AGGREGATE PRODUCTION WITH NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES HAS MADE AVAILABLE A NEW, CHEAP, AND POWERFUL ENERGY SOURCE. PROJECT PLOWSHARE IS A RESEARCH PROGRAM TO DEVELOP INDUSTRIAL AND NONMILITARY APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE ENERGY. UNDERGROUND EXPERIMENTS IN HARD ROCK HAVE ESTABLISHED THE ROCK-BREAKING CAPABILITIES OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS AND HAVE PROVIDED PERTINENT EFFECTS DATA. BREAKING ROCK FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CRUSHED STONE AGGREGATE IS AN OBVIOUS APPLICATION, AND ONE WITHIN THE PRESENT TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OF PLOWSHARE. LIMITATIONS ARISING FROM SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS ARE NOT EXCESSIVE AND WILL PERMIT THE USE OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES AT MANY SITES. THE GREATEST SPUR TO THE INTRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES AS A TOOL FOR BREAKING ROCK IN THE MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR AGGREGATE-USING INDUSTRIES WILL BE THE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR INCREASING THE AVAILABILITY OF THE HIGH- QUALITY CRUSHED STONE AGGREGATE AND DOING SO CHEAPLY. UNDER FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE TOTAL PER-UNIT COST OF CRUSHED STONE FROM A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION QUARRY, AFTER SIZING AND ALL NECESSARY PROCESSING, CAN BE LOWER THAN THE COST OF A SIMILAR PRODUCT PRODUCED BY CONVENTIONAL METHODS.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1966/107/107-004.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Hansen, Spenst M
  • Toman, John
• Publication Date: 1966

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 37-53
• Monograph Title: Nuclear applications
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 107
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Benefit cost analysis; Crushed rock; Experiments; Fracture mechanics; Nuclear explosions; Production; Rocks; Underground construction
• Old TRIS Terms: Project plowshare; Underground explosions
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00215793
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Nov 18 1994 12:00AM