NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVED SIMULATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPON EFFECTS

THE ARES CORPORATION HAS TEAMED WITH THE CALIFORNIA MUNITIONS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CAMDEC) TO PROPOSE AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPT FOR IMPROVING THE FIDELITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF HE NUCLEAR EFFECTS SIMULATION. THIS CONCEPT OFFERS A SIMPLE, LOW COST, UNIFORM, AND HOMOGENEOUS TEST CHARGE THROUGH THE USE OF A CONSUMABLE CONTAINER, WHICH ITSELF TAKES PART IN THE DETONATION PROCESS ELIMINATING CONTAINER DEBRIS AS A TEST ENVIRONMENT CONTAMINANT. THIS CONCEPT USES A FIBER REINFORCED BLASTING AGENT HELD IN A RUBBER LIKE MATRIX TO ACHIEVE A CONTAINER HAVING STRUCTURAL STRENGTH, WHICH ASSUMES THE DESIRED HE CHARGE GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATION WHEN FILLED WITH BLASTING AGENT (ANFO). THE CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION IS MUCH LIKE THAT OF A LARGE LOW PRESSURE TIRE. THE HIGH STRENGTH, HYDROCARBON, CONTAINER REINFORCING FIBERS WILL BE LARGELY CONSUMED DURING THE BLAST AND, IN ANY EVENT, WILL NOT FORM LARGE PARTICLES. INERT COMPONENTS WILL CONSTITUTE LESS THAN 0.2% OF THE TOTAL HE CHARGE. THE COMPLIANT CONTAINER ALSO PERMITS SIMPLE LOW COST FOOTINGS FOR GROUND MOUNTED CHARGES, AND SIMPLE SUSPENDED CHARGE SYSTEMS. IN SUMMARY, THE ARES TEAM CONCEPT PROVIDES A TECHNIQUE WHEREBY HE SIMULATION CHARGES CAN SUPPORT A WIDE VARIETY OF CONFIGURATIONS AND PROVIDE THE EFFECT OF A HOMOGENEOUS COMPLETELY BARE CHARGE WITH THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF A CONTAINED CHARGE.