An Investigation of Instantaneous Plume Rise from Rocket Exhaust

Abstract

Rocket launches at Vandenburg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Station produce exhaust clouds containing several toxic by-products, including HC1 and A12O3. These clouds rise to atmospheric stabilization heights, and then start dispersing and diffusing through the air. Upon reaching the ground, concentration levels of the toxins may present a human health risk. To predict these risks and concentration levels, range officials use a computer program titled the Rocket Effluent Exhaust Diffusion Model (REEDM). The version currently in use has been shown to underpredict the stabilization height of the exhaust cloud. This thesis examines the theory and algorithms used in REEDM that govern buoyant cloud rise. Further, modifications that improved the physics of the algorithms and changed an entrainment assumption were implemented and tested in REEDM. Stabilization heights predicted by REEDM using these modifications increased and in some cases closely agreed with observed heights. However, in some circumstances, predicted heights exceeded those observed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA321572

Entities

People

  • Paul F. Sand

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Algorithms
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Buoyancy
  • Chemistry
  • Coefficients
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Diffusion
  • Environmental Protection
  • Launch Vehicles
  • Materials
  • Stations
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Wind Direction

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.