REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION THROUGH PROJECTILE BASED EXCAVATION

The hypothesis to be tested is that the addition of steel or other synthetic fiber and/or high strength, low cost aggregate to strong grouts or concrete will result in a projectile of sufficient strength to produce cracking and spall enough to make its use cost effective for mining. Based on experiments conducted to date, no conclusions can yet be reached. Results of the experiments conducted suggest that reinforcement of a concrete projectile can yield performance that portends cost effective projectile based excavation. It is recognized that the projectile is but one component of the matrix. The electric launch system to be developed in the next phase of the program is the other factor that weighs heavily in the cost effectiveness equation. At this point, however, emerging low cost options for the projectile are very promising