Quarter-Scale Close-in Blast-Loading Experiments in Support of the Planned Contained Firing Facility
Abstract
In anticipation of increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is proposing to construct a 60-kg firing chamber to provide blast-effects containment for most of its open-air, high-explosive, firing operations. Even though the Laboratory's operations are within current environmental limits, containment of the blast effects and hazardous debris will drastically reduce emissions to the environment and minimize the generated hazardous waste. One of the main design considerations is the extremely close-in (Z = 0.66 ft/lb(sup 1/3)) blast loading on the reinforced concrete floor of the chamber. Historically, floor damage due to close-in loading has been a common problem for other blast chambers within the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense. Blast-effects testing and computer analysis were conducted on a replica quarter-scale model of the preliminary floor design. Nineteen blast tests ranging from scaled distances of 1.14 ft/1b(sup 1/3) (25%) to 0.57 ft/lb(sup 1/3) (200%) were performed on the strain-gaged floor model. In response to predicted and measured failures at the 25% level, various state-of-the-art blast attenuation systems were quickly developed and tested. The most effective blast-attenuation system provided a significant improvement by reducing the measured floor stresses to acceptable levels while minimizing, by its reusability, the impact on the environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA526743
Entities
People
- Charles E. Baker
- John W. Pastrnak
- Larry F. Simmons
Organizations
- United States Department of Energy