60 Kilograms High Explosive Containment with Multi-diagnostic Capability

Transcription

1 UCRL-JC PREPRINT 60 Kilograms High Explosive Containment with Multi-diagnostic Capability L. F. Simmons M. B. Sueksdorf This paper was prepared for submittal to the 49th Meeting of the Aeroballistic Range Association The Hague, The Netherlands October 5-9, 1998 September 17, 1998 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory This is a preprint of a paper intended for publication in a journal or proceedings. Since changes may be made before publication, this preprint is made available with the understanding that it will not be cited or reproduced without the permission of the author.

2 DISCLAIMER This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

3 LLNL S (CFF) 60 Kilograms High Explosive Containment with Multi-diagnostic Capability Larry F. Simmons Mark B. Sueksdorf Livermore, Ca , U.S.A. In anticipation of increasingly stringent environmental regulations, (LLNL) proposes to construct a 60 kilogram (kg) firing chamber to provide blast-effects containment for most of its open-air, high explosives, firing operations. Even though these operations are within current environmental limits, containment of the blast effects and hazardous debris will further drastically reduce emissions to the environment and minimize the generated hazardous waste. The heart of the (CFF) is the reinforced concrete firing chamber. Slightly larger than half a small gymnasium (15.5 meters by 16.8 meters and 9.2 meters high), the firing chamber will contain the blast overpressure and debris from detonations of up to 60 kg of cased explosive charges. The size and shape of the chamber was selected to accommodate the existing high speed camera ports and the FXR radiography source. This encompasses a large area that will be useful for complicated experiment set-up. This is one of the largest operational high explosives limit firing chamber, with the largest usable space for diagnostic set-up of this kind in the world. The inside surfaces of the chamber will be protected from shrapnel traveling as fast as 1.5 kilometers per second with 38 millimeterthick mild steel plates. To permit repetitive firings, all main structural elements of the firing chamber are required to remain elastic when subjected to blast. Detonations will be conducted

4 above a 100 millimeter-thick steel firing surface (the shot anvil) embedded in the concrete floor. CFF represents a modernization of the Building 801 Test Facility. Completed in 1980 s, Building 801 houses the advanced diagnostics needed to understand the chemical explosive phase of a nuclear weapon s performance. It boasts our world-class flash x- ray (FXR) radiography machine, which can clearly image what s happening inside a thick-walled object. Its digital imaging camera can record the material structure image of an explosively driven implosion. There are other diagnostics in CFF. A multi-beam laser velocimeter will record the velocity of imploding metal surfaces. Electronic-pin diagnostics will measure the position of such surfaces. To capture images of materials moving at ultrafast velocities, we will use our laser-illuminated image-converter camera and high-speed optics. A gamma-ray camera provides greater sensitivity for x-ray imaging. For workers in the facility, decontamination of the firing chamber after testing is important. Some of the toxic and hazardous products from the testing that will be monitored include ammonia, carbon monoxide, hydrogen fluoride, nitrogen oxide, hydrogen cyanide, as well as beryllium and depleted uranium metals. Special mechanical systems will be installed for internal purging and cleaning of the chamber. An air purge will be conducted to remove contamination by exchanging roughly ten times the volume of the firing chamber with outside air. The wash-down decontamination system will recirulate water spray within the chamber and filter out dust and particulates in the form of sludge. These systems have been designed with the goal for the workers to return to work in the chamber without protective clothing or breathing apparatus. All doors, optical lines of sight, and other penetrations into the firing chamber will be sealed to provide a pressure boundary for the blast and quasistatic pressures. After the gases have cooled, the blast dampers will be opened and ventilation fans will supply

5 fresh air. The exhaust gases will be processed through a wet scrubber and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters before being released to the environment. Testing and instrumentation data collection: All main structural elements of the firing chamber must be able to withstand repetitive firing as well as meet design safety standards. These criteria require the structure to withstand a 94 kg TNT blast, which is equivalent to 60 kg of high explosives. During the Qualification Testing phase of the CFF project, a 124% overtest will be run using 75 kg of high explosives to provide an addition margin of safety and satisfy prescribed requirements. A comprehensive research and development program was executed to verify the chamber design concept. We conducted three experimental tests, close-in load testing of the 1/4 scale floor section, shrapnel penetration tests of wall section and a 1/4 scale replica model of the firing chamber was designed, constructed and instrumented with strain gauges pressure transducers and temperature gauges. The data from these tests has been used to verify the conceptual design of the firing chamber and locate the instrumentation for the qualification experiments. We plan to install instrumentation including strain gauges, accelerometers, temperature and pressure sensors as a part of the construction. This instrumentation will be used during the initial chamber testing and qualification phase to verify the structural response is consistent with the design expectations. Conclusion: It appears that the CFF design features will be capable of handling the blast effects and detonation byproduct cleanup challenges inherent in cased high explosive experimentation while maintaining extensive diagnostic capability. This new facility will offer operational advantages and opportunity per new diagnostic development. The CFF project is scheduled to start

6 construction in April 1999 with the completion of construction in January 2001 and the completion of activation and testing in July Acknowledgement: This work was performed under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48. References: J. W. Pastrnak, C.F. Baker, and L. F. Simmons, Shrapnel Protection Testing in Support of Proposed Site 300 Contained Firing Facility,, UCRL-ID (1992) J. W. Pastrnak, C.F. Baker, and L. F. Simmons, Quarter-Scale Close-in Blast-Loading Experiments in Support of the Planned, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UCRL-JC (1994) J. W. Pastrnak, C.F. Baker, and L. F. Simmons, Empirical Validation of the Conceptual Design of the LLNL 60-kg, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UCRL-JD (1995) Site 300 -Conceptual Design Report, U.S. Department of Energy Project Number 96-D-105, prepared by Holmes & Narver Architects-Engineers, (Revised January 1995) Science & Technology Review, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, (March 1997)

7 CFF will be at Site 300, about 60 highway miles southeast of San Francisco Pacific Ocean San Francisco S.F. Airport Oakland Oakland Airport 680 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) * Tracy Livermore Corral Hollow Rd CFF (at LLNL's Site 300 Experimental Test Facility) 880 * San Jose Stockton 99 5 Modesto NORTH 17 Santa Cruz San Jose Airport 101 Figure 2 Figure 1

8 CFF will enhance the world s most capable stockpile stewardship test facility Existing stockpile stewardship test facility (Bunker 801) Containment chamber to replace 801's open-air testing Anticipate environmental concerns Houses flash x-ray (FXR) radiography machine CFF addition (~$50M, 5-yr construction project) Modernize bunker Minimize waste Figure 3 Figure 2

9 Firing Chamber Figure 4 Figure 3

10 Experimenters will have access to simultaneous leading-edge weapons test diagnostics Flash x-ray (FXR) radiography machine For high-resolution pictures of thick objects CFF's containment chamber Diagnostics ports High-speed optics ports FXR "bullnose" Multi-beam laser velocimeter Records velocity of imploding metal surface Laser-illuminated image-converter camera and high-speed optics Ultrafast imaging with extremely high resolution Figure 4 Gamma-ray camera for improved x-ray detection Electronic-pin diagnostics Measures position of imploding Figure 5 metal surface

11 Our plan to contain selected explosions should please our neighbors Tracy Patterson Pass Road 4000-ft-radius shrapnel circle Tesl a Road CFF B851 Proposed future residential land development B801 LLNL Site ft-radius shrapnel circle eliminated by CFF Proposed future Carnegie Business Park Corral Hollow Rd California Tracy Municipal Airport Aqueduct Delta-Me ndota Canal Alameda County San Joaquin County NORTH 1 mile scale Figure 6 Figure 5

12 We plan to reduce the environmental impact of weapon-scale high-explosive experiments Beryllium Beryllium Tritium Lead Zinc Hydrogen fluoride Ammonia Chromium Vanadium The chamber will contain hazardous materials potentially subject to regulation Depleted uranium Depleted Uranium Nickel Copper Figure 7 Figure 6

13 CFF Washwater and Chamber Purge System Figure 7 Figure 8

14 CFF will minimize the dispersal of waste material Flash x-ray (FXR) radiography machine Eliminates shot test materials Eliminates gravel Firing table Figure 9 Figure 8

15 The chamber will have one of the world s largest operational explosive weight limits CFF's containment chamber Operational weight limit = 60 kg (132 lb) of energetic high explosives Design weight = 93.6 kg (206 Figure lb) TNT 10 Figure 9

16 CFF will be designed and built in five years for about $50 million Project start Design complete Construction complete Facility operational 2/96 5/98 01/01 7/2001 Total estimated cost (Congressional allocation) Total project cost (includes operational funds) $49.7M $52.8M Figure 11 Figure 10