An Investigation of Plume Rise from Titan IV Rocket Launches
Abstract
Space launches at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) and Vandenberg Air Force Base (vAFB) produce exhaust ground clouds from the solid rocket boosters and liquid hypergolic fuels containing several toxic substances. In order to estimate the health effects that would be imposed upon the public by scheduled launches, range safety officials rely on the Rocket Exhaust Effluent Diffusion Model to predict ground level concentrations of these substances. A drawback to the REEDM is its underprediction of the initial ground clouds stabilization height. This underprediction causes an overprediction of the ground level toxic substance concentrations. This thesis focused on increasing the accuracy of the clouds stabilization height. Therefore, a model was developed incorporating conservation principles of volume, momentum, and buoyancy to predict stabilization height values. As part of the model a predictive function for the coefficient of entrainment was developed based on meteorological conditions. This rate of entrainment is a critical factor in accurately predicting the rise behavior of ground exhaust clouds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA334357
Entities
People
- Joseph D. Brands
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology