Experiments and Model Assessment for Nuclear Fireball Interaction with Urban Debris Material

Author

• Koby D. Rouviere, University of Central FloridaFollow

Keywords

Soot formation, shock tube, urban debris surrogates, two-color pyrometry, laser extinction, nuclear fireball combustion

Subject Categories

Aerospace Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Predictive models for the dispersion of nuclear fallout rely heavily on computational estimates of particulates generated at the leading edge of the expanding fireball. These models lack experimental support for quantifying soot formed from the combustion of urban debris. Using a surrogate-based approach, this work establishes the first high-fidelity, time-resolved quantification of soot formation from the combustion of urban debris materials behind the incident shockwave of a nuclear detonation. Experiments were conducted at the University of Central Florida shock tube facility across a temperature range of 1567–2085 K and pressures of 1.0–1.6 bar. Two chemically distinct surrogate formulations were tested under highly fuel-rich conditions (Φ = 10): an ethylene-based plastic surrogate, representative of polyethylene, the most widely produced polymer in the world, and a wood surrogate formulated from the most prevalent pyrolysis products, with toluene added to capture the lignin fraction of wood. Soot diagnostics combined a 632.8 nm helium-neon laser with two-color pyrometry, using two Telops FAST M3K mid-wave infrared cameras, a technique which had not previously been implemented in the incident region of a shock tube. Soot yield data was collected and compared against the Co-Optima chemical kinetic model, demonstrating variation between experimental and model-predicted trends. Two-color pyrometry was used to map soot temperature, and its applicability in the incident shock region was assessed against optical thickness (KL) obtained directly from helium-neon laser extinction; it proved unreliable under these conditions. The resulting data creates a fundamental database for the development and refinement of nuclear fallout dispersion models, helping to improve predictions of the lofting of radioactive carbonaceous soot into the atmosphere in a post-detonation environment.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Vasu, Subith

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Format

PDF

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Release Date

8-15-2027

STARS Citation

Rouviere, Koby D., "Experiments and Model Assessment for Nuclear Fireball Interaction with Urban Debris Material" (2026). Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026. 344.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/gradstudies_etd_2026/344