Underwater Blast Waves From Copper Wire Explosions: High-Speed Image, Pressure, And Electrical Data

These data were acquired during experiments in which a high-voltage, high-current pulsed power generator was used to generate microsecond explosions of thin copper wires immersed in water, thereby creating cylindrically expanding blast waves. The data consist of measurements by various diagnostics of different quantities related to the electrical discharge across the exploding wire and the underwater blast wave. A Rogowski coil and a high-voltage probe measured the current and total voltage across the wire during the discharge, respectively. A high-speed camera recording at 5 Mfps and 400x250 pixels resolution captured 256 frames of shadowgraph images of the exploding wire and subsequent underwater blast wave. Finally, a fiber optic hydrophone with 200 MHz bandwidth measured time traces of water pressure 6 mm away from the exploding wire to capture the passing blast wave. Data were collected during the explosions of wires with 150, 400, and 500 micrometer diameters. For the case of the 400 micrometer diameter wire, additional pressure time traces 8 and 10 mm away from the wire were also taken. For all experiments the wires were 6 cm long and the 10 microfarad pulsed power generator was initially charged to 23 kV. Time is in seconds, current in amperes, total voltage in volts, and pressure in pascals. The camera frames are 200 ns apart, with a sensor exposure of 110 ns, only 10 ns of which are illuminated by a synchronized pulsed-laser light source. Time synchronization: The current-voltage time traces and the pressure time traces at 6 mm for all wires have the same time reference, so these data are already synchronized in time. The pressure time traces at 8 and 10 mm for the 400 micrometer wire and the shadowgraph frame sequences can be synchronized with the other data using a peculiar feature of the pressure time traces. As the fiber optic hydrophone was pointed at the wires, it captured the light from the explosion and recorded an artificial pressure dip which preceded the real blast-wave pressure data. Thus, to synchronize the 400 micrometer wire pressure data, we recommend shifting the 8 and 10 mm data in time to align their dips with the dip in the 6 mm data. For each wire explosion, the same pressure dip can be used to synchronize the shadowgraph frame sequences by aligning the dip with the frame in which the light of the explosion appears.
Publisher name: Zenodo
Last updated: 2026-02-20T14:49:15Z