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Title: Experimental determination of blast-wave pressure loading, thermal radiation protection, and electrical transmission loss for parabolic antenna models in simulated nuclear blast environments

Miscellaneous ·
OSTI ID:5450480

A twelve-inch-diameter parabolic antenna model instrumented with eleven differential pressure sensors was tested at the Ballistics Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Transient pressure loading was determined for 37 different antenna model angular positions with respect to the direction of the blast wave at a peak overpressure of 3.0 pounds per square inch; limited data at 4.5 and 6.0 pounds per square inch were also investigated. The first millisecond of shock-wave interaction with the antenna features the most prominent fully reversed triangular pressure pulse. A blast function, F, was developed that accurately approximates the transient behavior of the blast wave resultant force and moment loading on the antenna model. The resultant blast force on the antenna model is minimized when the axis of the paraboloid of the model is rotated 82{degree} with respect to the direction of the blast wave. Four different thermal protective coatings were tested to evaluate the effects of coating color and thickness. Transmission-loss measurements were completed on eight different quartz-polyimide antenna models coated with Caapcoat and Ocean 477 thermal protective coatings.

Research Organization:
Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States)
OSTI ID:
5450480
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English