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Alaskan Frozen Soil Impact Tests of the B83-C/S and Strategic Earth Penetrator.

DE88002517

Publication Date	1987
Personal Author	Dockery, H. A.; Clarke, J. B.; Stull, S. P.; Cain, S. G.; Everett, R. N.
Page Count	25
Abstract	To assess the penetrability of the B83 strategic bomb and a Strategic Earth Penetrator design into frozen soil and ice, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, assisted by the US Air Force and US Army, conducted a series of tests in 1987. In April, Strategic Earth Penetrator units were dropped into multi-year sea ice and frozen tundra near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Calculated impact velocity ranged from 200 to 308 ft/s into ice and from 200 to 444 ft/s into frozen tundra. Tests in May include drops of a B83 design with specially designed ogive nose shape, a B83 with a cap over the production ''cookie cutter'' nose, and a Strategic Earth Penetrator. The May tests were conducted near Fairbanks, Alaska, at Eielson Air Force Base and at Donnelly Flats on the Fort Greely Military Reservation. The type of frozen soil encountered at Eielson was very homogeneous in composition; however. Two drops impacted areas with very thin frozen soil layers at depths of about 24 in. below the surface. Velocities of these drops prior to impact ranged from 256 to 308 ft/s, and peak axial deceleration ranged from 160 to 490 g. The units penetrated to depths of 7.5-12 ft. Three other events impacted in a target area where frozen soil averaging 35 in. thick extended essentially to the surface. We calculated velocities prior to impact at 200-256 ft/s; and penetration depths of 3.2-9.6 ft. The geologic material at Donnelly Flats was primarily a very hard, rocky glacial deposit with a variable degree of ice bonding. Here, the test units dropped from 10,000 ft above ground level and achieved an average calculated velocity of 802 ft/s. Depth of penetration ranged from 7.6 to 13.5 ft. (ERA citation 13:041142)
Keywords	Earth penetrators Nuclear weapons Soil Alaska Bombs D codes Drill cores Finite element method Freezing Ice Impact tests Prudhoe Bay Soil mechanics ERDA/450202 ERDA/420200
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
NTIS Subject Category	77D - Nuclear Explosions & Devices 79E - Detonations, Explosion Effects, & Ballistics 74H - Nuclear Warfare 50D - Soil & Rock Mechanics
Corporate Authors	Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	198902
Contract Number	W-7405-ENG-48

Alaskan Frozen Soil Impact Tests of the B83-C/S and Strategic Earth Penetrator.

Alaskan Frozen Soil Impact Tests of the B83-C/S and Strategic Earth Penetrator.
DE88002517

Publication Date	1987
Personal Author	Dockery, H. A.; Clarke, J. B.; Stull, S. P.; Cain, S. G.; Everett, R. N.
Page Count	25
Abstract	To assess the penetrability of the B83 strategic bomb and a Strategic Earth Penetrator design into frozen soil and ice, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, assisted by the US Air Force and US Army, conducted a series of tests in 1987. In April, Strategic Earth Penetrator units were dropped into multi-year sea ice and frozen tundra near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Calculated impact velocity ranged from 200 to 308 ft/s into ice and from 200 to 444 ft/s into frozen tundra. Tests in May include drops of a B83 design with specially designed ogive nose shape, a B83 with a cap over the production ''cookie cutter'' nose, and a Strategic Earth Penetrator. The May tests were conducted near Fairbanks, Alaska, at Eielson Air Force Base and at Donnelly Flats on the Fort Greely Military Reservation. The type of frozen soil encountered at Eielson was very homogeneous in composition; however. Two drops impacted areas with very thin frozen soil layers at depths of about 24 in. below the surface. Velocities of these drops prior to impact ranged from 256 to 308 ft/s, and peak axial deceleration ranged from 160 to 490 g. The units penetrated to depths of 7.5-12 ft. Three other events impacted in a target area where frozen soil averaging 35 in. thick extended essentially to the surface. We calculated velocities prior to impact at 200-256 ft/s; and penetration depths of 3.2-9.6 ft. The geologic material at Donnelly Flats was primarily a very hard, rocky glacial deposit with a variable degree of ice bonding. Here, the test units dropped from 10,000 ft above ground level and achieved an average calculated velocity of 802 ft/s. Depth of penetration ranged from 7.6 to 13.5 ft. (ERA citation 13:041142)
Keywords	Earth penetrators Nuclear weapons Soil Alaska Bombs D codes Drill cores Finite element method Freezing Ice Impact tests Prudhoe Bay Soil mechanics ERDA/450202 ERDA/420200
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
NTIS Subject Category	77D - Nuclear Explosions & Devices 79E - Detonations, Explosion Effects, & Ballistics 74H - Nuclear Warfare 50D - Soil & Rock Mechanics
Corporate Authors	Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	198902
Contract Number	W-7405-ENG-48