Parametric Analysis of the Performances of Free-fall Penetrators in Deep-Ocean Sediments

THE USE OF FREE FALL PENETRATORS IS BEING NOW ACTIVELY CONSIDERED BY MANY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AS A POSSIBLE OPTION FOR THE SAFE FINAL DISPOSAL OF HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN VITRIFIED FORM WITHIN DEEP OCEAN SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. A RECENT EXPERIMENT USING LARGE MODEL PENETRATORS HAS SUCCESSFULLY DE- MONSTRATED THAT IT IS FEASIBLE TO DESIGN FREE FALL VEHICLES WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF EMBEDDING THEMSELVES UP TO THIRTY METERS IN CLAYEY DEEP SEA SEDIMENTS. THE PRESENT PAPER DESCRIBES METHODS AND RESULTS OF A STUDY WHICH AIMED AT HIGHLIGHTING THE EFFECTS OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS ON PENE- TRATOR PERFORMANCE. THIS WORK WAS INTENDED AS A PREPARATION OF A NEW SERIES OF TESTS TO BE CARRIED OUT DURING 1984-1986 TO ASSESS THE PRESENT MODELLING CAPABILITIES IN MORE DETAIL. RESULTS RECENTLY OBTAINED SHOWED THAT TERMINAL VELOCITIES RANGED FROM 40-60 M SEC-1 AND PENETRATIONS FROM 22 - 38M COULD BE OBTAINED.

VISINTINI Livio; 

1995-03-15

JRC4013

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC4013,