National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1982. Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles: Report of a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18562.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1982. Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles: Report of a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18562.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1982. Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles: Report of a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18562.
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Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1982. Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles: Report of a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18562.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1982. Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles: Report of a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council.. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18562.
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Design and Construction of Deep Underground Basing Facilities for Strategic Missiles Volume 2 Briefings on System Concepts and Requirements Background Information Presented at a Workshop Conducted by the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1982 NAS-NAE JUN 0 11982 LIBRARY

,/ fA NOTICE: The project that is the subject of the report in Volume l was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The workshop participants responsible for that report were chosen for their competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This volume contains transcripts of briefings that were arranged for by the sponsor of the workshop conducted by the committee. The purpose of this volume is to provide a record of the background information pre- sented to the workshop participants. The subject matter and content of the briefings, as well as the views expressed therein, are the sole re- sponsibility of the speakers. This document has not been subjected to the critical review proce- dures that are the custom of the National Research Council. Therefore, its contents have not been approved by and may not be ascribed to the workshop participants, the committee, or the National Research Council. SPONSOR: This project was sponsored by the Strategic Structures Division, Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), through a contract with the Boeing Company, which serves as a contractor to DNA. Available from National Technical Information Service Attention: Document Sales 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, Virginia 22l6l Report No. NRC/CETS/TT-82-2 Price Code: A07 • A limited number of copies are available from U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology National Academy of Sciences 2l0l Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 204l8

Preface In response to a request from the Chief of the Strategic Structures Di- vision, Defense Nuclear Agency, the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology (USNC/TT) convened a workshop on the technology for design and construction of deep underground basing facilities for the MX missile. In its request, dated October 9, l98l, the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) indicated its interest in "evaluating the constructibility, vulnerability, and survivability of deep underground defense systems," and called on the USNC/TT to help in assessing current and developing tunneling technology that would be important in designing and constructing deep basing facil- ities. Citing an "urgent need to respond quickly to changing defense needs," DNA asked that the workshop be held in early November and that a report on the proceedings be completed in April l982. The workshop was held on November 5 and 6, l98l, in Washington, D.C. In attendance were all available members of the USNC/TT and several of its subcommittees, as well as selected past members of the committee and others whose expertise was judged indispensible. The first day, after a brief executive session dealing with procedural matters, was devoted to public briefings by representatives of the U.S. Air Force, the Defense Nuclear Agency, and several contractors (Merritt CASES, Inc., the Boeing Company, and R&D Associates, Inc.) that have performed conceptual and design work on aspects of the deep basing problem. Transcripts of these briefings, which were arranged for by the sponsor as background for the committee, appear in this volume. The subject matter and content of the briefings, as well as the views expressed therein, are the responsibility of the speakers. As part of its request, the Defense Nuclear Agency had asked for specific guidance in six areas: (l) costing, contracting, personnel, and management; (2) siting; (3) use of existing underground space; (4) egress; (5) mechanical mining; and (6) construction planning and validation. The USNC/TT accordingly had established a working group to deal with each of these topics. In the evening of the first day the six working groups met separately and developed preliminary draft reports for presentation on the following day. The morning of the second day was occupied with the presentation of working group reports, again in open session. In the afternoon the as- sembled tunneling technologists met in executive session to discuss the iii

preliminary working group reports and agree on the general outlines of their revision as chapters in the committee's report, which appears as Volume I, Evaluation of Technical Issues. That report avoids the strategic and political issues surrounding the MX missile siting decision. It concentrates instead on the as yet vaguely defined technical requirements of the deep basing option, discus- sing in general terms the technical and management issues raised by the proposal. Its aim is to help the Defense Nuclear Agency and the U.S. Air Force to refine their plans in preparation for a final decision on the MX missile's basing mode, expected in l984. iv

Contents /AT IR FORCE DEEP BASING PROGRAM 1 tanley D. Berry /BASING ALTERNATIVES AND TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 20 Eugene Sevin. / ^ NUCLEAR WEAPONS EFFECTS AND RESULTS OF PREVIOUS TESTS 27 Joshua L. Merritt /DE EEP BASING CONCEPT (HORIZONTAL EGRESS) 46 James A. tfoster vOJEEP SILO BASING SYSTEMS 73 Frank Parry ^SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 97 Carl W. Rjule V' ^SUMMARY OF ISSUES FROM TUCWG MEETING l22 Joshua L. Merritt GENERAL DISCUSSION OF EGRESS ISSUES l38

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