‘Leda’ Hydrodynamic Experiment Conducted Successfully
NS&D Monitor
9/12/2014
Los Alamos National Laboratory recently completed a successful hydrodynamic experiment at the Nevada National Security Site, with scientists involved in the experiment reporting that the test had produced a significant amount of data that will aid the Stockpile Stewardship Program. The test, nicknamed “Leda,” was conducted Aug. 12 at NNSS’s U1a underground complex using a plutonium surrogate and high explosives to implode a “weapon-relevant geometry,” Los Alamos officials said. “This experiment ultimately enhances confidence in our ability to predictively model and assess weapon performance in the absence of full-scale underground nuclear testing,” Los Alamos Associate Director for Weapons Physics Bob Webster said in a statement.
The experiments using surrogate materials are linked to scaled/full-scale hydrodynamic tests, previous underground nuclear tests and scaled plutonium experiments to help in the understanding of how nuclear weapons act. Scientists will analyze the data from the experiment and compare it with pre-shot predictions, the lab said. “The resulting findings will help assess the confidence weapon designers have in their ability to predict weapon-relevant physics,” the lab said. A sub-critical experiment series dubbed “Lyra” that is based off the “Leda” experiment will be conducted in 2015, the lab said.
