Affiliations: TASC Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA | Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA,
USA | U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center,
3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, USA | SAIC Intelligence, Security and Technology Group, San
Diego, CA, USA
Abstract: In assessing the potential collateral effects of bomb attacks on
tanks of stored liquids, it is useful to separate the liquid that is
aerosolized as an escaping cloud from that which remains inside the tank or
rapidly falls to the nearby ground. One relationship currently in use
partitions the two categories using a linear model of aerosolized fraction
versus fragment energy deposited per unit mass of liquid which is based on
calculations and a few test data points. Since this model is incorporated in
popular programs used by an expanding number of first responders to assess
potential hazards, there is a need for high-confidence test data across the
parameter space of interest to improve and/or validate the model. Such a series
of tests was conducted during November of 2008 in which 7.57-liter (ℓ)
sized cans of water were impacted with fragments of known mass using scored
cased explosive charges. Impact velocities were measured, and the remaining
water in the can and on the nearby ground platform was collected and weighed.
The missing water was assumed to be aerosolized. This new data establishes an
S-curve as a more accurate relationship between aerosolized fraction (AF) and
the fragment energy deposited per unit mass of liquid in the container.
Keywords: Collateral effects, aerosolized liquids, aerosolized clouds, chemical clouds, chemical plumes, fragment effects on liquid filled tanks, fragment rammed tanks, rammed liquid tanks, aerosolized fraction
