Questions for the VELA Program on Decoupling of Underground Explosions

Abstract

A discussion is presented concerning the implications of, and questions raised by, the Cowboy underground detonations with chemical explosives. These experiments verified the correctness of the theory that explosions in a large cavity experience a decoupling effect, that is, the resulting seismic signals are muffled. The Cowboy tests left certain problems still to be solved (e.g., the relationship between cavity volume and depth and the decoupling factor, and the possibility that chemical explosions produce significantly different curves from nuclear explosions under the test conditions).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 02, 1960
Accession Number
AD0260394

Entities

People

  • Albert L. Latter

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Explosives
  • Contracts
  • Decoupling
  • Department Of Defense
  • Depth
  • Detection
  • Elastic Properties
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Frequency
  • Government Procurement
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Plastic Flow
  • Plastic Properties
  • Underground Explosions

Readers

  • Seismology
  • Systems Analysis and Design