Mechanisms for Explosively-Formed Fuse Performance Degradation

Abstract

The Explosively-Formed Fuse (EFF) is a high-power opening switch that uses an explosive charge to interrupt current flow in an aluminum conductor. As such we expected the foil's resistance to increase with increasing current density by Joule heating. Yet an analysis of a large number of experiments clearly showed the opposite was true; there was a strong negative correlation between the peak resistance and current density. In the paper we analyze various possible causes including thermal softening of the metal, magnetic loading of the explosive and electric breakdown or conduction in the product gases at the higher applied fields. Our analysis suggests that magnetic loading is responsible for the degradation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA634375

Entities

People

  • Clarence M. Fowler
  • D. G. Tasker
  • David T. Torres
  • Dennis H. Herrera
  • Gerald F. Kiuttu
  • Henn Oona
  • James C. King
  • James H. Degnan
  • James H. Goforth
  • Matthew T. Domonkos

Organizations

  • Los Alamos National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Aluminum
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Current Density
  • Degradation
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Electrical Properties
  • Energy
  • Explosive Charges
  • Explosives
  • High Explosives
  • Metals
  • Pulsed Power
  • Resistance
  • Strain Rate
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Plasma Physics.