LITERATURE CITED

1. A . F . Demchuk, Candidate's Dissertation, Institute of Hydrodynamics, Novosibirsk (1971).

2. A . F . Demchuk, Zh. Prikl. Mekh. Tekh. Fiz., No. 5, 47 (1968}.
3. A . E . Voitenko, A. F. Demchuk, and V. I. Kulikov, No. 1, 20 (1970).
4. V.S. Gambarov, A. F. Demchuk, et at., ByulL Otkry. Izobr., Prom. Obraztsy, Tovarn. Znaki, No. 35
(1974}; Inventor's Certificate No. 444394.
5. E . I . Azarkevich, A. E. Voitenko, et al., in: Gas L asers [in Russian] (edited by R. I. Soloukhin and V. P.
Chebotaev), Nauka, Novosibirsk (1977).
6. E . I . Azarkevich, A. E. Voitenko, et al., Zh. Tekh. Fiz., 4~ No. 9 (1957).
7. V . P . Isakov, in: Summary of Papers from the Third All-Union Symposium on High-Strength Pulsed
Electronics [in Russian], Tomsk (1978).
8. E . I . Bichenkov, A. E. Voitenko, et aL, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 183, No. 6, 1289 (1968).
9. V.V. Zakaidakov, V. P. Isakov, et al., Zh. Prikl. Mekh. Tekh. Fiz., No. 5, 46 (1976).
10. A . P . Baikov, A. E. Voitenko, et at., Fiz. Goreniya Vzryva, 9, No. 2, 323 (1973).
11. A . E . Voitenko, V. P. Isakov, and G. M. Sobolenko, Teplofiz. Vys. Temp., No. 5, 1098 (1975}.
12. A . E . Voitenko, V. P. Isakov, and V. I. Kirko, in: Explosion [in Russian], No. 78/35, Nauka, Moscow
(1977).
13. D.H. Parkinson and B. E. Mulhall, Generation of High Magnetic Fields, Plenum (1967).

ENERGY CHARACTERISTICS O F AN E X P L O S I V E L Y
DRIVEN PLASMA COMPRESSOR

V. I . K i r k o

Explosively driven plasma sources are not only used to study high-velocity gasdynamic proces se s under
high-temperature and high-pressure conditions [1, 2], but also to apply coatings and in the thermal processing
of materials [3-6]. In this r e g a r d it has become necessary to study in detail the energy charact eri stic s of the
plasmas f r o m explosively driven sources and the effects of the basic source p a r a m e t e r s on these c h a r a c t e r i s -
tics.
The dependence of the energy c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of an explosively driven plasma c o m p r e s s o r [7] on the fill
density of working material in the compression chamber and on the ratio r M of the mass of explosive to the
mass of the projectile plate is studied in this paper.

The Efficiency of the Explosively Driven Plasma Compressor

During the operation of an explosively driven compressor, the energy r e l e a s e d due to the explosion of the
chemical explosive is converted into energy of the projectile plate and then into plasma energy. It has been
shown [8] that the plate acquires a maximum velocity at a distance of roughly 1/5 the thickness of the explosive
charge; consequently, when the p r e s s u r e of the compressed gas in the com pressor has little effect on the ac-
celeration of the plate (i.e., during its acceleration), the efficiency of the com pressor can be written as the
product
'q = ~t ":q2, (1)

where ~t is the efficiency with which the plate is driven, and ~z is the efficiency of energy conversion fro m the
projectile plate to the c o m p r e s s e d gas. In the case of one-dimensional escape of the explosion products into
vacuum and for an adiabatic index of the products of y = 3 [8], we have
[32] 9
- 32 (2)
"%t~ rM V/ 1 -~-~ r~, -', 1

Novosibirsk. Translated f r om Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, VoL 15, No. 6, pp. 135-139, November-Decem-
ber, 1979. Original article submitted May 15, 1978.

+0010-5082/79/1506-0803507.50 9 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporatio~ 803

 ~7t92 ' 9 ~-

t i
0 F 2 5
p"o~, g/r m3 o 8 ,8 ~,~ .~..
Fig. i Fig. 2
Fig. 1. The dependence of the efficiency ~ ~ of energy t r a n s f e r f r o m the p r o j e c t i l e
plate to the c o m p r e s s e d gas on the filling density of working m a t e r i a l in the corn-
c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r (the volume of the chamber is 150 cm3): 1) C6II1005)n, r M =
10; 2) (CsHs}n, r M = 10; 3} (CBHlo05)n, r M = 3 . 8 .
Fig. 2. The dependence of the efficiency on the r a t i o of the m a s s of explosive to the
m a s s of the plate ~t,2(rM) 1) p r e s e n t e x p e r i m e n t s 2) data f r o m il0].

Fig. 3. The e x p e r i m e n t a l a r r a n g e m e n t for de-

t e r m i n i n g the m a s s of i m p u r i t i e s that e n t e r the
plasma f r o m the walls of the c o m p r e s s i o n
chamber; 1) explosively driven p l a s m a c o m -
p r e s s o r ; 2) bent channel; 3) inlet channel; 4),
8) metal disks; 5) cavity; 6) hollow cylinder;
7) s t e e l case; 9) r e c e s s e d collector; 10) gap;
d = 70-80 tuna, A = 0.1-0.2 ram, h = 10-15 ram, and
x = 5 0 - 5 5 ram.

It foUows f r o m this equation that 71 takes its peak value (7~tax=0.35) for r M = 2 . 5 . It can be i n c r e a s e d further
by using an explosive charge with an envelope to drive the plato.
As a r e s u l t of the complexity of the flow in the c o m p r e s s i o n chamber, it is v e r y difficult to determine
72. Thus, at p r e s e n t 72 can only be d e t e r m i n e d experimentally.
The techniques used in the p r e s e n t e x p e r i m e n t s have been d e s c r i b e d in detail in [9]. C o m p r e s s o r s with
h e m i s p h e r i c a l c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r s of ~ a m e t e r s 40 and 80 m m w e r e studied. The r a t i o of the outlet a p e r -
ture d i a m e t e r to the d i a m e t e r of the p r o j e c t i l e plate was 1/10. This ratio has been shown [7] to p r a c t i c a l l y
e n s u r e a m a x i m u m exit velocity of p l a s m a f r o m the c o m p r e s s o r . In the e x p e r i m e n t s , the plate r e a c h e d its
peak veiociW over a distance of less than 4 mm. It could be a s s u m e d that the c o m p r e s s e d gas in the chamber
hadno effect on the velocity of the plate while it was being a c c e l e r a t e d . The working m a t e r i a l s used in the
chamber of the c o m p r e s s o r w e r e (CsHi0Os)n, (CBHB)n, and air.
The e x p e r i m e n t s showed that 7z is a function of two basic p a r a m e t e r s : the filling density of working
m a t e r i a l in the c o m p r e s s i o n chamber and the r a t i o of the m a s s of explosive to the m a s s of the plate [i.e., (72 =

804
 I - )I* ,

0 1 2 0 t 2 5
p-m 2 glcm3 p. 102, g/cm3
Fig. 4 Fig. 5
Fig. 4. The dependence of the m a s s of i m p u r i t i e s e n t e r i n g the p l a s m a f r o m the
walls of a copper c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r on the filling density: The v o l u m e of the
c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r is 150 c m 3, r M = 3 . 8 , and the working m a t e r i a l is
(CsHloOs}n.
Fig. 5. The dependence of the s p e c i f i c e n e r g y of the p l a s m a on the filling d e n -
sity in the c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r : rM = 10, working m a t e r i a l is (CsH100~}n, and
c o m p r e s s o r volume is 16 and 150 c m s for c u r v e s 1 and 2, r e s p e c t i v e l y .

~2(P, rM)]- F o r fixed r M, an i n c r e a s e in the filling p r e s s u r e in the c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r c a u s e s an i n c r e a s e

in ~ 9 (Fig. 1}. This is due, as Eq. (1) i m p l i e s , to m o r e efficient gain of e n e r g y f r o m the plate by the c o m -
p r e s s e d gas. At s o m e value P e r , ~72l i m is r e a c h e d , a f t e r which the m e a s u r e d value of ~z d e c r e a s e s rapidly due
to stopping of the p r o j e c t i l e plate and c e s s a t i o n of gas c o m p r e s s i o n .
Reducing r M m a k e s it p o s s i b l e to slightly i n c r e a s e the m a x i m u m p o s s i b l e efficiency ~ by i n c r e a s i n g ~?1.
Thus, for e x a m p l e , reducing r M f r o m 10 to 3.8 i n c r e a s e s the o v e r a l l m a x i m u m efficiency ~7 by only 0.005, but
at the s a m e time, as follows f r o m Fig. 1, c u r v e s 1 and 3, the m a x i m u m filling density i n c r e a s e s , lo_rge ~? can
be obtained by i n c r e a s i n g ~Z when r M is changed. Figure 2 shows the dependence of ~2 on r M for a fixed filling
density in the c o m p r e s s i o n c h a m b e r of p =0.015 g / c m 3. The s a m e figure shows ~t(rM} a c c o r d i n g to Eq. (2).
~?2(rM) has a m a x i m u m of UZ~- 0.8. A p p a r e n t l y , ~?z i n c r e a s e s with r M b e c a u s e at higher plate velocities the
working gas is able to gain a l a r g e r p a r t of the plate e n e r g y until the plate h a s its d i a m e t e r r e d u c e d as it is
being d e s t r o y e d . Then, when r M > 2.5, the o v e r a l l efficiency ~ of the explosively driven c o m p r e s s o r i n c r e a s e s
due to Vl despite the d e c r e a s e in ~?z-

The Specific Energy of the Plasma

As the gas is c o m p r e s s e d in the c h a m b e r , a power flux of energy, which m e l t s and v a p o r i z e s the s u r f a c e ,
r e a c h e s the c h a m b e r walls. As a r e s u l t of this evaporation, i m p u r i t i e s enter the p l a s m a and r e d u c e its s p e c i f -
ic e u e r g y . In o r d e r to d e t e r m i n e the m a s s of v a p o r i z a t i o n p r o d u c t s that e n t e r the p l a s m a , the e x p e r i m e n t s i l -
l u s t r a t e d in Fig. 3 w e r e done. P l a s m a f r o m the c o m p r e s s o r p a s s e d through a bent channel and e n t e r e d a cavity
made up of disks and a hollow m e t a l cylinder. A gap of width 0.1-0.2 m m was p u r p o s e l y left between the disks
and the cylinder.
When the p l a s m a filled the cavity, it flowed into the gap, and as it cooled, the m e t a l l i c v a p o r i z a t i o n p r o d -
ucts w e r e deposited on the s u r f a c e s of the disks and cylinder. The c o m p r e s s o r and channel w e r e made of the
s a m e m a t e r i a l , w h e r e a s the disks and hollow cylinder w e r e m a d e of a m a t e r i a l that could e a s i l y be c h e m i c a l l y
s e p a r a t e d f r o m the c o m p r e s s o r m a t e r i a l (after it h a s been deposited on the walls). In o r d e r to p r e v e n t pieces
of m a t e r i a l f r o m the p r o j e c t i l e plate which had been broken off by the channel walls f r o m landing on the cavity
walls, the outlet channel was bent and the disks had a r e c e s s e d collector.
The e n t i r e a s s e m b l y w a s placed in a s t e e l c a s e , which p r e v e n t e d d e s t r u c t i o n of the p a r t s and allowed the
a p p a r a t u s t o be used r e p e a t e d l y . A f t e r an explosion, the deposited l a y e r w a s s c r a p e d f r o m the walls, c h e m i -
cally s e p a r a t e d f r o m the c a v i t y - w a l l m a t e r i a l s , and weighed on an analytic balance.* As the p l a s m a cools,
the c o m p r e s s o r m a t e r i a l is p a r t i a l l y deposited on the walls of the r e c e s s e d collector. At the s a m e time,
despite the p r e v e n t i v e m e a s u r e s taken (a bent channel and a r e c e s s e d collector}, p a r t of the plate m a t e r i a l
s e t t l e s on the walls of the c o l l e c t o r and on the cylinder walls, and p a r t of the m a s s to be m e a s u r e d goes into
the channel. The s u m of t h e s e m a s s e s d e t e r m i n e s the e r r o r in the e x p e r i m e n t .
The m a s s f r o m the plate which falls on the cylinder walls w a s e s t i m a t e d in a control e x p e r i m e n t inwhich
the plate was d r i v e n d i r e c t l y onto the end of the inlet channel 2. The m e a s u r e m e n t s showed that this m a s s is
* This method of m e a s u r e m e n t is suitable only for studying m e t a l l i c c o m p r e s s o r s .

805
less than 0.25 g. The mass of impurities that settled on the collector surface and went into the inlet channel
was estimated as the product of the total a r e a of the collector plus the cross-sect i onal a r e a of the channel and
the average m~.qs of impurities that settled on 1 cm 2 of the cylinder. The relative e r r o r in the measurements
varied f r o m 38 (when p = 1.29" 10-3 g / c m 3) to 18% (in an experiment with p = 1.3" 10-2 g/cm3}.
Tlmse experiments showed that the mass of vaporization products from the walls of the compressor
grows almost linearly with the fill density (Fig. 4). This can be explained by the growth in the convective
energy flux to the c o m p r e s s o r walls due to the r i s e in the density of the gas flow relative to the walls and the
increased plasma energy, since the energy flux [11] averaged over the surface which falls on the wall is
q ~ S t p U 9 E o / p V ~ pl/2UEo, (3)

where ~ i s the Stanton number, which is proportional to Re1/2 (the Reynolds number); U is the mean velocity
of the flow with r e s p e c t to the chamber walls; E 0 is the plasma energy; and V is the volume of the compression
rhamber.
For a sufficiently high filling p r e s s u r e in the compression chamber (~ 7" 10-3), 1 g of impurities will
appear for 1 g of working material, an amount which is in agreement with [10]. Thus, when steel and copper
c o m p r e s s o r s were filled with 1 g of (C6111005)n, 1.9. g and 1 g of impurities, respectively, were found to enter
the plasma. The reduction ha the mass of impurities when p > 1.3" 10 -z g / c m z occurs for the same re a so n as
the reduction in r/z, that is, due to slowing down of the plate, which is stopped and does not force gas into the
tube whenP is large enough.
Figure 5 shows the dependence of the specific energy of the plasma on the filling density in the c o m p re s-
sion chamber. As the density is increased, the specific energy of the plasma decreases, which causes a reduc-
tion in the plasma: temperature. This conclusion, in particular, explains the drop in the velocity with which the
plasma leaves the c o m p r e s s o r when the filling density is increased [7].

Conclusions
Two basic p a r a m e t e r s affect the energy characteristics of an explosively driven plasma compressor:
the fill density and the ratio of the rnnss of explosive to the plate mass. Despite the i ncrease in plasma energy,
as the filling density in the compression chamber is increased, the specific energy of the plasma decreases due
to the a r r i v a l of impurities f r om the chamber walls. In order to obtain high com pressor efficiencies, it is
n e c e s s a r y to i n c r e a s e the efficiency of energy t ransfer f r o m the projectile plate to the plasma (r/2) by choosing
appropriate values of the operating p a r a m e t e r s (r M andp).
The author thanks A. A. Deribas, A. E. Voitenko, and L. V. Al'tshuler for discussing these results and
for valuable comments and V. Yu. AIonin for help in doing the experiments.

LITERATURE CITED
1. D. L- Compton and D. H. Cooper, in: Proceedings of the Ninth international ~tock Tube Symposium,
Stanford University (1973).
2. A . E . Voitenko, M. A. Lyubimova, and E. P. Matochkin, Teplofiz. Vys. Temp., 10___,No. 6 (1972).
3. V.I . Kirko and T. M. Sobolenko, Fiz. Goreniya Vzryva, 1_.22,No. 6, 921 (1976).
4. A.A. Deribas, N. V. Gubareva, et al., in: Abstracts of Talks at the All-Union Scientific and Technical
Conference (October 12-14, 1976) [in Russian], Voroshilovgrad (1976).
5. N.V. Gubareva, V. I. Kirko, and T. M. Sobolenko, Fiz. Goreniya Vzryva, 13, No. 3 (1977).
6. A . G . ZiPbermanand K. I. Kozorezov, Metalloved. Term. Obrab. Met., No. 9 (1977).
7. A . E . Voitenko, Zh. Prikl. Mekh. Tekh. Fiz., No. 4 (1966).
8. H. Knoepfel, Pulsed High Magnetic Fields, Elsevier (1970).
9. A . E . Voitenko and V. I. Kirko, Fiz. Goreniya Vzryva, 1._~1,No. 6, 956 (1975).
10. B . K . Crowley and H. D. Glenn, in Proceedings of the Seventh International ~laock Tube Symposium
(edited by I. I. Glass), Toronto (1969).
11. L . G . Loitsanskii, The Mechanics of Fluids and Gases [in Russian], Nauka, Moscow (1978).

806