Shockwave generation by electrical explosion of cylindrical wire arrays in hydrogen peroxide/water solutions

Abstract

We report the results of experiments investigating the implosion of a shock generated by the electrical explosion of a cylindrical aluminum wire array immersed in a >80% hydrogen peroxide/water solution. This solution was chosen as an additional energy source to the supplied electrical energy to generate the imploding flow with higher velocity. The experiments were conducted using a generator with the stored energy of ∼4.8 kJ, delivering to the array a ≤280 kA current rising during ∼1 μs. The backlighted images of the imploding shocks were recorded using a streak camera. Using different diameter wires, the explosion of arrays, characterized by critically damped and under-damped discharges, was studied. The experiments revealed that an array explosion in a 92% H2O2/H2O solution results in the second strong shock generated after the peak of the deposited electrical power, a solid indication of H2O2 detonation. This second shock converges ∼40% faster than the first strong shock generated by the wire explosion. One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the shock convergence in H2O2/H2O solutions support this proposition.