Belarusian scientists offer plasma-powered thermal explosion technology

Scientists from the Belarusian city Grodno have come up with a technology to make electrohydraulic thermal explosions by tapping into plasma energy, BelTA learned from Vikenty Tarkovsky, Deputy Dean of the Physics and Technology Faculty of the Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno.

The new technology borrows heavily from the Yutkin effect. The latter describes the behavior of plasma energy during a short-lived electric discharge in a closed container filled with water. The method can be used to destroy concrete or stone structures during emergency and rescue operations. Possible applications may be found in other branches of the national economy, too. If used to remove concrete debris, the new method offers several advantages. It does not threaten the safety of people nearby. It is much faster than conventional methods. It is environmentally friendly and involves no chemical effects, air blasts, sound blasts or fragments.

Vikenty Tarkovsky said that the Grodno method is rather simple yet effective and safe. Blastholes have to be drilled in the object that has to be destroyed. Then the blastholes are filled with water. Once special radiators are submerged into the water, an extremely powerful electric discharge is produced. The discharge results in a plasma cord, which is expanding at the speed of over 1,400 meters per second. Limited by the liquid, the steam and plasma produce a so-called cavity hole, which collapses after reaching its maximum. The resulting effect is similar to the one produced by armor-piercing shells. Specialists estimate that the pressure at this stage can reach 450,000 atmospheres. The resulting shock wave affects only the structure that has to be destroyed without damaging people and material objects nearby. The shock effect area can be outlined rather precisely by the placement of the blastholes.

The Grodno technology was presented at the Saint Petersburg forum and at the industrial fair in Hannover in 2013. A Belarusian drilling company expressed its interest in the technology. The method was successfully tested in the field. Technolab, a resident company of the Grodno technological cluster, plans to implement the Grodno technology as an extremely powerful compact and mobile device.

According to Vikenty Tarkovsky, the electrohydraulic thermal explosion technology can be very effective not only for alleviating consequences of emergencies and saving people from under debris. The method can also be used in mining, mechanical engineering, agriculture, and healthcare.