Tunnel Boring into Area51, page 3
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reply posted on 6-8-2004 @ 06:18 PM by Chuck Stevenson
The tunnel Boring Machine that is pictured is a Diesel driven machine, slow and readily available. The nuclear powered TBM or "Subterrene" as some refer to it does not look anything like that,nor does it look, as has been said, like a "mole from hell". With a sealed power reactor like the kind on nuclear submarines it generates enough heat to melt most rock easily. Using high-temperature titanium alloy piping to conduct the lithium to the bore head, it then distributes the lithium through smaller pipes that pass the heat into the rock before being pumped back to the reactant chamber and the nuclear reactor. The lithium carries very little radioactivity and transmits almost none to the exterior environment. The lithium pipes are wrapped in insulating materials such as that used on the shuttle tiles where applicable and with other exotic thermal insulators at other points. The Bore Head is smooth and partially rotatable to allow heat distribution. Hydrostatic pressure is maintained by the constant push of the driving mechanism and the rapid cooling and smoothing of the tunnel face is handled by the shaper heads which immediately follow the bore head. Hydrostatic pressure is what causes the mid-level temperature rock to crack allowing most of the molten keff to escape. Any remaining keff is rapidly cooled and falls behind the shaper heads as debris which can easily be removed and disposed of without attracting attention. ALthough it is a high thermal environment the operators enjoy an air-conditioned ride in the comfort of the control cabin. As for subterranean gas/oil pockets and coal mines, before tunneling commences deep geological mapping surveys are taken to insure there will be no accidents.
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