Device and method for producing a containment barrier underneath and around in-situ buried waste

Patent · 31 December 1997

OSTI ID:871765

Gardner, Bradley M ^[1]; Smith, Ann M ^[2]; Hanson, Richard W ^[3]; Hodges, Richard T ^[4]

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1. Idaho Falls, ID
2. Pocatello, ID
3. Spokane, WA
4. Deer Park, WA

An apparatus for building a horizontal underground barrier by cutting through soil and depositing a slurry, preferably on which cures into a hardened material. The apparatus includes a digging means for cutting and removing soil to create a void under the surface of the ground and injection means for inserting barrier-forming material into the void. In one embodiment, the digging means is a continuous cutting chain. Mounted on the continuous cutting chain are cutter teeth for cutting through soil and discharge paddles for removing the loosened soil. This invention includes a barrier placement machine, a method for building an underground horizontal containment barrier using the barrier placement machine, and the underground containment system. Preferably the underground containment barrier goes underneath and around the site to be contained in a bathtub-type containment.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-94ID13223
• Assignee: Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (Idaho Falls, ID)
• Patent Number(s): US 5791825
• OSTI ID: 871765
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/405/37/
apparatus
barrier
barrier-forming
bathtub-type
building
buried
buried waste
chain
charge pad
contained
containment
containment barrier
continuous
continuous cutting
create
cures
cutter
cutter teeth
cutting
depositing
device
digging
discharge
embodiment
forming material
ground
hardened
hardened material
horizontal
horizontal underground
in-situ
injection
injection means
inserting
loosened
machine
material
means
method
mounted
paddles
placement
preferably
producing
removing
site
slurry
soil
surface
teeth
type contain
underground
underground barrier
underground containment
underneath
void
waste