The State of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead South Dakota

Abstract

As a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SubTER (Subsurface Technology and Engineering Research, Development and Demonstration) initiative, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted the Permeability (k) and Induced Seismicity Management for Energy Technologies (kISMET) project. The objectives of the project are to define the in situ status of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota and to establish the relations between in situ stress and induced fracture through hydraulically stimulating the fracture. (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. In situ tests are conducted in a 7.6 cm diameter and 100 long vertical borehole located in the 4850 Level West Access Drift near Davies Campus of SURF (Figure 1). The borehole is located in the zone of Precambrian Metamorphic Schist.