Aircrew dose and engine dust ingestion from nuclear cloud penetration. Master's thesis

Technical Report · Fri Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6118100

Conners, S P

This thesis evaluates the threat to aircraft and aircrew from dust and radioactivity in a cloud generated by nuclear surface bursts. A model of the nuclear cloud is generated, using any number and type of weapons and any-desire dust-size distribution. The cloud is propagated through the atmosphere for a given time, then penetrated by an aircraft. The activity density in the cloud is converted to dose to the crew for a given path through the cloud. Radiation shielding and dust filters are included in the calculations. Alternatively, the cloud dust mass density can be converted to mass trapped in a filter or the cabin, or to the dust mass that has entered the engine. Methods for determining particle size and altitude distributions are presented. The ionizing dose to the crewmember is computed for both sky-shine and the dust trapped in the cabin during cloud passage. A method of computing the shielding power of the crew compartment against sky-shine is presented. Given the air flow rate into a filter or engine, the mass of ingested dust is found. These nuclear cloud and aircraft models are incorporated in a computer code oriented toward operational use. A significant feature of the code includes the ability to easily change the scenario with menu driven options.

• Research Organization: Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (USA). School of Engineering
• OSTI ID: 6118100
• Report Number(s): AD-A-159246/8/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450202* -- Explosions & Explosives-- Nuclear-- Weaponry-- (-1989)
AIR FILTERS
AIR FLOW
AIRCRAFT
ALTITUDE
CLOUDS
COMPARTMENTS
CONVERSION
DISTRIBUTION
DOSES
DUSTS
EQUIPMENT
EXPLOSIONS
FILTERS
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOACTIVE CLOUDS
SURFACE EXPLOSIONS