Explosive-hazard analysis for reusable launch vehicles in on-pad environments

A computational modeling approach or method was developed for simulating 1) the release of the fuel and oxidizer from a launch vehicle, 2) the subsequent mixing of the fuel and oxidizer in the local on-pad environment of the launch vehicle, 3) the explosive potential or yield for the mixture plume, and 4) the detonation of the plume and the resulting collateral damage. The method uses a set of computer codes: specifically, a computational fluid dynamics code to predict vapor plume formation, a chemical-thermodynamic equilibrium code to predict vapor plume yield potential, and a hydrocode to predict explosion intensity and collateral damage. This method was successfully applied to the simulation of candidate reusable launch vehicles to assess crew-escape performance.