Ejecta from a row-charge cratering explosion

Ejecta distribution about a row-charge cratering explosion was analyzed to gain knowledge of ejecta transport and to provide information basic to the construction and checking of a mathematical/physical model. Nine cast-TNT spherical charges spaced equally in a row and buried uniformly deep were detonated simultaneously. Areal distribution and vertical deposition around and within the crater were determined using particulate tracers placed in a grid pattern in five vertical planes within the material to be cratered. The unexpected finding that considerable material near the ends of the row was transported longitudinally toward the opposite end of the row indicates that a two-dimensional model based on the midpoint of a row is overly simplistic for a nine-charge row. Evidence is that longitudinally transported material is derived from two separate sources and is apparently transported by different mechanisms.