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Underwater pulsed spark discharge has been widely used in industrial fields as a source of shock waves or acoustic waves, and numerical modeling of the discharge and pressure wave characteristics is necessary to improve the application performance. In this paper, a numerical model is proposed that couples the circuit equation, the mass and energy conservation equations, and a momentum conservation equation based on the Rankine–Hugoniot conditions. A tabulated wide range equation of state and conductivity data of water are used, and various physical processes during the plasma channel expansion are considered, including the energy flow and mass exchange between the channel and the surrounding water due to thermal radiation, evaporation, and condensation. The model self-consistently solves the circuit current and voltage, the plasma channel parameters including composition, temperature, conductivity, pressure, etc., and the pressure profile at a certain distance from the discharge channel. The calculated results show good consistency with the experimental measurements, and three sets of experimental results from other literature are tested to further verify the applicability and effectiveness of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The x-ray spectrum of a flash radiography source based on wire-shorted rod-pinch diode (RPD) is measured by an absorption spectrometer and calculated by the Geant4 Monte-Carlo code. The RPD is driven by a two-stage linear transformer driver (charging voltage ±45 kV per stage), which delivers ∼300 kA current within ∼200 ns on a short-circuit inductive load (∼30 nH). The spectrometer consists of LiF thermoluminescence dosimeters and metal filters of different materials and thicknesses, and the spectrum is reconstructed based on the Geant4 simulated dosimeter responses to various photon energies through different filters. The measured spectrum reaches an endpoint photon energy of ∼130 keV. The radiation characteristics of the RPD in the experiment are also modeled in Geant4 using measured voltage and current waveforms, and the results show an overestimation in photon number and endpoint energy (∼147 keV) compared to the measured spectrum, which indicates that during the bremsstrahlung process, the effective electron current is ∼27% of the total current, and the effective voltage is ∼12% lower than the directly reconstructed resistive voltage. A rough agreement is found between the spectra results and the non-relativistic Bethe–Heitler model with Sommerfeld correction; therefore, the analytic result can serve as an initial guess for spectrum reconstruction methods such as the perturbation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rod pinch diode (RPD) is a feasible load configuration to generate a high-brightness, small-size hard x-ray radiation source. In this paper, the radiography performance of a wire-shorted low-impedance RPD on a compactly designed table-top driver (WRPD-1) is demonstrated for the first time. The driver consists of four high-power discharge branches connected in parallel, with each branch consisting of two metal-film capacitors and one multigap field-distortion switch in series. The four branches are triggered synchronously to generate a fast-rising current pulse: the inductance of the load section at the short circuit is ∼10 nH, and the short-circuit current amplitude is ∼325 kA at ±90 kV charging voltage, with a 10%–90% rise time of 110 ns. With a low-impedance RPD shorted by an 18-µm-diameter aluminum wire, a quasi-spherical x-ray focal spot with diameter <0.6 mm (width of the half-maximum grayscale) and a pulse duration of ∼25 ns (half-width of the radiation pulse) is obtained at ±70 kV charging voltage, and the imaging resolution excels 10 lp/mm under 1.56× magnification. According to the transmission–absorption x-ray spectrum estimation, the average emitted photon energy is ∼30 keV with a distinct peak in the 10–15 keV range that corresponds to the L-lines of tungsten, and the total energy of photons >10 keV reaches ∼1.16 J. The present results show that the device can serve well for the flash radiography diagnosis and potentially as an efficient light source for dynamic x-ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of plasma parameters during the ablation phase in the Z-pinch is crucial for investigating the dynamic behaviors. In this study, optical Thomson scattering was employed to measure the temperature and velocity of the ablation plasma in a double-wire Z-pinch. The scattering spectra profiles were fitted using a model that considered the velocity distribution. The experimental results revealed the energy evolution of ablation plasma, the establishment of the global magnetic field and the development of axial non-uniformities. The precursor plasma was found to play a key role in strengthening the global magnetic field. A resistive layer near the wire core with a size of 1.5 mm was observed in the ablation plasma after the precursor plasma column formed. The plasma underwent rapid heating in this layer, the electron temperature rises from 17 eV to 22 eV. Upon leaving this layer, electron the temperature is stable at around 22 eV. The radial distribution of the ablation rate increases and decreases, indicating the axial motion of the ablation plasma, which could be caused by the tilt motion of the stream and the secondary modulation of the natural wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater electrical wire explosion is usually used as a source of underwater shock waves, and the generated shock wave intensity can be regulated by adopting a wire array. In this paper, the dynamics of the electrical explosion of two wires with different diameters connected in parallel were studied. The current flowing through each wire was measured to study the current distribution, and the self-emission image and laser backlight shadow image was obtained to observe the evolution of the wires. A numerical model was built to make explanations and predictions. The results showed that due to the presence of wire inductance and contact resistance between the wire and electrode, the wires are with different current densities and undergo asynchronous heating from the beginning of the discharge. Furthermore, the variation of current distribution among the wires was divided into six stages according to the moment the wire melted and exploded, and analyzed stage by stage. The unbalanced energy deposition results in obvious differences in thermal dynamic parameters, which explains the gradual "extinguishment" of the thinner wire in the self-emission image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Fe10Co25Ni34Cu23Al8 high-entropy-alloy nanoparticles have been synthesized by the in situ instantaneous electrical wire explosion method. Based on the thermodynamic parameters of the face-centered cubic phase of high-entropy-alloy, the parameters of the five kinds of wires were calculated and controlled, and the stable face-centered cubic structure with good crystallinity was synthesized in one step. The influence of the energy deposition during the electrical explosion on the nanoparticles and their electromagnetic absorption performance was explored. The results show that the face-centered cubic structure high-entropy-alloy with high crystallinity has better electromagnetic wave absorption performance when the energy deposition of the wires is increased. The minimum reflection loss can reach −39.37 dB at 15.34 GHz when the thickness is 1.9 mm and the effective absorption bandwidth is 6.63 GHz. It can provide a strategy for the microstructure and morphology design of high-entropy-alloy nanoparticles in electromagnetic wave absorption and magnetism in the electronics industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiation properties including size, intensity, and pulse width of the double-wire X-pinch were optimized using prepulse current. The optimization mechanism was investigated using optical diagnostics. The X-pinch driven by a current with a peak intensity of ∼250 kA and a rise rate of 0.95 kA/ns was difficult to produce strong radiation. The application of prepulse effectively enhances the current rise rate and intensity of the radiation source. The radiation source also exhibited reduced spatial dimensions and radiation duration, thereby improving spatial and temporal resolution while used in x-ray projection shadow radiography. The magnetic field and current distribution were measured using Faraday rotation. During the early stage, the current predominantly flows in the corona plasma at a larger radius generated by the prepulse current, consequently reducing the load inductance. As the time delay between the main and prepulse current increased, the intensity of the radiation source further increased. This study provides an approach for controlling radiation sources and enables different applications of X-pinches with adjustable prepulse current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new method for generating strong underwater shock waves with rapid repetition frequency, the use of underwater electrical-wire explosion (UEWE) to drive insensitive energetic materials has attracted increasing research attention in recent years. Accordingly, equipment based on this new method have been developed. The ability to measure the stress produced by an UEWE on a device plays a very important role in optimizing the device performance. However, in conventional stress measurements, the spatial electromagnetic interference (EMI) produced by the discharge can affect the measurement accuracy or even damage the experimental instruments. In this study, a novel system for measuring stress in a strong electromagnetic field, based on a piezoelectric film and a conditioning circuit, was debugged and evaluated. Shielding was used to eliminate the intense EMI due to the strong electromagnetic field. Our simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the stress generated can be quickly determined by measuring the output voltage of the conditioning circuit. The new system can be used to measure the stress at the fluid–solid interface under a strong electromagnetic field environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater electrical wire explosion (UEWE) is an efficient source of underwater shock waves (SWs). In order to efficiently simulate the interaction between the UEWE SW and structures, a coupled model that includes the electric circuit, the exploding wire and the surrounding water is established based on user-subroutines provided by the commercial explicit dynamics software ANSYS AUTODYN. The modeling starts from room temperature by using the tabular wide-range metal equation of state (EOS) and conductivity data. Experimental validation is performed with copper wires exploded by a μ s-timescale pulsed discharge. The numerical results show satisfactory consistency with experiments in terms of the current and voltage waveforms, the wire expansion trajectory, the evolution of SW front, the interaction between SW and electrodes and the SW pressure profiles. The main discrepancy lies in the SW amplitude that is ∼20% higher in the calculation and the possible reasons are discussed in detail. Based on this approach and with proper modifications to the metal EOS and conductivity data, the interaction between UEWE SWs and structures can be efficiently modeled in 2D and 3D for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of the prepulse current on the implosion dynamics of planar wire array were investigated. The time-delay between the prepulse current and the main current (Tdelay) was able to be controlled manually based on the double pulse current generator "Qin-1." In the precondition stage by the prepulse current, the corona plasma, aluminum vapor, and residual wire cores formed during the explosion of the wires, and ∼40% (±10%) mass of the wires was in a gaseous state at ∼425 ns after the prepulse. After the main pulse was applied, the low-density corona plasma was first imploded and then collided with the aluminum vapor and residual dense cores. Then, the further implosion of the preconditoned wires closely related to their mass distribution, which was determined by the duration of Tdelay. The residual dense wire cores had a significant impact on the implosion when Tdelay was ∼200 ns. When Tdelay increased to ∼> 500 ns, the mass distribution gradually became uniform, and the implosion of the preconditioned wires showed no ablation and no trailing mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underwater electrical wire explosion (UEWE) is an appealing source of underwater shock waves (SWs) with a high conversion efficiency from electrical energy to mechanical energy, good repeatability and controllability. Industrial applications are already seen in oil-well unblocking and stratum stimulation, and research is currently underway to apply UEWEs in electro-hydraulic forming, exploitation of unconventional gas and oil resources, etc. The emerging new applications call for a review on UEWE research from the perspective of an efficient SW source. This review paper considers the physical processes and numerical simulation methods, electrical and SW characteristics, and current and potential applications, and provides suggestions for future research directions. The code (XJ_UEWE01) developed by the authors to solve a coupling model of UEWE is included. The paper will provide students and researchers new to this field with an explanation of basic concepts of UEWE and a detailed overview of previous studies, and will aid research on UEWE applications, especially device development and parameter optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of the magnetic field distribution in Z-pinch experiments remains an ongoing challenge. We present a method of measuring the radial distribution of the magnetic field around a copper rod using Zeeman splitting of sodium (Na) emission lines, in which an Na layer is formed by the laser ablation of NaCl crystals on a load surface. The load consists of a copper rod of 2 mm diameter and is pre-covered on its surface by the NaCl crystals. An 8 ns pulsed laser with an energy of 1 J and wavelength of 532 nm is focused on the crystals. The Na plasma is produced and expands from the surface of the copper rod into a vacuum. After applying a pulsed current with a peak value of 375 kA to the load, the Na 3s–3p doublet displays significant Zeeman splitting patterns. The self-luminosity of the Na plasma is recorded by a spectrometer coupled with an intensified charge-coupled device camera from an end-on view to eliminate the effects of different observing angles and Doppler shifts. We determine the magnetic field by fitting the measured spectra with the calculated results of the Voigt profile. The measurable range of radial position is 5–7 mm, and the corresponding magnetic field is 5–15 T. The averaged error of curve fitting is less than 12%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of precursor plasma and ablation dynamics of Al thin liner explosion are investigated in this manuscript. The size of 12 mm in diameter, 10 μm in thickness Al liners are exploded on the Qin-1 facility (about 450 ns, 450 kA). An axial laser shadowgraphy and interferometry platform is set up to observe the plasma dynamics inside the liner. To solve the problem that the inside plasma density of the liner cannot be absolutely calibrated due to the lack of a zero plasma density area, we have established a CW laser interference system using a streak camera which can trace the interference lines over time. Low-density (10−7−10−6 g cm−3) precursor plasma is generated from the interior wall and flows towards the center with a velocity of about 150–200 km s−1, thus forming a column with high electron density by accumulation. Simultaneously, a high-density plasma layer flows toward the center at about 10 km s−1. The electron density of the central plasma column rises up rapidly after the precursor reaches the center and achieves 2.5 × 1018 cm−3 at 280 ns after the current starts. To fully understand the process, we have used the resistive magnetohydrodynamic code FLASH to realize a simulation to study interior precursor dynamics. We compared these simulation results with our experiments. Finally, we measured the voltage for the whole process and derived the inductance change and effective current radius. We compared the simulated current density distribution with the experimental result which proves that a considerable amount of current flows through the center plasma column, making the effective radius of current become smaller over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments are performed on the 'Qin-1' double pulse current generator at Xi'an Jiaotong University to study the effect of the prepulse current on the implosion dynamics of two-wire Z-pinches. An independent prepulse current with an adjustable time-delay (Tdelay) is introduced to preheat the wires before the start of the main pulse current. An estimation of the deposited energy and the areal density reconstructed from the interferogram suggest that the wires are partly vaporized with a gasification fraction of ∼67%. The prepulse preconditioning has a redistribution effect on the load mass, which determines the subsequent implosion process. The planar implosion of the two-wire load with a preset Tdelay ⩽ 450 ns can be divided into the two-layer phase and the merged implosion phase. The snowplow-like implosion is the main characteristic of the shot with a 1050 ns Tdelay. The ablation streams gradually disappear with the increasing Tdelay. The proportion of the mass that participates in implosion is increased as the preset Tdelay increases from 120 ns to 1050 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using laser shadowgraphy and interferometry on a Qin-1 facility, the initial plasma formation and dynamics of an exploding stainless steel liner were investigated. To obtain the absolute electron density distribution inside the liner, we established continuous wave laser interferometry using a streak camera to measure the shift in the fringes over time. Plasma is generated at the interior wall and flows toward the center with a velocity of ∼100 km/s, thus forming a column with higher density by accumulation. Simultaneously, a high-density plasma layer is formed near the interior surface and this layer flows toward the center at approximately 10 km/s. In addition, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) instabilities were observed at the exterior surface using side-on laser shadow images at a much later time (∼400 ns). The growth in the amplitude and the wavelength of the perturbations were then analyzed. An MHD simulation of this process was then established to demonstrate that the high-density plasma layer carries part of the current and that it flows within the 10 km/s range after comparison with the experimental results. Finally, we measured the voltage and derived the change in the inductance. The results prove that part of the current flows through the center plasma column, which then influences the subsequent plasma flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach has been presented herein to prepare nano titanium carbide based on the underwater electrical explosion approach. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to investigate the morphology and composition of the electrical explosion products. A numerical model was established to investigate the nanoparticle formation process. The results show that the average diameter of the formed nanoparticles was ∼60 nm and approximately conformed to a lognormal distribution. Compared with the nanoparticles prepared by electrical explosion in gas, the nanoparticles prepared by the underwater electrical explosion had a smaller size distribution range and better sphericity. During the formation process of nanoparticles, the distribution of nanoparticles formed in a narrow temperature range near the specific temperature directly determined the characteristics of the final electrical explosion products. The specific temperature was ∼3400 K, which was also the specific temperature of the saturation ratio, the nucleation rate, the average diameter of the formed nuclei, the number of monomers, and the number of the formed nanoparticles. The diameters of nanoparticles obtained in the experiment were mainly concentrated between 50 and 70 nm, and the calculated diameters of the nanoparticles were mainly concentrated between 55 and 65 nm; therefore, the data obtained through the model were consistent with the experimental ones. These provide a way to synthesize the nano titanium carbide and a method to estimate their size and distribution, and it is hoped for understanding the evolution of the titanium wire underwater electrical explosion and the formation of nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main factor that slows down the high-frequency response of a resistive voltage divider (RVD) is the distributed stray capacitance (Cg) between the high-voltage-arm (HVA) and the grounded conductors, due to the charging and discharging of Cg through the high resistance RH of the HVA with characteristic time RHCg. Based on a RVD consisted of ceramic tube resistors, a compensation method utilizing the distributed capacitance between a specially shaped inner conductor and the HVA was proposed in this paper, which is more compact than grading rings and can work well with grounded shielding. The method was verified by electromagnetic simulation, which indicated a bandwidth improvement from 3 MHz to more than 1 GHz for the prototype RVD with grounded shielding. Experimental results showed that the 10%–90% rise time for a step input was improved by the compensating electrode from ∼90 ns to 1.25 ns. The main drawback of the method is the possible degradation of insulation when precise compensation is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater electrical explosions of Cu wires were carried out on a microsecond time scale to produce underwater shock waves. Experimental results show that the radial density distribution of the water flow after restrike contains several oscillations, observed as ∼1 mm-spaced layers in the backlit streak images and laser shadowgraphs. The phenomenon is attributed to the partial reheating of the exploding product (EP) by an interior restrike arc, which stimulates a compression wave propagating back and forth radially in the EP. Simulations are used to support the interior breakdown scenario and to demonstrate that each reflection of the compression wave at the EP–water interface launches a weak shock into the water, forming a multilayer structure. As the surrounding metallic vapor is ionized due to radiation and thermal conduction from the arc, the highly conductive plasma channel continues to extend radially and launches the main compression wave, which drowns out the multilayers when the power injection is sufficiently high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical explosion of wires (EEW) was carried out in an argon atmosphere for the preparation of nanoparticles. Aluminium wires with 0.1 mm diameter and 13 cm length (low mass) and 0.4 mm diameter and 11 cm length (high mass) were used, for which the vaporization energy of the wire was, respectively, far below and comparable to the initial stored energy of the power-supply capacitors. A numerical model was used to study the nanoparticle formation within the exploding wire plasmas. The model is based on a moment method and was modified according to the specific requirements of EEW—rapid expansion of the exploding wire and a high concentration of monomers—to take into consideration the quenching due to mechanical work on the surrounding medium, the energy release during the vapour–liquid phase transition, and the coagulation of liquid particles. The calculation took initial and boundary values from the experimental results and predicted average particle diameters of 36 nm and 116 nm for the low mass and high mass wire respectively, which are in qualitative agreement with the experimental values of 33 nm and 103 nm obtained from SEM images. The nucleation mechanisms including homogeneous nucleation and ion-induced nucleation are discussed in detail; the importance of including the phase transition and coagulation is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical explosion of wires (EEW) can be utilized as an efficient method to prepare nanopowders of metal, metal oxide, metal alloy, and so on, and the behavior of exploding wires varies greatly with different load and circuit parameters. In this paper, the relationship between discharge modes of EEW and load parameters (length and diameter) was studied during the preparation of Al nanopowders via EEW in argon gas. The experimental results showed that with fixed wire length and increasing diameter, the EEW will successively show the feature of current pause, current dwell, current pause again, and finally “being matched”; and for fixed wire diameter, there is a “critical length” of wire which divides the current-dwell mode and the current-pause mode. The critical length as a function of wire diameter peaks between 0.2 and 0.3 mm for the charging voltage of 11.5–20 kV (2.6- $\mu \text{F}$ capacitor); and the specific heat (deposited energy divided by sublimation energy) of wires was approximately 1 at the peaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discharge plasma channel (DPC) evolution process is observed by taking time-series self-emission intensified charge-coupled device (iCCD) photos and simultaneous shadow images. By adding neutral density filters before iCCD, the subtle structure of the DPC self-emission is observed. It is interesting that a treelike structure is observed soon after the voltage breakdown. Long exposure time photos demonstrate that this structure existed for hundreds of nanoseconds. An inner homogeneously luminous column arises latterly, forming a two-layer self-emission structure. Then, this column gradually occupies the whole DPC. Shadow images show that the expanding DPC maintains good axial uniformity, manifesting the long-standing uneven treelike structure only has limited impact on the energy distribution and the expansion process. The calculated expansion rate reaches its maximum value (4.75 km/s) not at the power peak, but 0.24 $\mu \text{s}$ after that. Then, the expansion rate undergoes fast drop and slow decline. In addition, it seems that the distributions of related plasma parameters experience an evolution from nonuniform to uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The density distribution is important information in the investigation of electrical exploding wires in the air. In this study, the density profiles of the electrons, tungsten atoms, and air at different instants were reconstructed based on a two-wavelength interferometry method. The experiment was carried out on a 1 kA, 0.1 kA/ns pulsed current generator, with a fine tungsten wire (10 μm in diameter). The laser probing images of the exploding products showed a two-layer structure, exhibiting a shunting discharge scenario. The fitted expanding trajectory of the dense core indicates that the expansion of the wire starts at the instant of the voltage drop. The reconstructed densities show the distribution of particles in the expansion process of the exploding wire. It is found that the wire core has a tube-like structure, and the plasma channel is located around the core boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on electrical and optical diagnostics and electrostatic calculations, the relationship between distribution of radial electric field and energy deposition of electrically exploded wires in vacuum was investigated. Copper plates with different diameters were used to modify the distribution of radial electric field along wire surface in the experiments. The calculated radial electric field showed good consistency with the wire core outline in optical images, and there is a saturated positive correlation between maximum specific energy (Esm) and averaged radial field strength over the wire length. It can be concluded that the direction and amplitude of radial electric field significantly affects Esm and dominates the structure of energy deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of single- and dual-wire Z-pinch of 8- \(\mu \) m W was investigated by X-ray backlighting using an X-pinch X-ray source. The experiments were carried out on the pulsed-power generator PPG-I (400 kA/500 kV/100 ns), which was designed and constructed by the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University. To scale the mass density distributions at different explosion time, a mass step wedge including eight tungsten layers was fabricated and inserted between the object Z-pinch and the X-ray film. By a large number of imaging experiments, the physical images of coronal plasma formation and interwire plasma merging were obtained. Based on the X-ray photos of 8- \(\mu \) m W and mass step wedge, the mass density distributions at different explosion time were drawn, and the conductance curve of time dependence of 8- \(\mu \) m W was also calculated using waveform of voltage and current. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

X-ray point source generated by X-pinches on the compact pulsed power device PPG-2 of Tsinghua University is well suited for phase-contrast imaging of weakly X-ray absorbing organism. Using six sets of photoconducting devices each covered by a filter of specific transmittance curve, the X-ray radiation energy spectra from Mo-wire and W-wire X-pinches were experimentally studied. It was found that X-ray with photon energy less than 2 keV takes the main part, about 70% of the total radiation, and the energy spectrum obeys exponential distribution; the bumps in the intervals of 2–3 keV for Mo and 4–6 keV for W may be attributed to the existence of line spectra such as L-shell of Mo and M-shell of W. Compared with the results of other groups, our measured X-ray energy yield were several times higher. The reasons may be attributed to differences in load current rising rate or different responses of X-ray detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electrical explosion of wire provides a practical approach to the experimental measurement of dynamic polarizability of metal atoms with high melting and boiling temperatures. With the help of insulation coating, a section of tungsten wire was transformed to the plasma state while the near electrode region was partially vaporized, which enabled us to locate the “neutral-region” (consisting of gaseous atoms) in the Mach-Zehnder interferogram. In this paper, the polarizability of the tungsten atom at 532 nm was reconstructed based on a technique previously used for the same purpose, and the basic preconditions of the measurement were verified in detail, including the existence of the neutral region, conservation of linear density of tungsten during wire expansion, and neglect of the vaporized insulation coating. The typical imaging time varied from 80 ns to as late as 200 ns and the reconstructed polarizability of the tungsten atom was 16 ± 1 Å3, which showed good statistical consistency and was also in good agreement with the previous results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wire explosion is the initial stage of the development of wire array Z-pinch load driven by high pulsed current. Based on the pulsed power generator PPG-1 (400 kA/100 ns), the process of 10- \(\mu \) m-W wire explosion at tens of kiloamperes was investigated. The time sequence images of wire explosion were obtained by X-ray backlighting with X-pinch X-ray point source, and the mass density distribution of the exploding wire at a certain time was calibrated by method of grayscale contrast based on a particular step wedge filter. By image processing of the time sequence images of wire explosion, the evolution of mass density distribution of wire explosion was presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]