Abstract: An experimental method is developed to simulate the plutonium aerosol source term in the circumstance of high-explosive detonation with ordinary surrogate metals on an aerosol test facility consisting of a confinement vessel and a non-viable aerosol sizing sampler. Five kinds of metals, including silver (Ag), tungsten (W), tin (Sn), cerium (Ce) and vanadium (V), are detonated in confinement vessel. Aerosol samples with aerodynamic diameter of smaller than 10 μm are collected. The cumulative mass and size distribution of each metal aerosolized in experiment are investigated and compared to the plutonium aerosol source term obtained from operation roller coaster-double tracks experiment of USA. The results show that the silver aerosol can simulate the plutonium aerosol source term in the laboratory environment, of which the cumulative mass distribution is in good agreement with that of plutonium, while the aerosol source terms of other four metals are quite different from that of plutonium. Two samples of the silver aerosol in confinement vessel are collected at different time after detonation, which are compared based on energy spectrum analysis and scanning electron microscope characterization. A solid sample on the bottom of confinement vessel is also collected, and the scanning electron microscope method is used to analyze the size distribution of the sediments. The results show that the AD of silver aerosol obtained just after detonation is in the range from 1.1 μm to 2.1 μm, while the aerosol size is larger for the late sample, suggesting that settlement and combination of the silver aerosol take place with time in confinement vessel.

Key words: ordnance science and technology, plutonium aerosol, silver, source term, cumulative mass distribution, size distribution