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Tests indicate that electric detonator simulators of the exploding bridgewire type will not fire as a result of the application of a direct current power of one watt for 5 minutes. The detonator also will not fire if the protective gap fails and the firing stimulus is inadvertently applied.
Exploding Bridgewire Detonators (EBW) and Exploding Foil Initiators (EFI) which were originally developed for military applications, have found numerous uses in the non-military commercial market while still retaining their military uses. While not as common as the more familiar hot wire initiators, EBW's and EFI's have definite advantages in certain applications. These advantages, and disadvantages, are discussed for typical designs.
Exploding bridgewire detonator electrical input requirements, discussing waveform, peak current and time to peak
Sandia National Laboratories has recently completed the modification and installation of a cable discharge system (CDS) which will be used to study the physics of exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonators and exploding foil initiators (EFI or slapper). Of primary interest are the burst characteristics of these devices when subjected to the constant current pulse delivered by this system. The burst process involves the heating of the bridge material to a conductive plasma and is essential in describing the electrical properties of the bridgewire foil for use in diagnostics or computer models. The CDS described herein is capable of delivering up to an 8000 A pulse of 3 micron duration. Experiments conducted with the CDS to characterize the EBW and EFI burst behavior are also described. In addition, the CDS simultaneous VISAR capability permits updating the EFI electrical Gurney analysis parameters used in our computer simulation codes. Examples of CDS generated data for a typical EFI and EBW detonator are provided.