Disruption Mechanisms in Electrified Solid Copper Jets

Interaction between a solid copper jet and an electric current pulse is a complex process that has been experimentally studied by letting a jet created by a shaped charge device pass through an electrode configuration consisting of two aluminum plates with a separation distance of 150 mm. When the jet bridged the electrodes, which are connected to a charged pulsed power supply, current pulses with amplitude up to 250 kA were passed through the jet. By using flash X-ray diagnostics, the disruption of the electrified jets could be studied. In this paper, the disruption of the electrified jets is discussed and compared with disruption phenomena observed in electrically exploded metal rods in a static setup. Necks are naturally formed along a stretching jet, and in the experiments with current interaction these necks explode electrically. In the static experiments, the metal rods have small notches distributed along the rod to resemble the necks of the jet. When two neighboring necks or notches explode, the shock of the explosion compresses the intermediate jet or rod segment axially and the material is forced out radially. The disruption phenomena in the jet and rod experiments are similar with rapid expansion of the metal at explosion and at comparable velocities.