Design and construction of a block test in closely jointed rock
The Basalt Waste Isolation Project developed a large-scale block test to investigate the in-situ deformational response of a basalt rock mass. The test was designed and installed into the vertical rib (wall) of a tunnel to examine the response of basalt both in a parallel and perpendicular mode to the basalt columns. The salient challenge confronting the design and development of the test was a lack of documented experience for testing into a vertical wall. Information was available for testing in a horizontal surface. The major tasks involved in the implementation of this test included flat-jack slot drilling, instrumentation hole drilling, cable anchor hole drilling, flat-jack installation, monitoring instrumentation installation, and cable anchor installation. Drilling in the closely jointed and fractured rock mass required extreme care to prevent unraveling of the columnar structure and to minimize the disturbance of the section to be tested. The adaptation of a high-strength cable anchor system to the space limitations of the test configuration and the design and implementation of an optical deformation monitoring device capable of achieving a measurement precision of 30 ..mu..m required equal innovation. Construction of the test facility was successfully completed on schedule in approx. 25 wk.
- Research Organization:
- Rockwell International Corp., Richland, WA (USA). Rockwell Hanford Operations
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-77RL01030
- OSTI ID:
- 5989231
- Report Number(s):
- RHO-BW-SA-286P; ON: DE83013740
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
58 GEOSCIENCES
580300* -- Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics-- (-1989)
BASALT
CONSTRUCTION
DEFORMATION
DESIGN
IGNEOUS ROCKS
MECHANICS
ROCK MECHANICS
ROCKS
TESTING
VOLCANIC ROCKS