Shock Waves Generated by Exploding Bridgewires in Condensed Media

An exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonator functions due to the electrical explosion of a metal wire in contact with a low-density explosive powder. The exact mechanism that transfers the energy from the wire to the explosive that leads to initiation is not well understood. One energy transfer theory is a shock-to-detonation transition. Due to difficulties involved due to the small length scales and the unsteady shock-wave, the shock-wave emanating from a exploding wire in a representative medium has not been measured. This study uses non-invasive ultrafast x-ray phase contrast imaging, taken using Los Alamos National Laboratory's IMPULSE system, and magneto-hydrocode simulations to characterise the shock-wave produced by an exploding bridge-wire in a non-reactive analogue porous medium. This effort will be used to determine if the shock-wave has sufficient magnitude and duration to initiate typical EBW detonator explosives.