Research on plasma explosion of metal wire in water

Abstract

If a high-density energy is fed into a metal wire in water from high-pulsed power source, the metal wire will explode in a short time in a plasma state. The generated shock wave by the plasma explosion will spread out to arbitrary directions. By using a mechanical binding device or an electromagnetic binding set, the explosion process can show a propulsion effect in a presented direction. In the experiment, steel wires with different diameters and lengths are used as conductive metal load in plasma explosion. A model tube with a bottom shape of paraboloid of revolution is used as mechanical binding device to restrain the shock wave from shooting in a certain direction. The experimental results show that the pressure at sensor location increases with the energy fed into the load and decreases with the distance from the sensor to the explosion source. The energy pumped into the load is larger, the longer the acting time of pressure. It can also be viewed that the highest amplitude of pressure appears at the first peak of shock wave, and the followed peaks decreases quickly. The experimental results also show that with a proper binding method, the plasma explosion of metal wire in water can generate a significant propulsion effect.