Temperature of the Restrike Channels of Exploding Wires

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Abstract
The temporal behavior of the temperature, the electron density and the thermal conductivity of the restrike channel of a thin exploding wire were studied, using the electrical conductivity of the restrike channel, which was determined by simultaneous measurements of the current through the channel, the voltage drop cross the channel and the channel radius assuming that the current distribution within the channel was homogeneous. In this study, in which the channel plasma was assumed to be fully and singly ionized, the Spitzer equations for the electrical and thermal conductivity of a fully ionized plasma and a modified pinch relation for the restrike channel were used. The results show: (a) that the electrical conductivity reaches its maximum before the current maximum on the ledge observed on the voltage oscillograms; (b) that the temperature and thermal conductivity reach their maxima at the conductivity maximum; (c) that the electron density reaches its maximum after the conductivity maximum and near the current maximum; (d) that the maximum values of the electrical conductivity, the temperature, the electron density and the thermal conductivity increase when the energy-input rate to the channel increases; (e) that the validity of the assumptions made is in general confirmed. For restrikes initiated at the exterior of the 13-cm-long 0.005-cm-diam constantan wires, the maximum values of the temperature and the electron density were found at 5 kV to the about 2×104 °K and 1023 electrons/m3 respectively, and at 23 kV to be about 4×104 °K and 1025 electrons/m3, respectively.

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