Prediction of Thermal Protection of Uniforms, and Thermal Effects on a Standard-Reference Material (U); Operation Plumbbob, Nevada Test Site May-October 1957 Project 8.2 WT-1441

50 pages per notation on report cover. DTIC page count is 53, plus covers. Red Lettering on spine. This report was classified as CONFIDENTIAL but later downgraded to UNCLASSIFIED. The authors were with the Naval Material Laboratory located as the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, NY. The Contents include: Part 1: Evaluation of Laboratory Methods for Determining Thermal Protection of Uniforms, with chapters on Introduction, Procedure, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions and Recommendations. This is followed by Part 2: Effects of Thermal Radiation on a Standard-Refenence Material, which chapters on Introduction, Procedure, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions and Recommendations. There is an Appendix on Basic Thermal Measurements and References. There are numerous Figures and Tables listed. The purpose of Project 8.2, Operation Plumbbob, was to determine the adequacy of the laboratory methods employed in the study of the effects of intense thermal radiation on materials. The primary objectives wee to determine the adequacy of physical methods for studying thermal damage to materials and for evaluating, by means of a physical skin simulant, the protection afforded by clothing to personnel against intense thermal radiation. A secondary objective of the project was to compare the burns predicted from the temperatures of the skin simulant behind an irradiated fabric assembly and the burns obtained on animals under identical exposure configurations. Measurements of thermal radiation were made successfully, and showed reasonable agreement with the generalized pulse. Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Project 57, and preceding Project 58/58A. The operation consisted of 29 explosions, of which only two did not produce any nuclear yield. Twenty-one laboratories and government agencies were involved. The Operation Plumbbob tests included forty-three military effects tests on civil and military structures, radiation and bio-medical studies, and aircraft structural tests. Operation Plumbbob had the tallest tower tests to date in the U.S. nuclear testing program as well as high-altitude balloon tests. Almost 1,200 pigs were subjected to bio-medical experiments and blast-effects studies during Operation Plumbbob. On shot Priscilla (37 kt), 719 pigs were used in various experiments on Frenchman Flat. Some pigs were placed in elevated cages and provided with suits made of different materials, to test which materials provided best protection from the thermal radiation. Some pigs survived, but with third-degree burns to 80% of their bodies. Other pigs were placed in pens behind large sheets of glass at measured distances from the hypocenter to test the effects of flying debris on living targets. Studies were conducted of radioactive contamination and fallout from a simulated accidental detonation of a weapon; and projects concerning earth motion, blast loading and neutron output were carried out. Wraps with two staples on the left side Defense Technical Information Center reprint 2004.…