As the crucial qualification of the exploding foil initiators (EFIs) initiation, the velocity of the flyer driven electrical explosion is tended to measure and calculate accurately. The electrical performance tests were conducted to measure the current and voltage histories of the metal foils, which can scale the electrical energy absorbed into the metal foil. The burst time delays and the burst current increases as the width and the thickness of the metal foil increase. The size effects on the burst current and the burst time appear in a linear relationship at certain charging voltages. An available Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) system was conducted to measure the actual velocity of the flyer driven by electrical explosion. The velocity histories of the flyer were obtained in different parameters of the metal foil, flyer and barrel. The two-phase acceleration is presented due to different dynamical mechanisms, which are shock driving mainly at first and expansion driving latter. The effect of the foil width and flyer velocity on the flyer velocity is evidently, while the effect of foil thickness is slight relatively. One-dimensional Lagrange hydrodynamic calculations were carried out to compare with the experimental data, which reveals good agreement. The correction factor was determined by matching the calculated curve to the experimental one. The calculation method can be used to predict the acceleration process of the flyer driven by electrical explosion.
exploding foil initiators, electrically explosion, flyer velocity, Photonic Doppler Velocimetry