Ignition mechanism and shock wave characteristics of composite energetic materials driven by electrical wire explosion plasma

The underwater shock wave is used in unconventional natural oil and gas exploitation because it can realize dynamic rock fracturing and improve production efficiency. To further strengthen the shock waves, a novel technique has been proposed, which use energetic materials driven by electrical wire explosion. From the perspective of engineering application, it is crucial to reduce the sensitivity of energetic materials and increase the safety of the application. However, for engineering applications, the energetic materials with low sensitivity are difficult to be driven. In this paper, composite energetic materials with low sensitivity are used to generate shock wave, whose main component is ammonium perchlorate (AP). To clarify the ignition mechanism of composite energetic materials, the physical effects of electrical wire explosion plasma were studied. The results indicated that the plasma radiation axial uniformity and radial uniformity of tantalum wire are better than those of copper wire and aluminum wire, and the intensity of near-ultraviolet radiation of the tantalum wire is highest. The copper wire and aluminum wire expand faster during the explosion, and the vaporizing shock wave and the liquidating shock wave merges faster. Both the shock wave effect and the optical radiation effect contribute to the ignition of composite energetic loads. Besides, when the composite energetic is driven by electrical wire explosions, some additional energy will be deposited into the ignition region of the energetic material, which accelerates the ignition of the energetic material. By comparing the results of three different metal wires driving energetic materials, it can be inferred that the initiation mechanism of energetic materials is thermal initiation. These results can provide references for high-speed initiation of energetic materials in extreme environment.