\mathrm{µs} = \frac{1}{10\,\mathrm{kHz}} \qquad 50\,\mathrm{µs} = 100\,\mathrm{µs} \cdot \frac{50\,\mathrm{%}}{100} \qquad 50 = \left\lfloor \frac{50\,\mathrm{%}}{100} \cdot \frac{10\,\mathrm{kHz}}{100\,\mathrm{Hz}} \right\rfloor \qquad 25\,\mathrm{%} = \frac{50\,\mathrm{%} \cdot 50\,\mathrm{%}}{100}

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  2. 2. Two chokes on one core

    L 77.07 mH

    The two chokes as the loop sees them — their sum, plus or minus the mutual term if they share a core.

    With these numbers
    0mH=±038.54mH·38.54mH77.07mH=38.54mH+38.54mH+2·0mH38.54mH=38.54mH+0mH
    LaTeX
    0\,\mathrm{mH} = \pm 0 \sqrt{38.54\,\mathrm{mH} \cdot 38.54\,\mathrm{mH}} \qquad 77.07\,\mathrm{mH} = 38.54\,\mathrm{mH} + 38.54\,\mathrm{mH} + 2 \cdot 0\,\mathrm{mH} \qquad 38.54\,\mathrm{mH} = 38.54\,\mathrm{mH} + 0\,\mathrm{mH}

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  3. Where that inductance and the cell ring.

    With these numbers
    27.85kHz=12π77.07mH·423.7pF
    LaTeX
    27.85\,\mathrm{kHz} = \frac{1}{2\pi\sqrt{77.07\,\mathrm{mH} \cdot 423.7\,\mathrm{pF}}}

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  4. How sharply, against everything resistive in the loop, and how far the cell voltage rises above the drive on resonance.

    With these numbers
    32712=10.4123Ω77.07mH423.7pF1963kV=32712·60V
    LaTeX
    32712 = \frac{1}{0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω}}\sqrt{\frac{77.07\,\mathrm{mH}}{423.7\,\mathrm{pF}}} \qquad 1963\,\mathrm{kV} = 32712 \cdot 60\,\mathrm{V} \qquad 0.8514\,\mathrm{Hz} = \frac{27.85\,\mathrm{kHz}}{32712}
    • A Q of 32712 is very high for a circuit with water in it, and implies a bandwidth of only 0.8514 Hz. Confirm the series resistance includes the cell’s own losses — using just the choke’s winding resistance is the usual way to arrive at a Q like this on paper and not on the bench.
    • A predicted 1963 kV across the cell is past where insulation, standoffs and the water itself hold up. Check the field strength across the gap before trusting this.

    Open this step on its own page, with these inputs

  5. 5. Damping and ringdown

    ζ 1.528e-5

    What happens after each pulse: whether the loop rings or sags, and for how long.

    With these numbers
    1.528e-5=0.4123Ω2423.7pF77.07mH373.9ms=2·77.07mH0.4123Ω27.85kHz=12π177.07mH·423.7pF1373.9ms223976=ln10π·10.4123Ω77.07mH423.7pF
    LaTeX
    1.528e-5 = \frac{0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω}}{2} \sqrt{\frac{423.7\,\mathrm{pF}}{77.07\,\mathrm{mH}}} \qquad 373.9\,\mathrm{ms} = \frac{2 \cdot 77.07\,\mathrm{mH}}{0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω}} \qquad 27.85\,\mathrm{kHz} = \frac{1}{2\pi} \sqrt{\frac{1}{77.07\,\mathrm{mH} \cdot 423.7\,\mathrm{pF}} - \frac{1}{373.9\,\mathrm{ms}^{2}}} \qquad 23976 = \frac{\ln 10}{\pi} \cdot \frac{1}{0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω}} \sqrt{\frac{77.07\,\mathrm{mH}}{423.7\,\mathrm{pF}}}

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  6. What the drive is asked for at the frequency it actually runs at — which is the resonance only if the two agree.

    With these numbers
    -32.72=2π10kHz·77.07mH12π10kHz·423.7pF32.72=0.4123Ω2+-32.7221.834mA=60V32.721.386µW=1.834mA2·0.4123Ω0.3466µW=1.386µW·25%1000.06932nJ=1.386µW·50µs
    LaTeX
    -32.72\,\mathrm{kΩ} = 2\pi 10\,\mathrm{kHz} \cdot 77.07\,\mathrm{mH} - \frac{1}{2\pi 10\,\mathrm{kHz} \cdot 423.7\,\mathrm{pF}} \qquad 32.72\,\mathrm{kΩ} = \sqrt{0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω}^{2} + -32.72\,\mathrm{kΩ}^{2}} \qquad 1.834\,\mathrm{mA} = \frac{60\,\mathrm{V}}{32.72\,\mathrm{kΩ}} \qquad 1.386\,\mathrm{µW} = 1.834\,\mathrm{mA}^{2} \cdot 0.4123\,\mathrm{Ω} \qquad 0.3466\,\mathrm{µW} = 1.386\,\mathrm{µW} \cdot \frac{25\,\mathrm{%}}{100} \qquad 0.06932\,\mathrm{nJ} = 1.386\,\mathrm{µW} \cdot 50\,\mathrm{µs}
    • The drive is at 0.36× the loop's resonance (27.9 kHz). The net reactance of -32.7 kΩ is what limits the current here, not the resistance; on resonance the same drive would push 146 A.

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  7. The pulse train against the cell and its leak: does the charge accumulate into a staircase, or drain away between pulses?

    With these numbers
    0.01779µs=41.99Ω·423.7pF0=e100µs/0.01779µs60V=60V·105010
    LaTeX
    0.01779\,\mathrm{µs} = 41.99\,\mathrm{Ω} \cdot 423.7\,\mathrm{pF} \qquad 0 = e^{-100\,\mathrm{µs}/0.01779\,\mathrm{µs}} \qquad 60\,\mathrm{V} = 60\,\mathrm{V} \cdot \frac{1 - 0^{50}}{1 - 0}
    • Only 0% of the voltage survives between pulses, so there is no staircase — each pulse is very nearly starting from nothing. The cell is discharging through the water faster than it is being charged.
    • The burst reaches 2% of what perfect retention would give. Raising the drive frequency shortens the gap between pulses and helps; raising the water resistance helps far more.

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What this looks like

Resonant frequency against cell capacitance Cell capacitance swept from 0.212 nF to 0.636 nF with everything else held at your numbers. The dashed lines cross where you are.
Resonant frequency against cell capacitanceResonant frequency falls from 39.4 kHz to 22.7 kHz as cell capacitance rises from 0.212 nF to 0.636 nF. At your cell capacitance of 0.424 nF it is 27.9 kHz.20253035400.20.30.40.50.60.70.424 nF27.9 kHzCell capacitance (nF)Resonant frequency (kHz)
The formula behind the curve
f₀=12πL·C
f₀
Resonant frequency, Hz
L
Loop inductance, mH
C
Cell capacitance, nF
LaTeX
f₀ = \frac{1}{2\pi \sqrt{L \cdot C}}
What moves the answer Each input moved 10% either way, with the others held still, and the effect on resonant frequency.
What moves the answerResonant frequency is most sensitive to Cell capacitance, which moves it by about 5.41% for a 10% change. It is least sensitive to Cell leak resistance, at about 0%.Change in the answer when each input moves by 10%-10%-5%5%10%Cell capacitance±5.41Charging choke±2.6Blocking choke±2.6Coupling coefficient±0Series resistance±0Drive frequency±0Drive amplitude±0Pulse duty±0Gate frequency±0Gate duty±0Cell leak resistance±0
The formula behind the curve
f₀=12πL·C
f₀
Resonant frequency, Hz
L
Loop inductance, mH
C
Cell capacitance, nF
LaTeX
f₀ = \frac{1}{2\pi \sqrt{L \cdot C}}

Open the bare numbers — the same simulation on its own page, every derived value editable.