THERE IS A WELL ESTABLISHED NEED FOR IMPROVED MATERIAL PROPERTIES CHARACTERIZATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS EFFECTS TESTS IN THE TUNNEL BED TUFFS BENEATH RAINIER MESA.

THERE IS A WELL ESTABLISHED NEED FOR IMPROVED MATERIAL PROPERTIES CHARACTERIZATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS EFFECTS TESTS IN THE TUNNEL BED TUFFS BENEATH RAINIER MESA. SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED SITE CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES WOULD PERMIT MORE CONFIDENT SELECTION OF INDIVIDUAL TEST SITES, BETTER ASSURANCE THAT TESTS WILL BE FULLY CONTINED, IMPROVED PREDICTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF GROUND SHOCK PROPAGATION AND STRUCTURAL RESPONSE. DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH CAPACITY CONE PENETROMETER FOR USE IN UNDERGROUND SOFT ROCK APPLICATIONS IS PROPOSED. THIS WOULD PROVIDE DETAILED PROFILES OF PENETRATION RESISTANCE AND SLEEVE FRICTION IN ANY DIRECTION AROUND AN UNDERGROUND OPENING. USING CORRELATIONS WITH LABORATORY DATA THESE PROFILES CAN BE CONVERTED TO DETAILED ESTIMATES OF ROCK STRENGTH AND DEFORMATION PROPERTIES. PHASE I OF THIS EFFORT WOULD INVOLVE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THE SOFT ROCK PENETROMETER AND A SERIES OF FIELD TESTS TO EVALUATE COMPONENT PERFORMANCE AND TO PROOF TEST THE OVERALL CONCEPT. UNDER PHASE II, THE COMPONENT DESIGNS AND HARDWARE FROM PHASE I WOULD BE UTILIZED IN THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A PROTOTYPE SOFT ROCK PENETRATOR. METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING ROCK PROPERTIES FROM THE PENETROMETER PROFILES WOULD ALSO BE DEVELOPED UNDER PHASE II.