Electrical and optical measurements of explosively driven plasma jets

Electrical and optical measurements were performed on explosively driven plasma jets. The explosive devices are in the form of a conical shaped charge. The electrical diagnostic consisted of measuring the current passed through a jet when it made a connection between two metal plates. An energy storage capacitor connected to the two plates was charged to between 500 V and 10 kV, and then discharged through the jet. Also, an ICCD camera was used to capture high-speed single frame pictures of the propagating jet. Several shots were fired with variations in the capacitor voltage, the plate geometry, and the jet material. Current waveforms and optical images are presented. All experiments were performed in the explosive and high power RF experimental facility at the Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics at Texas Tech University.