Abstract: The energy deposition in the process of wire electrical explosion is directly related to the particle size distribution of prepared nanoparticles. In order to study the influence of electrical parameters on energy deposition, the electrode types and air gap lengths were adjusted to carry out the wire electrical explosion experiment. In the experiment, a high sampling rate oscilloscope was used to collect the voltage and current waveforms, and the deposition energy of the alloy wire and the particle size distribution of the prepared nanoparticles were analyzed. The results indicate that there is a harmonic component with high amplitude in the wire explosion current, and the harmonic deposition energy contributes to the total deposition energy of the wire, which can affect the average particle size of the prepared nanoparticles.Between the two types of electrodes, the ratio of harmonic deposition energy to total deposition energy is higher when parallel electrodes are used than when coaxial electrodes are used. Shortening the discharge air gap can reduce the ratio of harmonic deposition energy and reduce total deposition energy also. Investigations to particle size distribution show that the average particle size of the nanoparticles prepared by parallel electrodes is smaller, which further indicates that the total deposition energy increases in this condition.

Key words: wire electrical explosion, energy deposition, electrical parameters