Viscous Particle Breakup within a Cooling Nuclear Fireball
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Lock Haven Univ., Lock Haven, PA (United States)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Lock Haven Univ., Lock Haven, PA (United States)
Following the surface detonation of a nuclear weapon, the Earth’s crust and immediate surroundings are drawn into the fireball and form melts. Fallout is formed as these melts incorporate radioactive material from the bomb vapor and cool rapidly. The resultant fallout plume and dispersion of radioactive contamination is a function of several factors including weather patterns and fallout particle shapes and size distributions. Accurate modeling of the size distributions of fallout forms an important data point for dispersion codes that calculate the aerial distribution of fallout. While morphological evidence for aggregation of molten droplets is well documented in fallout glass populations, the breakup of these molten droplets has not been similarly studied. This study documents evidence that quenched fallout populations preserve evidence of molten breakup mechanisms.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 1349785
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-TR-704341
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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