Contained high explosive firing facility (CHEFF)

Conference · Sun Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States)

OSTI ID:6980694

Stacy, H L; Seitz, W L; Wackerle, J ^[1]; Polcyn, M; Esparza, E ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Group M-7, MS P952, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
2. Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78209-1128 (United States)

A cylindrical vessel capable of totally containing the products and shrapnel resulting from the detonation of 10 kg of TNT (or equivalent) has been designed and built by Southwest Research Institute for and according to the requirements of the Detonation Systems Group (M-7) of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The vessel is 6.0-m long by 3.6[minus]m diameter and is manufactured of 50-mm (elliptical end caps) and 38-mm (cylindrical walls) thick high-strength steel (HY-100). The cylindrical walls of the vessel are lined with 13-mm thick replaceable steel plates for shrapnel protection. The floor is made of steel-covered concrete. Ten large-aperature (254 mm) optical ports are available for instrumentation and four ports are provided for cabling and plumbing. Two qualifying detonation tests of 8.8 kg of C-4 explosive (equivalent to 10 kg TNT) have shown that the maximum strain produced is less than 78% of the elastic limit. The vessel is installed in a converted outdoor firing facility that has been modified to include an insulated and heated metal building to house the vessel and additional instrumentation. A computer-based system for data acquisition, firing control, and the monitoring of vessel response is described. [copyright]American Institute of Physics

• OSTI ID: 6980694
• Report Number(s): CONF-921145-; CODEN: APCPCS
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States), Vol. 309:1; Conference: Production and neutralization of negative ions and beams, Upton, NY (United States), 9-13 Nov 1992; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
TEST FACILITIES
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
DESIGN
DETONATIONS
LOS ALAMOS
TESTING
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EXPLOSIVES
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
URBAN AREAS
USA
450100* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Chemical Explosions & Explosives