Underground Space Construction by Explosive Loading in a Borehole

Abstract:

In cases where a borehole has been dug in the ground and subjected to an explosive load, the soil around the borehole wall will be abruptly compressed and a cavity will then be created in the portion of the ground that is surrounded by the compressed soil wall. When this procedure is applied to the construction of tunnels or foundations, underground spaces can be created with minimum mucking and a thinner lining. The authors carried out some laboratory experiments in which small boreholes were expanded by blasting. The results of the experiments increase our knowledge and elevate the possibility of applying this procedure to underground space construction.