ISSN:
1089-7623
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
,
Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
Notes:
A microwave interferometer system which provides a continuous measurement of the position of interfaces, such as shock fronts, detonation fronts, or material surfaces, has been developed. The use of low-mass microcoaxial cable, some of which is commercially available, and stripline for conducting the microwave signal into the interior of an experiment makes the perturbation of the measuring system on the experiment small. Other microwave systems have measured the time of peak amplitude of a reflected signal, but the present system with proper matching produces a continuous record of position as a function of time. It is believed that this technique can be used to replace most uses of electrical contact or fiber-optic pins in high-explosive experiments. The amount of data far exceeds that which it is possible to obtain from pins or optical fibers. The matching of the microcoax to the microwave generator has an important effect on the accuracy of the technique. The effect of matching on accuracy will be described in detail, and matching methods will be discussed. A position accuracy of 0.2 mm has been attained. Several methods for extracting position information as a function of time are possible. These techniques are discussed, and their application to the analysis of an experiment is demonstrated. The data from the interferometer system is compared to a streak camera record in a phased, shock-breakout experiment. Agreement is quite good, and the superiority of this method over the pin method is demonstrated by comparing details of the streak and interferometer records.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1138110
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