Use of Electron Beam Gun for Hard Rock Excavation

Abstract
A 36 kW electron beam gun is being readied for field test (not funded by the contract). A design has been developed for the gun support or carriage, and preliminary fabrication has started. The Logan Quarry in Aromas, California, has been tentatively selected as the field test site. A mathematical model that can describe the piercing of the rock by the electron beam and subsequently produced thermal stresses is under development. Laboratory tests involving vertical piercing with a 9 kW gun have been conducted in gabbro, sandstone, and quartzite. The results are in good agreement with the prediction of the cavity model developed in theoretical studies. (Author)

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