Effects of Electron Flow Current Density on Flow Impedance of Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines

In modern pulsed power systems, magnetically insulated transmission lines (MITLs) are used to couple power between the driver and the load. The circuit parameters of MITLs are well understood by employing the concept of flow impedance derived from Maxwell's equations and pressure balance across the flow. However, the electron density in an MITL is always taken as constant in the application of flow impedance. Thus effects of electron flow current density (product of electron density and drift velocity) in an MITL are neglected. We calculate the flow impedances of an MITL and compare them under three classical MITL theories, in which the electron density profile and electron flow current density are different from each other. It is found that the assumption of constant electron density profile in the calculation of the flow impedance is not always valid. The electron density profile and the electron flow current density have significant effects on flow impedance of the MITL. The details of the electron flow current density and its effects on the operation impedance of the MITL should be addressed more explicitly by experiments and theories in the future.