Effect of electrical discharge in seawater

Abstract

The capacitor discharge in seawater efficiently heats a limited volume of water between metal electrodes. A set of electrical, spectral, and laser probing diagnostics was used to characterize this interaction. The existence of discharges with and without shunting breakdown was demonstrated. Discharges without shunting breakdown showed purely resistive behavior without plasma generation and behavior with non-shunting plasma generation under the electrodes. A three-dimensional distribution of local temperature inside the seawater between the electrodes was reconstructed using interferometry. It was shown that the hottest region of the water ∼66 °C is located in the vicinity of the sharp part of electrodes. The generation of multiple shock waves during ∼2.5 μs in a seawater gap was demonstrated.