Literature survey of blast and fire effects of nuclear weapons on urban areas

Abstract

Literature Survey of Blast and Fire Effects of Nuclear Weapons on Urban Areas The American literature of the past 30 years on fire and blast effects of nuclear weapons on urban areas has been surveyed. The relevant work in the categories of thermal radiation and blast-wave propagation, ignition, structural response, and firespread is sketched and areas where information is apparently lacking are noted. One purpose of this report is to provide entry into the literature for researchers. Over 850 references are given, arranged alphabetically by first author. Accession numbers are given wherever possible to facilitate ordering from DTIC or NTIS. The main prupose of this report is to provide the basis for suggesting Sixty-two research priorities in fire and blast effects for civil defense. component problems are identified and assigned to one of three rankings according to their perceived relative state of knowledge. Without implying any relative importance by their order, we list below those areas where knowledge appears to be the most deficient. Ignition criteria for newer materials and for all materials under typical use conditions. Effects of complex geometry or mixed fuel on ignition criteria. Enclosure effects on flashover. Conditions under which blast.prornotes incipient fires. Effects of blast damage on the burn characteristics of structures. Debris production and distribution from individual building elements and buildings, especially residential. Fire spread rates between relatively intact structures for many simultaneous ignitions and through debris fields for various wind and weather conditions. Conditions for the existence of mass fires and conditions within and near them. Methodology for thermal radiation propagation through incompletely specified atmospheres. Methodology for efficient representation of an urban area in a realistic fashion. Methodology for calculating shadowing and shielding effects of a specified urban area. Methodology for calculating dynamic response and collapse of entire buildings. Multiple-burst effects on thermal radiation and blast-wave loading of targets; effects of blast on established fires; and structural response of structures previously damaged by blast or fire. Since the assignment of priorities depends on long-term goals and budget information, priorities are not suggested in this report.

Assessment of need for and design requirements of a wind tunnel facility to study fire effects of interest to DNA

“…Several bibliographies dealing with fire are available. Two of these [4,5] appeared during 1982 and provide extensive lists of relevant work.…”

“…These priorities were apparently dictated by military planners' fascination with the destructive potential of the nuclear blast shock wave and the justifiable emotional response of the general population to the possibility of radiation illness following exposure to radioactive fallout [5].…”

“…Synergistic effects of this type have not been widely discussed in the literature Despite the realization over thirty years ago that fires resulting from a nuclear detonation are likely to be highly destructive, Reitter et al [5] concluded as recently as 1982 that "the thermal radiation and consequent fire threat are unique features of nuclear weapons and have perhaps not received the appropriate amount of attention." These authors note that fire effects are generally not considered in strategic targeting and that all fire damage is considered to be a collateral effect.…”

“…Near the end of the 1960s the crash program in mass fires began to wind down and funding levels were greatly reduced in this area [22]. Research efforts during the two past decades have concentrated on improving fire start and spread methodologies developed during the earlier program and, with a few notable exceptions (e.g., [23]), there has been very little experimental effort to improve the understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for fire spread and mass fire behavior.…”

“…There has been an immense amount of research effort devoted to the development of predictive models for fire damage in urban environments resulting from nuclear detonations. Extensive recent bibliographies are available in the works of Groce and McKay [4] and Reitter et al [5] As Reitter et al . have noted [5], work in this area "has tended to be published only in contract reports, rather than in the technical literature; such reports seldom provide an overview of the problem or references to work by those outside of the civil defense community."…”