Lofting of dust by very large explosions
One of the goals of the Minor Scale test was to determine the quantity, form, and composition of dust lofted by a large detonation of a conventional high explosive at ground level. The explosive charge was 4427 tonnes of ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (ANFO), whose blast effect is approximately equal to that of an 8 kT nuclear device. The experimental techniques used to determine the amount of dust were (1) use of elements in soil as natural tracers, (2) inclusion of tracer elements in the ANFO charge and the immediate surroundings, (3) airborne collection of the lofted dust on filter media, and (4) analysis of the samples for both tracers and dust. The tracer content of the sample can then relate the dust collected to the total amount lofted and to the location of its origin within the experimental setup. Indium, in the oxide form, was placed within the explosive charge, and tantalum as very fine dust, was placed near the soil surface immediately adjacent to the charge container. The amounts of the tracers and of dust collected by each filter were measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis. A research aircraft equipped with well-characterized high-volume filter samplers was flown through the dust cloud at 10 levels between the top at 4.6 km and the bottom at 1.7 km above ground level. The cloud dust density was distinctly biomodal; its maxima were at 4.1 and 2.9 km. The majority of the indium was associated with the dust in the upper part of the cloud, and the majority of the tantalum was in the lower part. The estimate of the total dust lofted by use of the naturally occurring tracers was 3.0 x 10/sup 9/ g. Samples are being studied by scanning electron microscopy to determine their particle size and composition distributions as functions of location within the cloud.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 6330446
- Report Number(s):
- LA-11080-MS; ON: DE87012677
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DUSTS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
PARTICLE SIZE
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SURFACE EXPLOSIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
BLAST EFFECTS
CLOUDS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
TRACER TECHNIQUES
DATA
DISTRIBUTION
EXPLOSIONS
INFORMATION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
SIZE
450100* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Chemical Explosions & Explosives
500200 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)