Formation of extended directional breakdown channels produced by a copper wire exploding in the atmosphere

Experimental data for switching initiated by the electrical breakdown of air gaps up to 1.9 m long with an arbitrary geometry that are produced by an exploding copper wire 90 μm in diameter are presented. At an initial voltage of 11 kV, the stored energy equals 100–2100 J. Two channel formation conditions are possible: explosion of a wire without electrical breakdown and electrical breakdown in a channel produced by an exploding wire with a delay (current pause) no longer than 250 μs. Current and voltage waveforms across the discharge gap, as well as the resistivity values, under the electrical breakdown conditions are shown. Mechanisms and conditions for streamer initiation at a mean electric field strength in the discharge gap of 5.3–17.0 kV/m are discussed. The geometrical dimensions of plasma objects in the forming channel, the run of the electrical current under breakdown, and the formation mechanism of wire explosion products are found from color microphotographs. The formation mechanism of large aerosols in the form of tiny spherical copper and copper oxide (CuO, Cu₂O) particles under wire explosion conditions is discussed.     

Numerical simulation of the initial plasma formation and current transfer in single-wire electrical explosion in vacuum

In this paper, a computational model is constructed to investigate the phenomenon of the initial plasma formation and current transfer in the single-wire electrical explosion in a vacuum. The process of the single-wire electrical explosion is divided into four stages. Stage Ⅰ: the wire is in solid state. Stage Ⅱ: the melting stage. Stage Ⅲ: the wire melts completely and the initial plasma forms. Stage IV: the core and corona expand separately. The thermodynamic calculation is applied before the wire melts completely in stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ. In stage Ⅲ, a one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics model comes into play until the instant when the voltage collapse occurs. The temperature, density, and velocity, which are derived from the magnetohydrodynamics calculation, are averaged over the distribution area. The averaged parameters are taken as the initial conditions for stage Ⅳ in which a simplified magnetohydrodynamics model is applied. A wide-range semi-empirical equation of state, which is established based on the Thomas-Fermi-Kirzhnits model, is constructed to describe the phase transition from solid state to plasma state. The initial plasma formation and the phenomenon of current transfer in the electrical explosion of aluminum wire are investigated using the computational model. Experiments of electrical explosion of aluminum wires are carried out to verify this model. Simulation results are also compared with experimental results of the electrical explosion of copper wire.     

Electrical explosion of conductors in the high-pressure zone of a convergent shock wave

The effect of the environmental pressure on the electrical explosion of a conductor (fine tungsten wire of diameter 30 μm) in an insulating liquid (distilled water) is studied. The pressure in the water is produced by exploding a multiwire array with the test conductor on its axis. Along with the experiment, the magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the explosion is carried out. It is shown that a high pressure produced in the explosion zone retards the electrical explosion of the conductor and, consequently, increases the explosion energy.     

Homogeneous electrical explosion of tungsten wire in vacuum

Experimental results on Joule energy deposition upon initiation of a fast electrical explosion of 16-μm tungsten wire in vacuum at current densities of more than 10⁸ A/cm² are reported. We have found that explosion with a fast current rise time (～170 A/ns into a short) results in homogeneous and enhanced deposition of electrical energy into the tungsten before surface flashover. The maximum tungsten wire resistivity reaches a value of up to ～185 μΩ cm before surface flashover that significantly exceeds the melting boundary and corresponds to a temperature of ～1 eV. The highest values for light radiation and expansion velocity of wire ～1 km/s were observed for the fast explosion. For the explosion mode with a slower current rise time (～22 A/ns into a short), we observed the existence of an “energy deposition barrier” for tungsten wire. In the slow explosion mode, the current is reconnected to the surface shunting discharge before melting. The maximum tungsten wire resistivity in this case reaches the value of ～120 μΩ cm, which is less than indicative of melting. Also, the energy deposition along the wire is strongly inhomogeneous, and wire is disintegrated into parts. We attribute the early reconnection of the current to the surface discharge for the slow explosion to high electron emission from the wire surface, which starts before melting.     

The current density and the specific energy input in fastelectrical explosion

The electrical explosion of wires is considered as a method for studying the behavior of materials under the conditions of fast heating. A fast electrical explosion occurs subject to the conditions that the heating time is shorter than the time required for capillary and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities to develop and that this time is longer than the time required for the current to expand throughout the wire cross section. Corresponding similarity criteria have been derived for each of the processes disturbing the uniform heating of a wire. The conditions for fast electrical explosion have been experimentally realized. The current density was varied from 10⁷-10⁹ A/cm² resulting in heating rates between 10¹⁰ and 10¹³ J/(g.s). Exploded wires of copper, nickel, tungsten, and molybdenum were investigated. These experiments have shown that the energy density introduced into the wire material depends on the heating rate (i.e., the current density). Fourfold overheating of the materials in the condensed state has been attained. It has been found that the specific current action also increases with increasing current density but to a lesser degree than the energy input     

并联金属丝提高电爆炸丝沉积能量的数值模拟

对于低气压或真空环境中的电爆炸丝,因丝沿面击穿会过早终止能量沉积过程,使丝中沉积能量(Ed)大大低于金属丝完全汽化时所需能量(Es).本文提出并联金属丝法延缓沿面击穿时刻以提高电爆炸丝沉积能量.对电流上升时间为几十纳秒、幅值约为1 kA级作用下的金属丝电爆炸过程进行了数值模拟.结果表明,在电爆炸丝两端并联一定尺寸的金属丝可降低爆炸丝端电压上升率,从而推迟电压上升过程中沿面击穿时刻,显著提高丝中沉积能量和过热系数.     

介质环境对铜丝电爆炸制备纳米粉体的影响

为了探究介质环境对电爆炸制备纳米粉体的影响, 搭建了相应的电爆炸实验平台, 以铜丝为例分别在水和不同空气压力下开展了电爆炸制备纳米粉体实验.通过Rogoswki线圈和高压探头分别测试了电爆炸过程中的电流和电压波形图.通过电压、电流及能量沉积特征分析了电爆炸的基本过程以及介质环境在电爆炸过程中的作用.运用透射电子显微镜对爆炸产物进行了粒度分析.研究发现, 介质环境对于电爆炸过程的影响主要表现在汽化化阶段以后, 包括介质对蒸汽膨胀的抑制作用, 介质的电离对于铜丝表面击穿的影响以及其对高温金属蒸汽及等离子体的冷却作用.水中铜丝电爆炸能够制备局部均匀的小尺寸纳米粉体, 粒度多数集中在10–20 nm之间, 但粉体易积聚, 且整体粒度跨越较大.空气中制备的粉体分散良好, 符合对数正态分布, 基本上分布于20–100 nm之间, 平均粒度约为40 nm.     

丝电爆过程的电流导入机理

丝电爆制备纳米粉时, 电流从电极导入金属丝的过程直接影响电极烧损和粉末中微米级大颗粒产生. 分别通过接触和气体放电两种方式导入电流进行电爆试验. 结果表明, 光测量装置检测到的丝端部光电流几乎与回路放电电流同时产生, 而中间位置的光电流则要滞后一段时间; 由探针收集的产物确定, 金属丝端部主要形成熔融粒子, 中间部分主要形成气相粒子. 分析可知, 接触方式导入电流时, 丝端部也存在气体放电现象, 大电流主要通过气体放电形成的等离子体导入. 等离子体对电流的旁路作用会阻碍能量向金属丝沉积, 这是产生微米级大颗粒和"积瘤"主要原因. 通过气体放电方式导入电流时, 电极烧损明显减轻, 并可以避免"积瘤"产生.     

Corona-free electrical explosion of polyimide-coated tungsten wire in vacuum

We present experimental evidence of corona-free electrical explosion of dielectric-coated W wire in vacuum. A fast current rise of approximately 150 A/ns and a coating of 2 microm polyimide are both needed to achieve the corona-free regime of explosion. Breakdown is absent in corona-free explosion; the wire remains resistive, and this allows anomalously high energy deposition (approximately 20 times atomization enthalpy). MHD simulations reproduce the main differences between corona and corona-free explosions. A corona-free explosion of a wire can be useful for the generation of a hot plasma column by direct energy deposition.     

Peculiarities of an Electrical Explosion of Flat Conductors in the Current Skinning Mode

Russian Physics Journal - The propagation of a nonlinear magnetic-field diffusion wave generated under the condition of an electrical explosion of flat conductors is investigated in the current...     

电爆炸法制备Fe3O4纳米颗粒及其物相研究

搭建了电爆炸金属丝实验平台,在空气中电爆炸铁丝来制备纳米金属颗粒。利用电阻分压器与Rogowski线圈来测量电爆炸过程中铁丝上的负载电压与电流。将负载电压与电流之积进行时间积分来估算沉积在铁丝上的能量。使用光电探测器对电爆炸过程中产生的等离子体发光信号进行探测。对铁丝电爆炸后形成的产物使用高倍显微镜、扫描电镜（SEM）、透射电镜（TEM）、能谱分析仪（EDS）以及X射线衍射仪（XRD）进行观测,来研究其物相特性。实验结果表明:电爆炸过程中,当铁丝由液相变为气相时,其电阻急剧增加,因此电流几乎不能流过铁丝,同时铁丝上的负载电压会趋近于电容器的初始充电电压。随着能量的持续积累,等离子体在爆炸腔中形成。由于原本被阻断的电流能够从低电阻等离子体中流过,因此电压电流波形变为欠阻尼波形。电爆炸铁丝所得的产物为Fe3O4纳米颗粒,其中大部分呈规则的球形。Fe3O4纳米颗粒的粒径主要分布在30~60 nm之间,并且符合对数正态分布。     

Surface modification and submicron structure of carbon fibers through high current pulse

This paper investigated the behavior of carbon fibers subjected to a ∼20 kA, ∼5 μs high current pulse. It was found that the broken fibers and submicron particles were generated by electrical explosion process. After high current pulsed discharge, the fiber diameter increased significantly, from 5-7 μm to ∼13 μm. Also, the surface rupture of carbon fibers with valleys of hundreds of nanometers was observed. Most notably, the submicron particles appeared with two typical shapes (near-sphere and square). The high current pulsed discharge of carbon fibers can be divided into three stages, namely, heating stage, phase change stage, and explosion stage. Indeed, the electrical explosion process occurred in the last stage of ∼200 ns. The nature behind these results is closely related to the plasma development during the explosion process. The plasma expansion due to a large plasma thermal stress leads to the incomplete explosion. In the explosion stage, the current passing through the fibers exhibited a huge fluctuation, indicating plasma instabilities. Finally, the physical mechanisms, how to affect the surface morphology of carbon fibers, are presented.     

Electrical explosion of a wire by microsecond pulses in a longitudinal magnetic field

The explosion of a tungsten wire in a weak longitudinal magnetic field is studied. The longitudinal magnetic field is shown to decrease the rate of rise of initial perturbations and to stabilize the process. This makes it possible to calibrate analytical models of conduction, equations of state, and radiation paths. Good agreement between observed and analytical electrical and optical patterns of the wire explosion and expansion is obtained.     

Numerical calculation of the current specific action integral at the electrical explosion of wires

The electrical explosion of aluminum wires is numerically simulated in the magnetohydrodynamic approximation for the current density ranging from 10⁷ to 10¹⁰ A/cm² and times to explosion varying from 10^?10 to 10^?6 s. It is shown that, at current densities of 10⁸?10⁹ A/cm², low-temperature explosion conditions change to high-temperature ones, when inertial forces preventing the wire dispersion play a decisive role. This transition is accompanied by a sharp change in the thermodynamic parameters (the temperature and the energy deposited into the wire by the instant of explosion increase by several times), and the action integral for this transition increases smoothly approximately threefold as the explosion characteristics (current density and time to explosion) change by two orders of magnitude. The instant of transition from the low-temperature explosion to the high-temperature one depends on the radial dimensions of an exploding wire and does not depend on the properties of the environment.     

真空中铝单丝电爆炸的实验研究

开展了铝单丝在负极性电流脉冲作用下电爆炸特性的研究.利用皮秒激光探针,搭建了阴影、纹影和干涉的光学诊断平台,得到了不镀膜铝丝典型的能量沉积过程,在电压崩溃时刻其沉积能量为2.4 eV/atom.为了增加金属丝内的沉积能量,开展了相同电参数及金属丝尺寸下的镀膜铝丝电爆炸实验,其沉积能量可达到5 eV/atom,实现了在电压崩溃之前铝丝完全气化(完全气化所需能量为4 eV/atom).阴影图像展示了高密度丝核区域的膨胀过程,不镀膜铝丝平均膨胀速度为2.2 km/s,而镀膜铝丝因为沉积能量大,其膨胀速度约为不镀膜铝丝的2.3倍,高密度区域膨胀速度为5 km/s.由于阴影不能反映低密度等离子体的膨胀,开展了平行双丝实验,通过测量自发光辐射,估算了低密度等离子体的膨胀速度.利用条纹相机拍摄了不镀膜铝丝电爆炸过程中自发光区域的图像.纹影图像清晰地展示了不镀膜铝丝在电爆炸过程中形成的核冕结构,而镀膜铝丝电爆炸过程中核冕结构得到了一定程度的抑制.从干涉图像计算了相移,在轴对称假设下对相移进行阿贝尔逆变换,重构了三维的铝原子数密度分布.     

爆炸电子发射边界的粒子模拟实现

 介绍了自行研制的全电磁柱坐标粒子模拟程序的电流分配方法和金属爆炸电子发射边界的模拟实现，该电流分配方法满足电荷电流连续性方程，避免了繁琐的泊松修正，适用于复杂边界物理问题的模拟研究。基于此电流分配方法的基础上，给出了建立在高斯定理基础上的简单且易于程序实现的阴极发射边界算法。利用该程序对平面二极管电子发射现象的模拟结果证明了算法的正确性。     

Electrical resistance of copper conductors during pulsed heating

An oscilloscopic method was used to measure the energy dependence of the electrical resistance of copper wires during pulsed heating. The results are compared with those found in direct measurements. An explanation is offered for the appearance of a current pause during the electrical explosion of metal conductors under various conditions. An analysis is made of the conversion of copper into the gaseous state under these experimental conditions.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, No. 3, pp. 30–34, March, 1970.     

Nature of the Mesyats effect-pulsed superheating of microscopic spikes on a cathode

A study is made of an effect observed experimentally by Mesyats which involves, prior to the electrical explosion, as such, the accumulation of an energy on the order of a few times the sublimation energy by a microscopic cathode spike during explosive emission from a cathode in a vacuum or gaseous discharge. The same effect is observed during electrical explosion of a wire. Simple estimates by various authors imply that the temperature of the wire should rise to 10⁵ K. In reality, when energy is applied very rapidly the wire cannot expand and it is superheated into a metastable state (essentially to the crystal-liquid spinodal). When the temperature rises above 10⁴ K, the specific heat of the metal increases as electronic degrees of freedom are unfrozen. Thus, the temperature attained prior to an electrical explosion does not exceed 17000 K. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 2176–2181 (December 1999)     

电爆炸丝法制备纳米ZrO2粉末的实验研究

设计并搭建了基于高压放电方式的金属丝电爆炸制备纳米粉体的实验装置,并配备了电流电压测量辅助系统,可以方便地制备纳米颗粒,实时记录电爆炸过程中的电流和电压。对Zr丝进行电爆炸实验;理论上分析了Zr丝在电爆炸过程中的沉积能量以及物态的变化过程。研究了充电电压对沉积能量和纳米粉体特性的影响规律。通过元素能谱(EDS)和X射线衍射仪(XRD)对制备的纳米粉体做了成分分析。采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)观察纳米粉体的形貌和结构,并用电镜统计观察法得到纳米粉体的粒度分布。研究结果表明:电压的增大,会使沉积能量增加,并缩短锆丝完全汽化所需时间。增大充电电压可显著缩小纳米粉体的粒径分布范围,并得到更小平均粒径的颗粒。电爆炸锆丝的产物是ZrO₂纳米颗粒,其晶相结构为单斜晶系(m-ZrO₂)和立方晶系(c-ZrO₂),并且颗粒呈良好的球形,表面光滑,轮廓清晰,粒径分布主要集中在10 nm到40 nm之间。     

Study of the spectral composition of optical radiation during electrical explosion of a tungsten wire

In this paper, we present the results of the study of the spectral composition and temporal dynamics of optical emission during electrical explosion of a tungsten wire. It is found that the second emission peak ??1ms long appears at wire diameters exceeding 100 ??m. At the same wire diameters, an intense continuous Plank spectrum is observed in the red region of the optical spectrum. During electrical explosion of wires less than 100 ??m in diameter, the second intensity peak is absent, and the survey spectrum contains only atomic spectral lines. The assumption about the correlation of these two effects is made.