NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Thermobaric weapon

Thermobaric weapons distinguish themselves from conventional explosive weapons by using atmospheric oxygen, instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosives. They are also called high-impulse thermobaric weapons (HITs), fuel-air explosives (FAE or FAX) or sometimes fuel-air munitions, heat and pressure weapons, or vacuum bombs. They produce more explosive energy for a given size than do other conventional explosives, but have the downside of being less predictable in their effect. An incendiary device is a device or weapon designed to create a fire. ... General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... An oxidizing agent is a substance that oxidizes another substance in electrochemistry or redox chemical reactions in general. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... For other uses, see Weapon (disambiguation). ...

Terminology

The term thermobaric is derived from the Greek words for “heat” and “pressure”: thermobarikos (θερμοβαρικός), from thermos (θερμός), hot + baros (βάρος), weight, pressure + suffix -ikos (-ικός), suffix -ic. For other uses, see Heat (disambiguation) In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is energy transferred from one body or system to another due to a difference in temperature. ... This article is about pressure in the physical sciences. ...

Some experts draw a distinction between the terms thermobaric weapon and fuel-air explosive based on the primary intended effects. Thermobaric weapons relate to closed-zone convection or air displacement as the primary objective. Other sources use "fuel-air" as a catch-all term, subsuming "thermobaric" as previously detailed; still others use the two terms interchangeably. Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of currents within fluids (i. ...

Conventional explosive weapons such as the Daisy Cutter incorporate both agent and oxidizer. In contrast, a fuel-air explosive consists only of agent and a dispersing mechanism, using oxygen from the air as the oxidizer. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ...

Mechanism

A thermobaric weapon works by first dispersing a cloud of powder or liquid explosive using a small charge, then igniting it with a second charge.

The weapon consists of a container of either a volatile liquid or a finely powdered solid, which could be an explosive or metal powder, and two separate explosive charges. The ability of a liquid to evaporate quickly and at relatively low temperatures. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ...

The weapon is initiated upon dropping or firing, and the first explosive charge (or some other dispersal mechanism) bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen. Once the fuel is appropriately mixed, the second charge detonates, propagating an explosion (blast wave) through the cloud. General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... A blast wave is a term from compressible fluid dynamics. ...

Newer types of thermobaric weapons do not disperse the fuel before igniting it, but are single-stage bombs having one explosive charge that both ignites and disperses the fuel.

Weapon effects

Fuel-air explosives represent the military application of the vapor cloud explosion and dust explosion accidents that have long bedeviled a variety of industries. An accidental fuel-air explosion may occur as a result of a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), for example when a tank containing liquified petroleum gas bursts. Silo explosions, caused by the ignition of finely-powdered atmospheric dust, are another example. A BLEVE erupting from a tanker. ... A BLEVE erupting from a tanker. ... 45 kg LPG cylinders Spherical Gas Container typically found in Refineries. ... Resolving Ambiguity There are two types of flour bomb: The relatively innocuous use of flour in a fragile container, thrown at a person or object to produce an inconvenient stain. ... Look up dust in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Fuel-air explosives disperse an aerosol cloud of fuel which is ignited by an embedded detonator to produce an explosion. The rapidly expanding wave front due to overpressure flattens all objects within close proximity of the epicenter of the aerosol fuel cloud, and produces debilitating damage well beyond the flattened area. The main destructive force of FAE is high pressure. More importantly, the duration of the overpressure gives it an edge over conventional explosives and makes fuel-air explosives useful against hard targets such as minefields, armored vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, and bunkers. Aerosol, is a term derived from the fact that matter floating in air is a suspension (a mixture in which solid or liquid or combined solid-liquid particles are suspended in a fluid). ... A detonator is a device used to trigger bombs, shaped charges and other forms of explosive material and explosive devices. ... Overpressure, in geology, is a term used to describe the pressure regime in a stratigraphic unit that exhibits higher-than-hydrostatic pressure in its pore structure. ... For other uses, see Epicenter (disambiguation). ... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, also known as Mother Of All Bombs, produced in the United States. ... A landmine is a type of mine which is placed onto or into the ground and explodes when triggered by a vehicle or person. ...

There are dramatic differences between explosions involving high explosives and vapor clouds at close distances. For the same amount of energy, the high explosive blast overpressure is much higher and the blast impulse is much lower than that from a vapor cloud explosion. The shock wave from a TNT explosion is of relatively short duration, while the blast wave produced by an explosion of hydrocarbon material displays a relatively long duration. The duration of the positive phase of a shock wave is an important parameter in the response of structures to a blast. R-phrases S-phrases Related Compounds Related compounds picric acid hexanitrobenzene Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. ... A blast wave is a term from compressible fluid dynamics. ... Introduction The shock wave is one of several different ways in which a gas in a supersonic flow can be compressed. ...

The effects produced by FAEs (a long-duration high pressure and heat impulse) are often likened to the effects produced by low-yield nuclear weapons, but without the problems of radiation. However, this is inexact; for all current and foreseen sub-kiloton-yield nuclear weapon designs, prompt radiation effects predominate, producing some secondary heating; very little of the nominal yield is actually delivered as blast. The significant injury dealt by either weapon on a targeted population is nonetheless great. The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... Radiation hazard symbol. ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ... The first nuclear weapons, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, provided the basic design building blocks of all future weapons. ...

Some fuels used, such as ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, act like mustards. A device using such fuels can be dangerous if the fuel fails to completely ignite; the device is at risk of producing the effects of a chemical weapon. â€œOxiraneâ€ redirects here. ... Flash point âˆ’37 Â°C Autoignition temperature 747 Â°C Explosive limits 2. ... The sulfur mustards, of which mustard gas is a member, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. ... Dressing the wounded during a gas attack by Austin O. Spare, 1918. ...

Calculations

For vapor cloud explosion there is a minimum ratio of fuel vapor to air below which ignition will not occur. Alternately, there is also a maximum ratio of fuel vapor to air, above which ignition will not occur. These limits are termed the lower and upper explosive limits. For gasoline vapor, the explosive range is from 1.3 to 6.0% vapor to air, and for methane this range is 5 to 15%. Many parameters contribute to the potential damage from a vapor cloud explosion, including the mass and type of material released, the strength of ignition source, the nature of the release event (e.g., turbulent jet release), and turbulence induced in the cloud (e.g., from ambient obstructions). Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... This article is about the chemical reaction combustion. ... In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic property changes. ...

The overpressure within the detonation can reach 430 lbf/in² (3 MPa) and the temperature can be 4500 to 5400 °F (2500 to 3000 °C). Outside the cloud the blast wave travels at over 2 mi/s (3 km/s). Following the initial blast (compression) is a phase in which the pressure drops below atmospheric pressure (rarefaction) creating an airflow back to the center of the explosion strong enough to lift and throw a human. It draws in the unexploded burning fuel to create almost complete penetration of all non-airtight objects within the blast radius, which are then incinerated. Asphyxiation and internal damage can also occur to personnel outside the highest blast effect zone, e.g. in deeper tunnels, as a result of the blast wave, the heat, or the following air draw. MPA is a TLA (three-letter acronym) that may mean: Macedonian Press Agency Marine Protected Area Maritime Patrol Aircraft Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad (AAR reporting mark MPA) Master of Public Administration Master of Public Affairs Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Metropolitan Police Authority Mid-atlantic Pagan Alliance Motion Picture Association... Bold text Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: compressor, compression inthe wkjhrlfidhb;g/df == Compressor may refer to: Gas compressor, a mechanical device that compresses a gas e. ... Rarefaction is the reduction of a mediums density, or the opposite of compression. ... A hermetic seal is an airtight seal. ... Asphyxia is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ...

Based on the known properties of flammable substances and explosives, it is possible to use conservative assumptions and calculate the maximum distance at which an overpressure or heat effect of concern can be detected. Distances for potential impacts could be derived using the following calculation method [described in Flammable Gases and Liquids and Their Hazards]:

where D is the distance in meters to a 1 psi overpressure; C is a constant for damages associated with 1 psi overpressures or 0.15, n is a yield factor of the vapor cloud explosion derived from the mechanical yield of the combustion and is assumed to be 10 percent (or 0.1) and E is the energy content of the explosive part of the cloud in joules. E can be calculated from the mass m of substance in kilograms times the heat of combustion Q_c in joules per kilogram as follows:

Vapor cloud explosion modeling historically has been subject to large uncertainties resulting from inadequate understanding of deflagrative effects. According to current single-degree of freedom models, blast damage/injury can be represented by pressure-impulse (P-I) diagrams, which include the effects of overpressure, dynamic pressure, impulse, and pulse duration. The peak overpressure and duration are used to calculate the impulse from shock waves. Even some advanced explosion models ignore the effects of blast wave reflection off structures, which can produce misleading results over- or under-estimating the vulnerability of a structure. Sophisticated software used to produce three-dimensional models of the effects of vapor cloud explosions allows the evaluation of damage experienced by each structure within a facility as a result of a primary explosion and any accompanying secondary explosions produced by vapor clouds. The phrase degrees of freedom is used in three different branches of science: in physics and physical chemistry, in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and in statistics. ... Introduction The shock wave is one of several different ways in which a gas in a supersonic flow can be compressed. ...

History

Arguably, the introduction of flamethrowers in the trench warfare of World War I (the modern flamethrower was a German invention) could constitute the first use of a primitive "vacuum weapon", in that they could suffocate people protected from the direct weapon effects inside a pillbox or bunker. Other such effects were seen to occur in the firestorms that followed the Allied bombing raids at Dresden and elsewhere. Image File history File links Rpo. ... Image File history File links Rpo. ... Rocket flamethrower produced and exported by Russia and the former Soviet Union. ... Riverboat of the U.S. Brownwater Navy shooting ignited napalm from its mounted flamethrower during the Vietnam war. ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ... Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian DreÅ¾Äany, meaning people of the riverside forest) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. ...

In the form that exists today, these devices (often dubbed Fuel-Air Munitions) are said to have been developed in the 1960s and used by the United States during the Vietnam War to destroy Viet Cong tunnels, clear forest for helicopter landing sites and to clear minefields. However, it is not clear that this is entirely the case; in particular, the very large parachute-delivered "Daisy Cutter" bomb used for this purpose was suspected to have been such a weapon but the current published details indicate that it was not (it seems to be filled with ANFO, a mixture of ammonium nitrate and jet fuel, instead). FAMs are certainly in published literature available to English-speaking readers by the mid-1970s. ^[1] Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... â€œMinefieldâ€ redirects here. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... ANFO stands for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (most often diesel fuel, sometimes kerosene or even molasses). ... Related Compounds Other anions Ammonium nitrite; ammonium perchlorate Other cations Sodium nitrate; potassium nitrate; hydroxylammonium nitrate Related compounds Nitrous oxide Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references The chemical compound ammonium nitrate, the nitrate of... Kerosene or kerosine, also called paraffin oil or paraffin in British usage (not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin wax or just paraffin) is a flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ...

The Soviet armed forces also developed FAE weapons, including thermobaric warheads for shoulder-launched RPGs (RPO-A Shmel Bumblebee /Russian: РПО-А "Шмель"/). Russian forces have a wide array of these weapons[1] and reportedly used them against Chinese forces in a 1969 border conflict, and certainly used them in Afghanistan and in Chechnya. Russian troops report that a single RPO-A round in an urban environment has an equivalent effect to a 152 mm artillery round. TOS-1 "Buratino" is another Russian Army FAE weapon system, composed of a multiple rocket launcher mounted on a T-72 chassis. The TOS-1 was the main thermobaric delivery system that the Russians used against Grozny in the Second Chechen War. CCCP redirects here. ... An RPG-7 captured by the US Army RPG, or Rocket propelled grenade is a loose term describing hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead. ... Rocket flamethrower produced and exported by Russia and the former Soviet Union. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... The Chechen Republic (IPA: ; Russian: , Chechenskaya Respublika; Chechen: , NoxÃ§iyn Respublika), or, informally, Chechnya (; Russian: ; Chechen: , NoxÃ§iyÃ§Ã¶), sometimes referred to as Ichkeria, Chechnia, Chechenia or NoxÃ§iyn, is a federal subject of Russia. ... TOS-1 Buratino (Russian: ) is a Russian 30-barrel multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. ... TOS-1 Buratino (Russian: ) is a Russian 30-barrel multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. ... BM-13 Katyusha RM-70 of the Polish Army A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system, in use since the Second World War. ... The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. ... For other uses of Grozny, see Grozny (disambiguation). ... Combatants Russian Federation Chechen loyalists Republic of Chechnya Chechen rebels Caucasian insurgents and foreign fighters Caucasian Islamists Commanders Vladimir Putin Nikolai Patrushev Akhmad Kadyrovâ€ Ramzan Kadyrov Aslan Maskhadovâ€ Abdul Halim Sadulayevâ€ Doku Umarov Shamil Basayevâ€ Ibn al-Khattabâ€ Strength At least 93,000 in Chechnya in 1999. ...

A FAE system from Israel was developed for minefield clearing. The system uses a small rocket-propelled thermobaric charge which explodes over the minefield and activates exposed or buried mines. â€œMinefieldâ€ redirects here. ...

In 2003, United States Marines used a thermobaric version of their Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, called a Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon-Novel Explosion (SMAW-NE), in the Invasion of Iraq. One team of Marines reported that they had destroyed a large one-story masonry type building with one round from 100 yards. [2] The thermobaric explosive used in this weapon, PBXIH-135 or a variant, was developed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Indian Head Division and had previously been used in BLU-118/B air-dropped bombs against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan in early March, 2002. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... SMAW The Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) is a shoulder-launched rocket weapon, based on the Israeli B-300, with the primary function of being a portable anti-armor rocket launcher. ... For other uses of the term, see Iraq war (disambiguation) The 2003 invasion of Iraq (also called the 2nd or 3rd Persian Gulf War) began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq without the explicit backing of the United... Map of major attacks attributed to al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (also al-Qaida or al-Qaida or al-Qaidah) (Arabic: â€Ž , translation: The Base) is an international alliance of terrorist organizations founded in 1988[4] by Osama bin Laden and other veteran Afghan Arabs after the Soviet War in... The Taliban (Pashto: , also anglicized as Taleban) are a Sunni Muslim and ethnic Pashtun movement [2] that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, when their leaders were removed from power by a cooperative military effort between the Northern Alliance, United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. ...

Newest U.S. small arms FAE munitions

Introduced to the Afghanistan conflict, the XM1060 40-mm grenade is perhaps the first small-arms thermobaric device released in a U.S. theater of war. Developed and fielded in just under five months by the Picatinny Arsenal, the XM1060 was delivered to U.S. forces in Afghanistan on April 30, 2003. The grenade was designed to be used with existing battlefield delivery systems presently in use by squad-level field forces. M1913 Picatinny accessory rail ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Russia tests the largest "Vacuum" bomb

In September 2007 Russia successfully exploded what it claims is the largest Vacuum Bomb ever made, leveling a multi-story block of apartment buildings with a power greater than that of the smallest diallable-yield nuclear weapons at their lowest yield settings.^[2]^[3] Russia named this particular ordnance the "Father of All Bombs" in response to the United States developed "Massive Ordnance Air Blast" (MOAB) bomb whose backronym is known as the "Mother of All Bombs" and previously enjoyed the dubious accolade of the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in history.^[4] Russian thermobaric weapon dubbed the Father of All Bombs Fireball blast from the Russian Father of All Bombs, similar to a nuclear mushroom cloud Father of all bombs is the nickname of a Russian-made air-delivered thermobaric weapon that is claimed to be four times more powerful than the... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) (also known as the Mother Of All Bombs) is a large-yield conventional air-to-surface bomb developed by the United States military, touted as the most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever designed. ... A backronym (or bacronym) is a phrase that is constructed after the fact from a previously existing abbreviation, the abbreviation being an initialism or an acronym. ...

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