The Eroding Foil Switch (EFS) Model.

Abstract

An analysis of the results of two experiments, the Los Alamos Foil Switch Experiment and the Magnetic Gate Experiment, reveals evidence of mass loss and unexpectedly high temperatures in strongly accelerated aluminum foils. Nonlinear magnetic diffusion theory is analyzed both analytically and numerically and found to give strong concentrations of current density, in a propagating front, for foils thicker than a classical skin depth. This concentrated current front is found to lead to mass erosion and high temperatures in foils undergoing strong acceleration. These results are used to formulate a new model of foil kinematics called the EFS model that features both a rocket (or mass loss) phase, and a snowplow (shock wave) phase after foil disassembly. This model is shown to give good agreement with experimental results.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA171863

Entities

People

  • John E. Brandenburg
  • Robert E. Terry

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum Foil
  • Corporations
  • Current Density
  • Diffusion Theory
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Experimental Data
  • High Acceleration
  • High Temperature
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Materials
  • Physical Properties
  • Physics
  • Security
  • Shock Waves
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Transmission Lines

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Fluid Dynamics.