Comparison of different methods of measurement of pressure of underwater shock waves generated by electrical discharge

Different methods for measurement of strong underwater shock waves pressure pulses with peak pressures of up to 200 MPa and rise time of tens to hundreds of nanoseconds are described and compared. The experimental techniques include direct methods of pressure measurement using various electromechanical gauges such as quartz, carbon-based, and commercially available PCB gauges, and nondirect methods based on measurement of the velocity of the shock wave such as time-of-flight and fast-streak photography. Advantages and disadvantages of the used gauges and methods are discussed. The shock waves were produced by underwater electrical discharge (discharge current amplitude ≤100 kA, pulse duration ≤5 μs) initiated by an exploding wire. A good correspondence between the pressure amplitudes measured by the various gauges and methods was observed. The obtained dependence of the shock wave pressure on the distance from the discharge channel was found to be best fitted by a r ^−0.7 law. It is also shown that none of these methods can be used to determine the time evolution of the pressure behind the front of the shock wave.