The cylindrical shock at underwater wire explosion

TL;DR

This paper presents a new analytical model for the evolution of cylindrical shocks in underwater wire explosions, showing how diverging shocks transform into acoustic waves without relying on self-similarity assumptions, and matches experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical solution based on Euler equations that describes shock and piston dynamics in underwater wire explosions without self-similarity hypotheses.

Findings

Diverging cylindrical shock becomes an acoustic wave in finite time.

The model aligns well with experimental data.

Shock transformation occurs without dissipation considerations.

Abstract

New analytical solution of the piston and shock evolution for the wire electrical explosion in water is obtained. This is provided on the base of the compressible Euler equations without usually a prior introduction of any self-similarity hypothesis. It is shown that diverging cylindrical shock is transformed into acoustic wave in a finite time, even without taking into account of dissipation. The correspondence with experimental data on underwater electrical explosion of thin wire is represented.