High explosive field test of a hardened water well. Final report Apr 73--Dec 1974

In support of Project SANGUINE, the Civil Engineering Laboratory (CEL) designed and field tested a hardened water well which was intended to supply coolant to underground shelters and equipment before, during, and after nuclear attack. Failure of the pump due to clogging in the first field test led to redesign and the need for retest. To accomplish this, CEL participated in the explosive test Project ESSEX, Phase I, as Fort Polk, Louisiana, in October 1973. A redesigned water well was constructed at a location where ground motions were predicted to be similar to those experienced in the previous field test. The report describes the test setup and the results obtained. In summary, although electrical power to the well site was interrupted a few seconds after detonation, the pump and well were found to be operable after the test. Also, the permeability of the water bearing strata was reduced, decreasing the well output, and well water of high turbidity and solids content was discharged for nearly two hours after detonation. However, the CEL-designed hardened water well had survived the blast environment and remained operable.