Magnetic pickup loop analysis on an exploding wire Z-pinch

Magnetic pickup loop signals obtained from an exploding wire z-pinch have been analyzed on the HY-Tech z-pinch. This machine can produce 300 kA at full charge rising in 1.5 μsec. By comparing the observed signals with a model of the driving circuit and stray elements, information on the dynamics of the load has been obtained. The load was modeled as an inductor, where the inductance is a function of the radius which varies with time. Streaked shadowgrams were used to monitor the wire radius for the first 300 nsec. It has been determined that an implosion occurs at least 0.3 μsec into the discharge and the duration of the implosion phase, according to the model, is near 50 nsec.