CRATERING IN GREENLAND ICECAP SNOW.

Predicting cratering effects from explosions in various media and with various charge geometries is a primary purpose of nuclear weapons research. This report deals with crater formation resulting from high-explosive surface bursts in a snow medium. The test program for which crater data were obtain...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Conway,John A., Meyer,John W.
Other Authors: ARMY ENGINEER WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION VICKSBURG MISS
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1970
Subjects:
TNT
Ice
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0711861
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0711861
Description
Summary:Predicting cratering effects from explosions in various media and with various charge geometries is a primary purpose of nuclear weapons research. This report deals with crater formation resulting from high-explosive surface bursts in a snow medium. The test program for which crater data were obtained consisted of nine 256-pound TNT charges, one 500-pound C-4 charge, one 1,860-pound C-4 charge, and two 4,180-pound C-4 charges. All were surface bursts fired on the Greenland icecap. Results show that craters produced in snow are larger than those produced in other media, presumably due to greater vaporization and compaction of material. These craters have a characteristic wide, shallow appearance; it is believed that pseudoelastic rebound is the mechanism that diminishes crater depth. Analysis of the crater data shows that scaling exponents for craters in snow are lower than cube-root or other scaling exponents generally used for craters in soil or rock media. (Author) Sponsored by Defense Atomic Support Agency, Washington, D. C.