Enhanced Convergence of a Cylindrical Shockwave

Abstract

The observation and analysis of shockwaves generated by the electrical explosion of cylindrical wire arrays made of either copper or aluminum wires in water and water-peroxide solutions are reported. Experiments were carried out using a us-timescale/sub-µs-timescale generators delivering ∼370/520 kA pulse with $1.2/0.33\ \mu \mathrm{s}$ rise-time at ∼ 10/17 nH inductive load. In the experiments, almost critically damped or fast decayed under-damped discharges were tested for wire explosions by changing the wire's diameter and keeping the wire's length constant.