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http://onlinepubs.trb.org...ubs/hrr/1964/50/50-001.pdf

LARGE-SCALE EXCAVATION IS PERHAPS THE MOST OBVIOUS AND STRAIGHT-FORWARD USE OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES. THE SIZE OF THE EXCAVATION DEPENDS ON SEVERAL FACTORS, SUCH AS THE EXPLOSIVE YIELD, MEDIUM, AND DEPTH OF BURST. CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN OBTAINED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ON THE CRATERING EFFECT OF CHEMICAL AND NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES IN A VARIETY OF MEDIA. FURTHER, IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT SEVERAL EXPLOSIVES, SPACED APPROXIMATELY A SINGLE-CRATER RADIUS APART AND DETONATED SIMULTANEOUSLY, WILL PRODUCE A UNIFORM CHANNEL WITH A WIDTH AND DEPTH ABOUT EQUAL TO SINGLE-CRATER DIMENSIONS. SUCH A CHANNEL MAY BE USED FOR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS WATERWAYS AND RAILROAD AND HIGHWAY CUTS. BURIAL OF THE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE AT SUCH A DEPTH THAT ALMOST MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS ARE OBTAINED RESULTS IN TRAPPING MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF THE RADIOACTIVITY UNDERGROUND. THIS ENTRAPMENT, WHEN COMBINED WITH THE USE OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES IN WHICH A VERY SMALL FRACTION OF THE ENERGY COMES FROM FISSION PROCESSES, ALLOWS NUCLEAR EXCAVATION TO BE USED IN REMOTE AREAS WITH COMPLETE RADIOLOGICAL SAFETY. PRESENTLY PUBLISHED COSTS FOR NUCLEAR EXCAVATION INDICATE THAT THE UNIT COST OF EXCAVATION DECREASES WITH INCREASING DEPTH OF EXCAVATION. IN GENERAL, NUCLEAR EXCAVATION IS ECONOMICAL FOR DEPTHS GREATER THAN 100 FT. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT FUTURE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND MASS PRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES WILL SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE PRESENT PUBLISHED DEVICE COSTS. /AUTHOR/

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1964

Highway Research Record

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Figures (9)

Channels (Waterways); Cratering; Depth; Economic benefits; Excavations; Explosives; Nuclear excavation; Nuclear explosions; Railroads; Road construction; Size

Construction; Economics; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Railroads

TRIS, TRB

Apr 1 1994 12:00AM

• CONSTRUCTION AND FEASIBILITY ASSOCIATED WITH NUCLEAR EXCAVATION
• ENGINEERING PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR EXCAVATIONS
• OPERATIONS AND SAFETY PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH A NUCLEAR EXCAVATION PROJECT
• PRELIMINARY DESIGN STUDIES IN A NUCLEAR EXCAVATION - PROJECT CARRYALL