Publications Details
Measuring the dynamic compression and release behavior of the Paintbrush and Tunnel Bed (NTS) Tuffs over the range 1--13 GPa
High pressure Hugoniot and release equation of state data are provided for samples from three Nevada Test Site rock units. These are the MC-2 and MC-3 members of the P-Tunnel (Paintbrush) Tuff and the N-Tunnel (Tunnel Bed) Tuff. The technique used provides continuous release trajectories from the Hugoniot pressure down to approximately half of the Hugoniot pressure. Hugoniot and release results for the MC-2 and MC-3 members are very similar, while the Hugoniot of the N-Tunnel Tuff is somewhat stiffer, consistent with the higher density of this tuff as tested. The materials were tested at less than full saturation; correcting for this tends to narrow the difference in the properties of the two rock types sufficiently that the data do not provide a basis for predicting significantly different groundshock properties of the three units, leaving unexplained the anomalously high groundshock attenuation observed in the Mission Cyber event (performed in the MC-2 unit of the Paintbrush tuff). 26 refs., 61 figs., 9 tabs.