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Airblast from Plowshare projects

Abstract

The purpose of airblast predictions and monitoring is to guard against strong blast waves being carried by the atmospheric acoustic lens into populated areas where they could cause hazard and damage. Experience and theory, with both high explosives and nuclear tests, burst both underground and in the air, have been developed to allow reasonable confidence in safety predictions. Standard explosion calculations and scaling laws are used to define the source strength to distances where quasi-acoustic propagation physics becomes valid. Underground bursts are attenuated by a factor which depends on scaled burst depth and the burst environment material. For row charges the source strength approaches a line source model with cylindrical blast expansion in directions perpendicular to the row. Atmospheric refraction by strata of different temperatures and winds causes nonuniform blast overpressure patterns to be propagated great distances. Jet stream winds may duct and even focus airblasts with as large as 8X magnifications over standard wave expansion at ranges of 30 to 100 miles. Ozonosphere ducting, by warm temperatures and monsoon winds at 30 miles altitudes, can cause 3X magnification at ranges from 70 to 150 miles. For very large explosives, these atmospheric effects can cause nuisance damage and breakage to  More>>
Authors:
Reed, J W [1] 
  1. Division 9111, Sandia Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Jul 01, 1969
Product Type:
Conference
Report Number:
INIS-XA-N-193; PB-187349; SWRHL-82
Resource Relation:
Conference: Symposium on public health aspects of peaceful uses of nuclear explosives, Las Vegas, NV (United States), 7-11 Apr 1969; Other Information: 9 refs, 12 figs; Related Information: In: Proceedings for the symposium on public health aspects of peaceful uses of nuclear explosives, 719 pages.
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; AIR; CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES; CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION; ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT; FORECASTING; MONSOONS; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; PREDICTION EQUATIONS; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; SECURITY PERSONNEL; UNDERGROUND; WIND
Sponsoring Organizations:
Southwestern Radiological Health Laboratory, Bureau of Radiological Health (United States)
OSTI ID:
20699893
Research Organizations:
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, Environmental Control Administration (United States)
Country of Origin:
IAEA
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
TRN: XA04N2194015895
Availability:
Available from INIS in electronic form
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
page(s) 309-333
Announcement Date:
Apr 10, 2006

Citation Formats

Reed, J W. Airblast from Plowshare projects. IAEA: N. p., 1969. Web.
Reed, J W. Airblast from Plowshare projects. IAEA.
Reed, J W. 1969. "Airblast from Plowshare projects." IAEA.
@misc{etde_20699893,
title = {Airblast from Plowshare projects}
author = {Reed, J W}
abstractNote = {The purpose of airblast predictions and monitoring is to guard against strong blast waves being carried by the atmospheric acoustic lens into populated areas where they could cause hazard and damage. Experience and theory, with both high explosives and nuclear tests, burst both underground and in the air, have been developed to allow reasonable confidence in safety predictions. Standard explosion calculations and scaling laws are used to define the source strength to distances where quasi-acoustic propagation physics becomes valid. Underground bursts are attenuated by a factor which depends on scaled burst depth and the burst environment material. For row charges the source strength approaches a line source model with cylindrical blast expansion in directions perpendicular to the row. Atmospheric refraction by strata of different temperatures and winds causes nonuniform blast overpressure patterns to be propagated great distances. Jet stream winds may duct and even focus airblasts with as large as 8X magnifications over standard wave expansion at ranges of 30 to 100 miles. Ozonosphere ducting, by warm temperatures and monsoon winds at 30 miles altitudes, can cause 3X magnification at ranges from 70 to 150 miles. For very large explosives, these atmospheric effects can cause nuisance damage and breakage to windows and plaster walls with a slight associated hazard to inhabitants. Damage claims from explosive tests, accidents, and sonic booms have been analyzed to give damage prediction equations in terms of incident airblast overpressure and exposed population. Over pressures can be calculated from source strength and atmospheric propagation parameters. Measurements in communities surrounding various explosives tests have served to verify prediction procedures and interpret the validity of damage claims. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1969}
month = {Jul}
}