Ground motions and the infrasound signal: A new model and the discovery of a significant cavity rebound signal. Los Alamos Source Region Program

Technical Report · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10165578· OSTI ID:10165578

Jones, E M; App, F N; Whitaker, R W

A model is presented that relates infrasound signals from underground nuclear tests to the peak vertical velocity at surface-ground-zero. For the most part, agreement between the model and observations is good, the exceptions being events conducted in shallow tuff layers in Yucca Flat. These events all have low values of the peak surface velocity. The authors have determined that the lack of agreement for these events is due to an unusual, second spall event. A stress-wave calculation is presented that reproduces the second-spall phenomenon and indicates that it is due to interference of cavity-rebound-associated signal with the initial ballistic motion of the surface layers. The effect of the rebound signal is to increase the amplitude of the infrasound signal and thus make low velocity events more detectable.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 10165578
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-93-861; ON: DE93015858; TRN: AHC29302%%44
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Mar 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION DETECTION
ACOUSTIC DETECTION
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SOUND WAVES
GROUND MOTION
NEVADA TEST SITE
TUFF
FRAGMENTATION
CAVITIES
WAVE PROPAGATION
AMPLITUDES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DATA ANALYSIS
ACCELERATION
HZ RANGE
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
450300
350300
VERIFICATION