Aircraft Shelter Explosives Quantity-Distance Evaluation, Concrete Sky, Phase 1XB
Abstract
Project CONCRETE SKY has been a continuing effort in the development of protective shelters for tactical aircraft. Phase IXB of the project considered the safety problems associated with the accidental detonation of a fully-loaded aircraft housed within the shelter. It was desired to learn whether such an explosion would propagate into adjacent shelters, causing near- simultaneous detonation (coalescence) of munitions in those shelters, and thus begin a chain reaction of explosions. To achieve this, three shelters were constructed to simulate Southeast Asia parking conditions. Obsolete aircraft were parked in each shelter and fully loaded with fuel and 12 M117 750-pound bombs to simulate combat-ready F-4s. The munitions in the center shelter were electrically detonated and the effects on the adjacent shelters were observed through high-speed photography, air-pressure gauges, and visual observation. The center shelter was completely destroyed in the explosion but no propagation to the outer shelters occurred. Some structural damage was sustained by the outer shelters and blast pressures caused minor damage to the aircraft. It was concluded that the standard shelter provided adequate protection against sympathetic detonation of bomb loads in adjacent shelters in the event of an accidential explosion of a typical tactical bomb load of up to 4800 pounds of mass-detonating explosives within the shelter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0886769
Entities
People
- Jon M. Jorgensen
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory