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Because of work at the University of Utah, and four other universities, the government can now evaluate its nuclear weapons without detonating bombs above or below ground. After more than 12 years, a $46 million project has yielded remarkable technology.
More than a decade ago, the government needed universities to help it understand fires and explosions through technology that hadn't even been developed yet. It needed new ways to evaluate the nation's nuclear inventory without having to blow up bombs in order to not violate the nuclear test treaty.
"We needed some intellectual base in this country that we could turn to for some of the challenging problems that we faced," explained Dimitri Kusnezov, with the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Scientists met that challenge and more. Research now has spun off all kinds of new applications.
With unique 3-D computer simulations developed at the University of Utah's Center for the Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions, or C-SAFE, researchers can model exactly what will happen with fuels or explosives ignited accidentally or intentionally.
At the time of 9/11, Utah researchers were already simulating jet fuel fires. "We were in a position to be able to help people understand what happens when you have an airplane hit a building and the fuel spreads across the building rapidly. How does that impact the ability of the building to withstand?" said Dr. David Pershing, senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of Utah.
The center is now simulating what happens in forest fires. "We look at the influence of wind, what happens when the wind changes in a forest fire, for example," Pershing said.
New ways to safely transport explosives, protection devices for airplanes, soldiers and civilians; the list is just beginning. That's why the university got special awards today from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Twenty-six faculty members and more than 100 students have been involved with the C-SAFE project. Many students have since graduated and are now continuing to spin off research at Utah companies.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
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