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.