Disruption of Shaped‐Charge Jets by a Pulsed Current

This paper gives results from experimental studies of the effect of electric‐pulse parameters on the development of current instability and disruption of shaped‐charge jets. A simple physical model for the development of current instability and the decrease in the cavern depth in the target is proposed. Notations are introduced and analytical expressions are obtained for the critical current (critical linear current density) and the ideal shape of the current pulse required for the disruption of shaped‐charge jets. It is shown that the estimate of the final cavern depths in steel target for the proposed model is in fairly good agreement with both experimental values of cavern depths in targets and with the results of numerical calculations using quasi‐two‐dimensional unsteady models of MHD instability and volume disruption.