Electro-discharge system for neutralizing landmines

Abstract

A landmine-neutralization system has a vehicle including a water supply tank and an electrical power supply and an electro-discharge apparatus. The electro-discharge apparatus includes one or more electro-discharge nozzles each having a discharge chamber that has an inlet for receiving water from the water supply tank and an outlet, a first electrode extending into the discharge chamber and being electrically connected to one or more high-voltage capacitors that are connected to, and chargeable by, the electrical power supply, a second electrode proximate to the first electrode to define a gap between the first and second electrodes and a switch to cause the one or more capacitors to discharge across the gap between the electrodes to create a plasma bubble which expands to form a shockwave that escapes through one or more exit orifices of the one or more nozzles ahead of the plasma bubble to thereby neutralize a landmine.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.