title: A geophysical shock and air blast simulator at the National Ignition Facility.
abstract: The energy partitioning energy coupling experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have been designed to measure simultaneously the coupling of energy from a laser-driven target into both ground shock and air blast overpressure to nearby media. The source target for the experiment is positioned at a known height above the ground-surface simulant and is heated by four beams from the NIF. The resulting target energy density and specific energy are equal to those of a low-yield nuclear device. The ground-shock stress waves and atmospheric overpressure waveforms that result in our test system are hydrodynamically scaled analogs of full-scale seismic and air blast phenomena. This report summarizes the development of the platform, the simulations, and calculations that underpin the physics measurements that are being made, and finally the data that were measured. Agreement between the data and simulation of the order of a factor of two to three is seen for air blast quantities such as peak overpressure. Historical underground test data for seismic phenomena measured sensor displacements; we measure the stresses generated in our ground-surrogate medium. We find factors-of-a-few agreement between our measured peak stresses and predictions with modern geophysical computer codes.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Compton
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: O R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Walton
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shingleton
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holtmeier
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Loey
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Mirkarimi
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, L-481, Livermore, California 94550, USA.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Dunlop
authors.affiliation: National Securities Technologies, Vasco Rd., Livermore, California 94551, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Guyton
authors.affiliation: National Securities Technologies, Vasco Rd., Livermore, California 94551, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huffman