X-ray imaging and 3D reconstruction of in-flight exploding foil initiator flyers

Journal Article · Tue Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4953681· OSTI ID:22596826

Hodgin, R.; Lauderbach, L.; Bagge-Hansen, M.; May, C.; Buuren, T. van ^[1]; Sanchez, N.; Jensen, B. J. ^[2]; Iverson, A. ^[3]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
3. National Security Technologies, LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193 (United States)

Exploding foil initiators (EFIs), also known as slapper initiators or detonators, offer clear safety and timing advantages over other means of initiating detonation in high explosives. This work outlines a new capability for imaging and reconstructing three-dimensional images of operating EFIs. Flyer size and intended velocity were chosen based on parameters of the imaging system. The EFI metal plasma and plastic flyer traveling at 2.5 km/s were imaged with short ∼80 ps pulses spaced 153.4 ns apart. A four-camera system acquired 4 images from successive x-ray pulses from each shot. The first frame was prior to bridge burst, the 2nd images the flyer about 0.16 mm above the surface but edges of the foil and/or flyer are still attached to the substrate. The 3rd frame captures the flyer in flight, while the 4th shows a completely detached flyer in a position that is typically beyond where slappers strike initiating explosives. Multiple acquisitions at different incident angles and advanced computed tomography reconstruction algorithms were used to produce a 3-dimensional image of the flyer at 0.16 and 0.53 mm above the surface. Both the x-ray images and the 3D reconstruction show a strong anisotropy in the shape of the flyer and underlying foil parallel vs. perpendicular to the initiating current and electrical contacts. These results provide detailed flyer morphology during the operation of the EFI.

• OSTI ID: 22596826
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALGORITHMS
ANISOTROPY
BRIDGES
CAMERAS
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DETONATORS
ELECTRIC CONTACTS
EXPLOSIONS
FOILS
IMAGES
METALS
MORPHOLOGY
PLASTICITY
PULSES
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
X RADIATION