Experimental Studies of Hydrodynamic and Energy Characteristics of High-Voltage Electrochemical Explosion in Confined Volumes of Liquid

Electric, energy, and hydrodynamic characteristics of high-voltage electrochemical explosion (HVECE) in confined liquid volumes were experimentally investigated with varying the charging voltage, the stored electrical energy, and the mass of the burnt exothermic mixture. A comparison with other methods of initiating an electrical discharge under similar conditions was conducted. The obtained results showed that HVECE allows achieving a high-voltage electrical discharge with low energy losses (less than 9%) and implementing an electrical breakdown mode close to aperiodic. It was found that HVECE generates compression waves with amplitudes up to 37% and specific impulse up to 45% higher (at a charging voltage of 25 kV and above) than in the case of electrical explosion of an initiating metallic conductor under identical initial conditions. It was revealed that increasing the charging voltage leads to a linear increase in the amplitude and specific impulse of the generated compression wave. A comprehensive analysis of the dependences of energy and hydrodynamic characteristics showed that both the stored electrical energy and the interrelation of electrical parameters of the discharge circuit with the mass of the burning exothermic mixture have a significant influence on the formation of the specific impulse of the compression wave in HVECE, determining the shape of the discharge characteristics.