Empirical Development of Ground Acceleration, Velocity, and Displacement for Accidental Explosions at J5 or the Proposed Large Altitude Rocket Cell at Arnold Engineering Development Center

摘要

This study is an assessment of the ground shock which may be generated in the event of an accidental explosion at J5 or the proposed Large Altitude Rocket Cell (LARC) at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC). The assessment is accomplished by reviewing existing empirical relationships predicting ground motion from ground shock. These relationships are compared with data for surface explosions at sites with similar geology and with yields similar to expected conditions at AEDC. Empirical relationships are developed from these data and a judgment made whether to use existing empirical relationships or the relationships developed in this study. An existing relationship (Lipner et al.) is used to predict velocity; the empirical relationships developed in the course of this study are used to predict acceleration and displacement. The ground motions are presented in table form and as contour plots. Included also is a discussion of damage criteria from blast and earthquake studies. This report recommends using velocity rather than acceleration as an indicator of structural blast damage. It is recommended that v = 2 ips (v = .167 fps) be used as the damage threshold value (no major damage for v < or = 2 ips).