Diagnostics for exploding wires (abstract)
- Pulsed Power Physics Branch, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5320 (United States)
- University of California, Irvine, California (United States)
Two diagnostics, capable of imaging fast, high temperature, plasmas were used on exploding wire experiments at UC Irvine. An atmospheric pressure nitrogen laser ({lambda}=337.1 nm) was used to generate simultaneous shadow and shearing interferogram images with a temporal resolution of {approximately}1 ns and a spatial resolution of 10 {mu}m. An x-ray backlighter imaged the exploding wire 90{degree} with respect to the laser and at approximately the same instant in time. The backlighter spatial resolution as determined by geometry and film resolution was 25 {mu}m. Copper wires of diameters (25, 50, and 100 {mu}m) and steel wire {ital d}=25 {mu}m were exploded in vacuum (10{sup {minus}5} Torr) at a maximum current level of 12 kA, by a rectified marx bank at a voltage of 50 kV and a current rise time (quarter period) of 900 ns. Copper wires which were cleaned and then resistively heated under vacuum to incandescence for several hours prior to high current initiation, exhibited greater expansion velocities at peak current than wires which had not been heated prior to discharge. Axial variations on the surface of the wire observed with the laser were found to correlate with bulk axial mass differences from x-ray backlighting. High electron density, measured near the opaque surface of the exploding wire, suggests that much of the current is shunted outward away from the bulk of the wire. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 295644
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980605-; ISSN 0034-6748; TRN: 99:001830
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 70, Issue 1; Conference: 12. topical conference on high-temperature plasma diagnostics, Princeton, NJ (United States), 7-11 Jun 1998; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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