Breakwire Technique for Hypervelocity Measurement
Abstract
An electrical breakwire technique for measuring the speed of hypervelocity projectiles is described and assessed, using Boomer, a large scale exploding foil flying plate generator. Two techniques were tested, a dual breakwire method and a single breakwire method. The dual breakwire method is the simpler of the two, but it was found to be less reliable than the single breakwire approach. With the single breakwire method, a reasonable approximation to the projectile's velocity-time-history can be obtained by conducting a series of experiments where a range of times of arrival of the flyer is measured as a function of the breakwire position only. However, accuracy of this technique depends on shot-to-shot consistency and the velocity versus time resolution is limited by the number of different positions of the projectile's trajectory at which the firings can be performed. Compared with other velocity measurement techniques, the breakwire method was found reasonably consistent and effective, in terms of simplicity, turnaround time, low cost and ability to operate within an environment containing high levels of electromagnetic noise in the radio- frequency and optical spectrum. Analysis of the breakwire data from Boomer experiments has indicated a possibility of improvement in the accuracy of the single breakwire technique through correlation of the time-of-break with variations in the Boomer-current waveform. Hypervelocity Measurement, Flying Plate, Breakwire
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA274779
Entities
People
- Michael Podlesak
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group