Buried unexploded ordnance (UXO) is a hazard at many formerly used defense sites (FUDS). Prediction of the depth of burial (DoB) of UXO would significantly aid the cleanup process. This project aimed to provide a means of predicting DoB that can be used to aid the remediation of FUDS. Although this work is aimed at supporting FUDS site management, the hazards from UXO in many parts of the world are becoming of increasing concern. 

Extensive laboratory-based ballistic experiments and cone-penetrometer test (CPT) testing, coupled with the use of finite element codes, were employed in a thorough investigation of the effects of projectile and soil parameters on UXO penetration mechanics. The project team adopted a semi-empirical approach to DoB prediction. The approach has generated advances in experimental and analytical techniques for describing the penetration resistance of standard soils.

This approach has led to a new framework for describing high-speed soil penetration, termed GeoPoncelet that is appropriate for UXOs and soils of interest to the Defense Environmental Restoration Program. The GeoPoncelet equations relate penetration resistance to CPT measurements. When implemented in a stochastic analysis, this leads to a probabilistic expression for DoB. The result is a site-specific methodology for predicting the DoB of UXO. It is based on in situ measurements using commercial geotechnical services for CPT.

There is hope the research and methodologies developed in this project will eventually have even wider applications. Moreover, although the present work is focused on terrestrial sites, future efforts that may be focused on marine and estuary environments will require the understanding of soil penetration that have been achieved. The results of this project will be of great interest not only to operational aspects of site management but also to research-orientated practitioners in soil mechanics and impact engineering.