Method to Determine the Electrical Energy for Ignition of Electro-Explosive Devices

Abstract

During field trials, it was observed that the delay of ignition of electro-explosive devices (EED) depends on ratings of power supplies or dynamo and also on the firing cable lengths. The change in ignition delay of EEDs due to altered supplied current will detoriate the repeatability of sequence of actions in time-critical armament applications. In order to study, supplement and analyze this observation, the measurement of electrical energy required for EEDs ignition is necessary. The electrical energy of EEDs has been determined experimentally by instrumentation and measurement setup using hall sensor and photo detector. The hall sensor is used to measure the actual current passing through EEDs when power supply is applied to them. Photo detector is used to detect the flash produced during EED ignition. By conducting repeated trials, it was observed that this method is reliable to determine the electrical energy required for EEDs ignition. With this parameter, the actual current to be supplied and the pulse width of supplied current for repeated ignition delays can be determined. Knowing the electrical energy of a particular EED by the proposed method, the required firing cable length and power supply for ignition of critical delay applications can be selected. This method also helps to design explosive-based ignition systems in defence applications.