Test plan for intermediate range airblast propagation measurements

An explosion test program is planned for firings at Cape Canaveral, Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California to determine how atmospheric refraction influences explosion wave propagation. Meteorological data for correlation with airblast propagation results will be obtained from rawinsonde balloon ascensions and meteorological tower instruments. Blast pressure gages will be operated at distances of 200 m to 5 km in a cruciform array centered on the explosion area. This will allow evaluation of wind component effects in four directions from each explosion. The primary experimental goal is to correlate the airblast over-pressure distance decay rate and the sound velocity-altitude gradient in the atmospheric boundary layer. In addition, there will be exploration of: (1) wind effects on height-of-burst Mach stem formation; (2) the influences of low level winds and ground surface temperature on propagation; and (3) the attenuation caused by atmospheric turbulence.