Pre-Shock Soil Temperature Predictions of a Simplified Soil Heating Model

Abstract : A model of energy transport and temperature evolution in the surface layers of soil subjected to thermal radiation prior to the time-of-arrival (TOA) of the blastwave from a low height-of-burst (HOB) nuclear explosion has been developed and evaluated. Processes taken into account are thermal conductivity, boiling of water, transpiration cooling, and attenuation of thermal radiation in the soil. Calculations were carried out for a range parameters. We present an analytic fit to the soil temperature profiles for a 1 MT explosion of 200 ft HOB at TOA as a function of ground range. Keywords: Simulated nuclear explosion; Nuclear explosion effects; Pre-shock thermal layer; Soil heating; Thermal conduction in soil; Soil temperature profiles.