Numerical model for electrical explosion of copper wires in water
This paper presents a simple but quite accurate numerical model for analyzing electrical explosion of copper wires in water. The numerical model solves a circuit equation coupled with one dimensional magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) equations with the help of appropriate wide range equation of state (EOS) and electrical conductivity for copper. The MHD equations are formulated in a Lagrangian form to identify the interface between the wire and surrounding water clearly. A quotidian EOS (QEOS) that is known as the simplest form of EOS is utilized to build wide range EOS for copper. In the QEOS, we consider the liquid vapor phase transition, which is critical in analyzing the wire explosion system. For the electrical conductivity of copper, a semi empirical set of equations covering from solid state to partially ionized plasma state are employed. Experimental validation has been performed with copper wires of various diameters, which are exploded by a microsecond timescale pulsed capacitive discharge. The simulat.