Opening Switch Utilizing Stress Induced Conduction in Polymethylmethacrylate

It is known that polymethylmethacrylate, PMMA, becomes conductive under shock loading. To develop an opening switch utilizing shock induced conduction, the reversibility of this process must be studied. It is suggested in literature that changes in electrical properties begin at pressures as low a ~2 GPa. Applying the minimum pressure necessary for conduction is desirable in order to maximize the reversibility by limiting compression heating of the material. CTH, a hydrodynamic code written at Sandia National Laboratory, was used to design various drivers that deliver pressures in the range of ~2 GPa to ~6 GPa to the PMMA. By utilizing the switch to trigger an RC discharge, the resistance and on-time of the switch was characterized. Experiments have shown conduction durations on the order of ~4 mus. The switch was then placed into a capacitive driven inductive energy storage circuit, IES, to determine the polymer's ability to recover. This paper will present experimental data, CTH simulation results, and discuss the attained switching characteristics under varying shock pressure profiles.