Numerical Simulation of Chemical Weapon Detonations
Abstract
The Huntsville Engineering and Support Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is currently involved in the location, removal, and demilitarization of stockpiled and non-stockpiled chemical munitions. To support the development of safe, efficient, and cost-effective approaches for demilitarizing these weapons, numerical simulations of the detonation of 9 chemical weapons were performed with CTH, an Eulerian hydrocode developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Arena test results were available for 4 of these weapons and comparisons to the CTH predictions showed very good agreement for both blast pressures and fragment velocities. However, as with all currently available numerical codes, fragment size distributions could not be predicted since it is beyond the state-of-the-art. The modeling of one weapon (the 4.7" artillery shell) and the results of the analysis are discussed in this paper. In addition, brief descriptions of the modeling results for the other 8 weapons are given, the development of two new Equation of State models for chemical weapons is discussed, and a brief summary of the lessons learned in performing hydrocode simulation of chemical weapon detonation is provided.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA509698
Entities
People
- David J. Stevens
- Joseph M. Serena Iii