Production of Synthetic Nuclear Melt Glass

Abstract

Realistic surrogate nuclear debris is needed within the nuclear forensics community to test and validate post-detonation analysis techniques. Here we outline a novel process for producing bulk surface debris using a high temperature furnace. The material developed in this study is physically and chemically similar to trinitite (the melt glass produced by the first nuclear test). This synthetic nuclear melt glass is assumed to be similar to the vitrified material produced near the epicenter (ground zero) of any surface nuclear detonation in a desert environment. The process outlined here can be applied to produce other types of nuclear melt glass including that likely to be formed in an urban environment. This can be accomplished by simply modifying the precursor matrix to which this production process is applied. The melt glass produced in this study has been analyzed and compared to trinitite, revealing a comparable crystalline morphology, physical structure, void fraction, and chemical composition. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

Recent Advances in Nuclear Forensic Chemistry

“…A follow-up publication by the same group delved further into the tunability of these systems, including methods to simulate fallout generated in urban environments. 190 Perhaps the most valuable application of synthetic fallout surrogates is the ability to predict and model the fallout that could form in real-world locations, both urban and rural, enabling rapid response to a detonation event. Giminaro and coworkers have reported methods to synthesize surrogate postdetonation debris with comparable elemental compositions to the U.S. cities of Houston, TX, and New York, NY.…”

“…This synthetic melt glass was found to be very similar to Trinitite by XRD and SEM-EDX, and the radionuclide distribution could be modified by alteration of the irradiation time/flux and by the concentration of actinides within the melt. A follow-up publication by the same group delved further into the tunability of these systems, including methods to simulate fallout generated in urban environments …”