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U.S. Department of Energy
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Mechanical tunnel excavation in welded tuff

Conference ·
OSTI ID:145653
 [1]
  1. Tunnel Construction Consultant, Boulder City, NV (United States)

The Technical Review Board for the US high-level radioactive waste facility at Yucca Mountain has recommended maximum use of {open_quotes}the most modern mechanical excavation techniques...in order to reduce disturbance to the rock walls and to achieve greater economy of time and cost.{close_quotes} Tunnels for the waste repository at Yucca Mountain can be economically constructed with mechanical excavation equipment. This paper presents the results of mechanical excavation of a tunnel in welded tuff, similar to the tuffs of Yucca Mountain. These results are projected to excavation of emplacement drifts in Yucca Mountain using a current state-of-the-art tunnel boring machine (TBM).

Research Organization:
American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL (United States); American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, NY (United States)
OSTI ID:
145653
Report Number(s):
CONF-910435--Vol.2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English