DIAMOND FORTUNE seismic acceleration measurements
DIAMOND FORTUNE was a nuclear explosion detonated inside an 11 m hemispherical cavity in tuff at the Nevada Test Site. Previous cavity explosions such as STERLING and MILL YARD have shown a substantial decrease in the expected ground motion. These types of cavity tests present a serious problem for a Comprehensive Test Ban (CTB). Not only is detection a problem, but presently there is no seismic method to discriminate between a tamped and cavity explosion. DIAMOND FORTUNE allowed us to examine several aspects of a cavity explosion in the context of a CTB. On this test, there were two groups of accelerometers fielded. One group was located in the free-field at sites above and below the cavity within 30 m of the source. The second group consisted of a line of gauges placed in the invert of P-tunnel extending from 44 m to 224 m from the source. The purpose of this arrangement was to measure ground motion in an effort to detect a non-symmetric radiation pattern due to the hemisphere, examine the high frequency propagation of the free-field signals as a possible discriminate, and calculate the decoupling factor. The radiation pattern experiment was conducted in an effort to determine if the asymmetry of a hemispherical cavity could provide a preferred direction of transmission. The analysis indicated a definite radiation pattern with larger amplitudes transmitted through the spherical surface than the plane surface. The possibility of using high frequency signals as a discriminant of tamped versus cavity explosions is implied by the MILL YARD data. MILL YARD was also a nuclear explosion in an 11 m hemispherical cavity. The free-field ground motion signals from this test (<25 m) contained very large high frequency amplitudes ([approx]1000 Hz) in their spectra. DIAMOND FORTUNE also exhibited high frequency signals with comer frequencies twice that of the scaled tamped DISTANT ZENITH event.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/DP; USDOE Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 6254470
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-96-2544; ON: DE97003801
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
NEVADA TEST SITE
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
GROUND MOTION
SEISMIC DETECTION
TREATIES
COMPLIANCE
DETECTION
EXPLOSIONS
MOTION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
450300* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Nuclear Explosion Detection
350300 - Arms Control- Verification- (1987-)