Experimental study of compact explosive driven shock wave ferroelectric generators

The design of explosive driven ferroelectric generators is presented and experimental data are discussed. The active elements are lead zirconium titanate (PZT) disks with diameter D=25 mm and thicknesses H=2.5 mm and H=6 mm and PZT cylinders with D=21 mm and H=25 mm. The high explosive charge was varied from 4.2 g to 30 g. Two different ways to initiate shock waves in the active elements were used: explosively driven flyer plates and direct action of high explosives. The data presented is for the maximum power into a resistive load.

I. Introduction

The present study was initiated to investigate compact explosive driven pulsed generators based on the depolarization of ferroelectrics by a mechanical shock. The feasibility of these generators was demonstrated in earlier publications [1]–[3]. The goals of our studies were to compare different generator designs, to obtain data on the effect of ferroelectric active element dimensions on the pulse produced, and to get information about the effect of the load on the generator's energy output.