Shock wave transmission across solid-water interfaces in underwater electrical foil explosions
Abstract
The transmission of shock waves generated by underwater electrical foil explosions across solid materials with varying acoustic impedances and thicknesses is investigated. Copper foils with thicknesses of 10 and 18 μm are exploded on planar substrates of aluminum, copper, and 3D-printed PLA with thicknesses up to 5 mm using a multi-gigawatt pulsed-power electrical discharge. The resulting shocks are visualized in water using high-speed shadowgraphy at 5 million frames per second, while high-resolution fiber optic hydrophone measurements provide direct quantitative measurements of shock strength after transmission through the impedance-mismatched materials. One-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations are used to reproduce the foil explosion dynamics and provide insight into the thermodynamic, acoustic, and electrical properties of the foil during the explosion. The results show that shock transmission is governed not only by the impedance mismatch at the solid--water interface but also by the finite thickness and dynamic response of the supporting material. These findings provide a quantitative framework for understanding and controlling shock transmission in underwater electrical foil explosions and establish the feasibility and limitations of using solid substrates as structural supports in complex shock-generating geometries.
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BibTeX
@misc{garcia2026shock,
title = {{Shock wave transmission across solid-water interfaces in underwater electrical foil explosions}},
author = {Francesc Hernández Garcia and Brian Bertacco and Tobia De Benedictis and Sebastián Rojas Mata and Jergus Strucka and Michael Liverts},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.03657},
eprint = {2611.03657},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.03657},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Shock wave transmission across solid-water interfaces in underwater electrical foil explosions
AU - Francesc Hernández Garcia
AU - Brian Bertacco
AU - Tobia De Benedictis
AU - Sebastián Rojas Mata
AU - Jergus Strucka
AU - Michael Liverts
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.03657
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.03657
AB - The transmission of shock waves generated by underwater electrical foil explosions across solid materials with varying acoustic impedances and thicknesses is investigated. Copper foils with thicknesses of 10 and 18 μm are exploded on planar substrates of aluminum, copper, and 3D-printed PLA with thicknesses up to 5 mm using a multi-gigawatt pulsed-power electrical discharge. The resulting shocks are visualized in water using high-speed shadowgraphy at 5 million frames per second, while high-resolution fiber optic hydrophone measurements provide direct quantitative measurements of shock strength after transmission through the impedance-mismatched materials. One-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations are used to reproduce the foil explosion dynamics and provide insight into the thermodynamic, acoustic, and electrical properties of the foil during the explosion. The results show that shock transmission is governed not only by the impedance mismatch at the solid--water interface but also by the finite thickness and dynamic response of the supporting material. These findings provide a quantitative framework for understanding and controlling shock transmission in underwater electrical foil explosions and establish the feasibility and limitations of using solid substrates as structural supports in complex shock-generating geometries.
ER -