Air Blast Parameters from Summer and Winter 20-Ton TNT Explosions, Operation Distant Plain, Events 3 and 5.

摘要

Air blast was measured from the detonation of two 20-ton spherical TNT charges positioned with the center of gravity at the air-ground interface. The detonations occurred in an area having a silty-clay alluvium composition. One charge was fired in the summer and the other was fired in the winter when the ground was frozen. Differences in the air blast phenomena occurred in the pressure region greater than 200 pounds per square inch. These differences were manifested by a lower pressure under winter conditions than under summer conditions. No major differences were observed in the parameters of positive phase duration, positive phase impulse, dynamic pressure and dynamic pressure impulse. The data agree well with the modifications made to existing height-of-burst charts made after a similar test series at the Nevada test site in 1964 to show less reduction in overpressure for a charge on the surface. (Author)