'Do-it-yourself' fallout/blast shelter evaluation. Final report
Expedient fallout shelters recommended to the general public were evaluated for their potential to provide safety to occupants during nuclear blast. The blast threat was in the 2 to 50 psi overpressure range from a 1 megaton (MT) yield weapon. Research included a literature search for expedient shelter designs and evaluations of the designs to certify their ability to protect occupants. Shelters were evaluated systematically by first analyzing each design for expected failure loads. Next, scale model tests were planned and conducted in the Fort Cronkhite shock tunnel. Structural responses and blast pressures were recorded in a series of twelve experiments involving 96 structural response models. Two rigid models were included in each test to measure internal blast pressure leakage. Probabilities of survival were determined for each of the shelters tested. Expected failure mechanisms were identified for each of the eight U.S. shelters. One shelter, tilt-up doors and earth, was eliminated from consideration because of uncertainties for the associated permanent structure. Failure loads of the remaining seven shelters were determined through analysis. Analyses included failure by overturning/translation, trench collapse, or roof collapse. A car-over-trench shelter was evaluated solely through analysis. The threshold for human tolerance to blast pressures (lung damage) was calculated as 8 psi with a 99 percent survival rate at 28 psi. Thresholds for trench wall stability were calculated based on material strengths and shelter geometries.
- Research Organization:
- Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6763942
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-141688/2; SWRI-7531; UCRL-15606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Blast tests of expedient shelters in the DICE THROW event
Blast tests of expedient shelters