Ejecta Hazard Ranges from Underground Munitions Storage Magazines

Abstract : Current ejecta quantity-distance (Q-D) criteria for underground munitions storage magazines are based on a few large, high explosive tests, coupled with a limited number of model and full-scale experimefits in igloos and underground magazines. The ejecta hazards from accidental detonations in underground magazines are from two sources: overburden rupture and venting (shallow storage chambers), and the breakup of the access tunnel portal or material (including unexploded ordnance) expelled through it. Over the past decade, launch velocity curves for overburden ejecta have been developed in Norway, as a function of cover depth and chamber loading density. This paper describes the analyses conducted and the relation found between the Norwegian launch velocity curves, a simple computational model, and existing ejecta data.