ATMOSPHERIC DIFFUSION STUDIES AT THE NARF SITE

Abstract

Four atmospheric diffusion experiments were conducted in the Nuclear Aerospace Research Facility area at General Dynamics/Fort Worth in order to study the dispersal and dilution factors of the atmosphere as they pertain to the release of airborne radioactivity in the NARF area. Fluorescent dye was released to the atmosphere from a point near the Reactor Operations Building and sampled downwind to measure depletion factors under varying meteorological conditions. The tests were performed with air temperature gradients ranging from slightly unstable to mildly stable (inversion) situations. The sampling data obtained were applied in the evaluation of the parameters associated with the statistical diffusion equation. Although the four tests were too few in number to provide substantial statistical data, the results show that under the poorest diffusion conditions experienced, the effluent depletion factors ranged from approximately 0.0001 to 0.000001 between 88 and 704 m from the release point. These factors are considerably less than those actually being applied under nuclear safety considerations within the NARF reactor operations area.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0618101

Entities

People

  • H. G. Bradbury

Organizations

  • General Dynamics

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Temperature
  • Diffusion
  • Dilution
  • Dyes
  • Electric Power
  • Equations
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Inversion
  • Lapse Rate
  • Measurement
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Particle Size
  • Physics
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Reactor Operation
  • Research Facilities
  • Test Equipment

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Regression Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space