Energy deposition assessment and electromagnetic evaluation of electroexplosive devices in a pulsed power environment

This paper assesses critical activation limits of electroexplosive devices (EED), such as blasting caps, which have recently found more usage in pulsed power environments with high EMI background. These devices, EEDs, can be very sensitive to low levels of energy (7-8 mJ) which make them dangerous to unintended radiation produced by compact pulsed generators. Safe operation and use of these devices are paramount when in use near devices that produce pulsed electromagnetic interference. The scope of this paper is to provide an evaluation of activation characteristics for EEDs that include energy sensitivity tests, thermodynamic modeling, and electromagnetic compatibility from pulsed electromagnetic interference. Two methods of energy deposition into the bridgewire of the EED are used in the sensitivity tests. These methods include single and periodic pulses of current that represent the adiabatic and non-adiabatic heating of the bridgewire. The heating of the bridgewire is modeled by a solution to the heat equation using COMSOL™ with physical geometries of the EED provided by the manufacturer.