New Yield Estimates for Nuclear Detonations Over Water

Technical Report · Mon Feb 10 04:00:00 EST 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1658681· OSTI ID:1658681

Myers, A. H. ^[1]; Spriggs, G. D. ^[1]; Cook, A. W. ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

One of the primary methods used by the United States to estimate the yields of atmospheric nuclear tests performed in the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s was to film each detonation with a high-speed camera, measure the blast radius as a function of time, and then use Taylor’s spherical blast wave equation to calculate the source energy (i.e., the yield). For surface detonations, the yield in Taylor’s equation was assumed to be twice as large as the actual yield to account for the energy reflected from the surface, assuming the ground was a perfect reflector. Recent simulations of surface detonations over water (referred to as barge shots) have shown that Taylor’s equation must be modified further to account for material entrainment and heat losses. We have computed this lost energy using a high-order radiation-hydrodynamics code to determine the reduction in blast radius vs. time. By analyzing simulation data in the same manner as film data, we have determined that a yield correction factor of 1.27± 0.04 should be applied to the barge shots.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344
• OSTI ID: 1658681
• Report Number(s): LLNL-JRNL--804822; 1009035
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
atmospheric nuclear test
blast wave
numerical simulation
radiation-hydrodynamics