Single round blasting of 10-foot diameter X 65-foot depth emplacement collar holes at the Nevada Test Site

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6330443

Since 1961 REECo has drilled and mined emplacement holes for testing nuclear devices underground. An oversize drill pattern was the primary method used. The application of drilling the final size configuration hole to a 65-foot depth and mucking with the Auger Rig was then investigated. Numerous drilling patterns, loading and time schemes and methods were tried. Some were successful. Most were expensive. All concerned looked for a better and less costly method for this collar casing installation. Poor fragmentation in the collar holes prior to Atlas Powder becoming involved resulted in slow hole cleanout and excessive rig maintenance with associated excessive costs. One of the more successful shots was a 120-inch diameter {times} 60-foot deep hole that was drilled using 3 1/2-inch holes and then casing them to a 2-inch diameter using PVC pipe. A 30-inch burn hole was drilled to total depth. Twenty-seven 3 1/2-inch holes were drilled and then loaded with 1 1/2-inch powder boosted with Detaprimes and wired using all 0 delay caps. This shot smooth walled and the blast holes were visible all the way from top to bottom. Fragmentation was excellent and the Auger Rig mucked out quickly. The 28-inch bit used for the burn hole was a high cost item in this test and other methods continued to be investigated.

• Research Organization: Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Co., Inc., Las Vegas, NV (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC08-89NV10630
• OSTI ID: 6330443
• Report Number(s): CONF-910211-1; ON: DE91005955
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
422000* -- Engineering-- Mining & Underground Engineering-- (1980-)
BOREHOLES
CAVITIES
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
COMMINUTION
CONSTRUCTION
COST
DEPTH
DIMENSIONS
DRILL BITS
DRILLING
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
EXPLOSIVES
FRACTURING
FRAGMENTATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEVADA TEST SITE
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES
PERFORMANCE TESTING
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TESTING
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WELL DRILLING