Zhao Junping

Second Discharge Characteristics of Aluminum Wire Electrical Explosion Under Various Argon Pressures

Electrical wire explosion is a promising method for the preparation of metal nanopowder, but the properties of metal nanopowder are affected by the second discharge process of electrical wire explosion. The second discharge characteristics of aluminum wire electrical explosion under variant argon pressures were studied in a RLC discharge circuit. The results show that the curve of the second discharge voltages versus the pressure presents a U-shape. To clarify the roles of aluminum vapor and argon in the process of the second discharge, a spectrograph and a high speed framing camera were used to study the radiation spectrum and spatial distribution of the electrical explosion plasma. It is observed that argon participates in the second discharge process under low pressure. A discharge channel develops along the surface of the aluminum vapor. Under higher pressure, a second discharge takes place in the aluminum vapor and the discharge channel is inside the aluminum vapor.

Effect of the Circuit and Wire Parameters on Exploding an Al Wire in Water

The underwater electrical explosion of an aluminum wire is influenced by many factors, such as wire parameters, pulsed power energy, etc. In this paper, underwater electrical explosion of an aluminum wire was investigated with pulsed voltage in the time scale of a few microseconds. A self-integrated Rogowski coil and a voltage divider were used for the measurements of current and voltage at the wire load, respectively. The deposited energy before breakdown was calculated based on experimental waveforms of current and voltage by mathematical method. Effects of the applied voltage, circuit inductance and parameters of Al wire on the electrical explosion and energy deposition were analyzed by means of experiments and calculation. The results show that the current rise rate has an important influence on explosion process, such as the energy deposition before breakdown, the electrical power as well as the various explosion stages. A higher current rise rate can be achieved by increasing applied voltage and decreasing circuit inductance. The inhomogeneity of the energy deposition will result in prematured breakdown as well as lowered energy deposition, making the explosion process of wire more complicated.