Pressure Environments Created by Wires Exploded in Water

Abstract

Due to the increasing application of underwater electrical explosions to such fields as metal forming and sonar, the study of the pressures created by such discharges is steadily gaining importance. This paper presents the results of experiments in which a capacitor discharge circuit under various initial conditions was used to explode a 3-in. length of thin wire submerged in fresh water, and the resulting pressure at a particular range was recorded as a function of time using calibrated hydrophones and oscilloscopes. The entire pressure sequence of initial pulse and subsequent bubble pulses is discussed. The effect on the shape and amplitude of the initial pressure pulse of varying discharge circuit conditions such as initial capacitor voltage, total capacitance, and inductance is also presented. Initial capacitor voltages were varied up to 20 kv, and total stored energy in the bank was varied up to 300,000 joules.