Developing a Blast-Resistant Carbon-Smoke Generator for Civil Defense

摘要

The study examines methods of providing blast resistance for civil defense smokescreen generators. Because the generator contains liquid fuel and an ignition source, it would create a serious fire hazard in an urban environment under nuclear attack. The main effort of this research project was directed toward testing methods for confining the fuel and testing the unconventional components of a smoke generator. Functional tests were performed to assure production of smoke. Blast-resistance testing (up to 10 psi) utilized shock tunnel facilities. Test results show that the blast-hardened smoke generator was operable during and after the passage of a 5-psi blast wave. Fire hazards relative to fuel storage were satisfactorily limited at peak overpressures up to 10 psi. Ordinary fire safety precautions of excluding flames and flammable materials within 20 ft of a hardened smoke generator were found to be sufficient to eliminate the fire hazard. A preliminary cost estimate compares a blast-hardened generator with an unhardened generator. (Author)