Systems and Methods for Dicharging Electrical Energy

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein provide for igniting or disabling explosive devices through the generation of strong electrical fields and/or the discharge of electrical energy. In one embodiment, a remotely controlled vehicle is provided to remotely detonate or disable improvised explosive devices. The vehicle may contain a high-voltage power supply powering a Tesla coil. The secondary coil of the Tesla coil is attached to an electrode that is swept across an area where an explosive device may be present. The strong electric field around the electrode may induce current within an explosive device or wires connected thereto resulting in the explosive device being ignited or disabled. Discharges from the electrode may directly ignite explosive material or disable detonation control circuitry. The electrode may be located distal to the vehicle and the vehicle itself may be hardened to enhance survivability in the event of an explosion in proximity to the electrode.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vehicle for use in depositing electrical energy with a target, including:
 a high voltage power supply that provides high-voltage electrical energy; and   an electrode coupled to the high voltage power supply to discharge the high-voltage electrical energy through air and deposit the high-voltage electrical energy with the target.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further including a controller that controls delivery of the high-voltage electrical energy from the high-voltage power supply to the electrode. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 2 , wherein the target includes an explosive and the high-voltage electrical energy discharges from the electrode to ignite the explosive. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 2 , further including a switch coupled to the controller, wherein the controller generates a control signal to operate the switch, wherein the switch couples the high voltage electrical energy from the high voltage power supply to the electrode based on the control signal. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 4 , wherein the switch is a thyratron. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 5 , further including a thyratron driver coupled to the thyratron operable to heat a cathode of the thyratron to oscillate current through the diode array. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle of  claim 4 , further including at least one coaxial cable coupled at a first end to a conduction terminal of the switch to transfer the electrical energy from the switch to the electrode. 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one coaxial cable includes a length to distally position the switch from the electrode, wherein the position prevents damage from an explosion proximate to the electrode. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further including a transformer coupled between the electrode and the high voltage power supply, wherein the transformer steps up a voltage of the electrical energy. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle of  claim 9 , wherein the transformer includes a loosely-coupled transformer. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the loosely-coupled transformer includes a Tesla coil. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the loosely-coupled transformer includes a core filled with Sulfur Hexafluoride. 
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the Sulfur Hexafluoride suppresses discharges from a first coil of the transformer to a second coil of the transformer. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the electrode includes a discharge region positioned distal to the vehicle to discharge electrical energy to the target at a position distal to the vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the discharge region is positioned at an angle other than normal to the vehicle to increase interaction time with the target. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the high-voltage power supply is operable to provide DC electrical energy having a voltage of about 10 kilovolts. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is a land vehicle and the target is buried beneath a surface of the land, on the surface of the land, or above the surface of the land. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further including a grounding chain operable to couple the vehicle to natural ground and complete a circuit path for the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further including a pivotable connecting member operable to sweep the electrode over a ground surface. 
     
     
         20 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the high voltage power supply includes:
 a thyratron operable to pulse the high voltage electrical energy to the electrode;   a capacitor coupled to the thyratron; and   a diode array coupled between the thyratron and the electrode, wherein the capacitor forms a resonant circuit for the high voltage power supply and wherein the diode array provides oscillation of the high voltage electrical energy through the resonant circuit when the thyratron is switched on.   
     
     
         21 . The vehicle of  claim 20 , further including a container that encloses the thyratron. 
     
     
         22 . The vehicle of  claim 21 , further including transformer oil disposed within the container to cool the thyratron. 
     
     
         23 . The vehicle of  claim 20 , further including a Tesla coil coupled between the diode array and the electrode. 
     
     
         24 . The vehicle of  claim 23 , wherein the Tesla coil includes a primary coil having an inductance of about 35 microhenries. 
     
     
         25 . The vehicle of  claim 24 , wherein the Tesla coil includes a capacitor bank having a capacitance of about 220 nanofarads. 
     
     
         26 . The vehicle of  claim 25 , wherein the capacitor bank has a ground reference connection common to the diode array coupled to a plurality of coaxial cables. 
     
     
         27 . The vehicle of  claim 26 , wherein the Tesla coil includes a secondary coil coupled to the electrode discharge the electrical energy. 
     
     
         28 . The vehicle of  claim 27 , further including a shielding to protect the Tesla coil. 
     
     
         29 . The vehicle of  claim 28 , wherein the shielding includes Kevlar to protect the Tesla coil from projectile damage. 
     
     
         30 . The vehicle of  claim 23 , wherein the Tesla coil includes an insulation region between a primary coil and a secondary coil, and wherein the insulation region includes sulfur hexafluoride. 
     
     
         31 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the target includes electronics and wherein the high voltage electrical energy is operable to disable the electronics of the target. 
     
     
         32 . A vehicle for use in transferring electrical energy to a target, including:
 a high voltage power supply that provides high-voltage electrical energy;   an electrode coupled to the high voltage power supply to transfer the high-voltage electrical energy through air to the target; and   a controller operable to pulse delivery of the high-voltage electrical energy from the high-voltage power supply through the electrode to the target.   
     
     
         33 . The vehicle of  claim 32 , wherein the target includes electronics and wherein the high voltage electrical energy is operable to disable the electronics of the target. 
     
     
         34 . The vehicle of  claim 32 , wherein the target includes an explosive and wherein the high voltage electrical energy is operable to ignite the explosive. 
     
     
         35 . A method of igniting or disabling an explosive comprising the steps of:
 remotely piloting a vehicle to a position proximate to an explosive device;   energizing a Tesla coil attached to the vehicle to generate high-voltage at an electrode attached to the vehicle; and   discharging electrical energy from the electrode to the explosive device, wherein the electrical energy ignites or disables the explosive device.