Catherine S. Plesko (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Robert P. Weaver (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Walter F. Huebner (Southwest Research Institute)
Keywords: Asteroid, Comet, Potentially Hazardous Object, Impact, Hazard Mitigation, Radiation Hydrodynamics
Abstract:
The possibility of asteroid and comet nucleus impacts on Earth has received significant recent media and scientific attention. Still, there are many outstanding questions about the correct response once a potentially hazardous object (PHO) is found. Nuclear explosives are often suggested as a deflection mechanism because they have a high internal energy per unit launch mass. However, major uncertainties remain about the use of nuclear explosives for hazard mitigation. There are large uncertainties in a PHOs physical response to a strong deflection or dispersion impulse like that delivered by nuclear munitions. Objects smaller than 100 m may be solid, and objects at all sizes may be rubble piles with large porosities and little strength [1]. Objects with these different properties would respond very differently, so the effects of object properties must be accounted for. Recent ground-based observations and missions to asteroids and comets have improved the planetary science communitys understanding of these objects. Computational power and simulation capabilities have improved to such an extent that it is possible to numerically model the hazard mitigation problem from first principles. Before we know that explosive yield Y at height h or depth -h from the target surface will produce a momentum change in or dispersion of a PHO, we must quantify the energy deposition into the system of particles that make up the PHO. Here we present the initial results of a parameter study in which we model the efficiency of energy deposition from a stand-off nuclear burst onto targets made of PHO constituent materials.
Date of Conference: September 14-17, 2010
Track: Modeling