NUCLEAR WEAPON BURST PARAMETERS GOVERNING URBAN FIRE VULNERABILITY

Abstract

The weapon burst parameters governing thermal effects from nuclear weapon explosions are reviewed as part of the OCD program for assessing urban vulnerability to fire from nuclear bursts. The most important burst parameters are weapon yield, burst height, distance from target, and number of bursts. Spatial, temporal, and spectral characteristics of fireball development and thermal output are discussed as functions of these parameters. Peak blast overpressure as a function of yield, burst altitude and distance from ground zero is briefly discussed in relation to blast-caused secondary ignitions. The material presented will be useful for approximate calculations of weapon effects in analysis of urban fire vulnerability and other problems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 30, 1967
Accession Number
AD0659981

Entities

People

  • Robert E. Jones
  • Rolf H. Renner
  • Stanley B. Martin

Organizations

  • Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Altitude
  • Atmospheric Attenuation
  • Blast
  • Civil Defense
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Ground Zero
  • Height Of Burst
  • Low Altitude
  • Materials
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Radiation
  • Thermal Radiation
  • Vulnerability
  • X Rays

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Nuclear Civil Defense.
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.