Shrapnel Impact Probability Analysis Computer Code Development And Diagnostic Port Failure Analysis For LLNL's Explosives Testing Contained Firing Facility (CFF)

Abstract

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Contained Firing Facility (CFF) is a facility to be constructed for explosives testing of up to 60 kg of cased explosives at LLNL's Site 300 Explosives Test Site. The CFF will be a large, rectangular, reinforced concrete firing chamber, lined with steel for shrapnel protection. The CFF will contain several glass ports for cameras, lasers, and other diagnostic equipment to be used for data collection during planned explosives detonations. Glass is used due to the need for the greatest possible optical clarity. This computer code and the associated study were developed during the CFF final design stage to determine probabilities and consequences (bounding and best estimate) of impact of shrapnel, due to concerns about the possible effects of rebounding shrapnel on these glass diagnostic ports. Inquiries and searches discovered no established methodology for doing quantitative shrapnel impact probability analyses. Discussions with programmers in the three-dimensional graphics community led to the conclusion that ray-tracing software could be adapted to do the analysis. So the decision was made to develop the computerized tools needed to do shrapnel impact probability analysis. The analysis approach was developed by the team as a whole. David E. Price (a Senior Safety Analyst with Onsite Engineering & Management, a sub-contractor at LLNL) led the team. Bob Spence (an independent consultant and developer supporting both Macintosh and Windows platforms, with a strong preference for the Macintosh, and with a particular interest in graphics/animation/image processing applications) developed the computer code algorithms and modified the POV-Ray code.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA497478

Entities

People

  • Bob Spence
  • David E. Price
  • Russell Towle

Organizations

  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ammunition Fragments
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Data Sets
  • Diagnostic Equipment
  • Engineering
  • Explosives
  • Failure Analysis
  • Glass
  • Image Processing
  • Materials
  • Operating Systems
  • Probability
  • Ray Tracing
  • Three Dimensional
  • Trajectories

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy