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usacrrel 27 Jun 1966 (67-1)
TR 17 4 

Technical Report 17 4 

CAMP CENTURY 

EVOLUTION OF CONCEPT 

AND 

HISTORY OF DESIGN 

CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE 

by 

Elmer F. Clark 

OCTOBER 1965 

U.S. ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND 

COLD REGIONS RESEARCH & ENGINEERING LABORATORY 

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 
Qualified requesters may obtain copies of this report from DDC 
TR 17 4 

Technical Report 17 4 

CAMP CENTURY 

EVOLUTION OF CONCEPT 

AND 

HISTORY OF DESIGN 

CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE 

by 

Elmer F. Clark 

OCTOBER 1965 

U.S. ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND 

COLD REGIONS RESEARCH & ENGINEERING LABORATORY 

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 

DA Project IV025001A130 

Qualified requesters may obtain copies of this report from DDC 
i i 

PREFACE 

The information presented in thi s r eport was obtaine d unde r the 

authority of the foll owing pro jects: Project 8S66 - 02 - 00l, ''Cold Re -

gions Research" ; Task 8S66- 02 - 001 -0l, ' 'Resear ch in Snow, Ice, and 

Frozen Gr ound "; Task 8S66 - 02 -0 0 1-02, "Experimental Engineering in 

Snow, Ice, and Frozen Ground "; Task 8S66 - 02 - 00 1- 03 , ''Regional 

Planning, Cold Regions Research" ; and Project 6X6 1-0l-00l, "Pr e -

ventive Medicine ' '; Task 6X61 - 0 l- 00 1- 0 l, ' 'Gr eenland Waste Disposal". 

Camp Centur y was constructed by the U. S. Army Polar Research 

and Develo pment Center (now the U. S . Army Research Support 

Group). The U. S. Army Engineer Research and Develo pment Labo -

ratories, with consultation and assistance fr om the U. S. Army C o ld 

Regions Research and Engine e ring Laboratory and guidance from the 

Chief of Engine e r s , prepared preliminary design specifications for 

the camp. The PM-2A Nuclear Power Plant was designed by ALCO 

Products, Incorporated, Schenectady, N ew York, under contract t o 

the U. S. Army Engineer District, Eastern Ocean. The Nuclear 

Power Plant buildings we re designed by the e n gineering firm of Metcalf and Eddy, Boston, Massachusetts. 

Lt. Col. Elmer F. Clark, the author, b e fore r e tiring from active 

duty in the Army, was in command of the U. S. Army Engineer Ar cti c 

Task Force and the Gre e nland R&D prog ram from 1955 through 1957. 

In this capacity he was intimately involved in the research efforts 

described in this report and the de velopment of concepts which led to 

the construction of Camp Century. Since his retirement in 1958, h e 

has served {first with the Corps of Engineers, and, since the reorganization of the Army, with the A rmy Materiel Command) as staff action 

officer for cold regions research and development. 

The author gratefully acknowledges the valuable data and consultation provided by Robert W. Waterhouse, Wayne N. Tobias son, 

James A. Bender, S. C. Reed, and other members of the U. S. 

Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory s taff in the 

preparation of this report. 

The author ext e nds appr eciati on also to the Chief of E n gineers, 

the Surgeon General, the Commanding Offic e r of the U. S. Army 

Engineer Research and Dev1:!lopment Laboratories, and the Commanding Officer of the U . S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering 

Laboratory for us e of their official records and reports, without 

which this r e port could not have b een prepared. 

CitaLion of commercial produc ts i s for information only a nd does not 

L·onstitute official endorsem e nt o r a pproval. 

USA CRREL is a n Army Materiel Command laboratory. 
C ONTENTS 

Page 

Pr eface -- --- --------------------- - ----- --------- ---- - - -- ii 

Summary -------------------- - - ----- -- ·· ---- - --- -- ------- v 

Intr o duc ti o n -------- - -- - - --------------------------------

Inceptio n of the Greenland r esearch and deve l o pment 

prog r am ------------------------------ -------------- 1 

Evo luti o n of the sub sur face con cept --------------- -- ------- 2 

Developme nt of m e thod, techniques, and design c riteria ----- 6 

Developm e nt o f the Camp C entury desi g n ----- - - - - ---------- 25 

Camp C:: e ntury cost estimate ----------------- ------------- 30 

Construction o f Camp Centur y ------- - --- -------- ---------- 3 1 

P e rformanc e of the camp --- ------- ------ --------- - --- ---- 33 

S ummar y of r esults - - ----- ------------------------------- 51 

Con c lusio n s - --- - ----- ----- -- -------------------------- - - 52 

Recommendati o n s-- ------------------------- - ---------- - - 53 

Lite ratur e c ited ----------------------------------------- 55 

App e ndix A : Chro n o l o gical summary - ------------ --------- 57 

Appendix B : C o vered access to c ut- and - c o ver tr e n ches - -- - -- 59 

Figure 

l. 

2.. 

3 . 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8 . 

9. l 0 . 

11. 

12. 

13 . 

14. 

l 5. 

l 6 . 

l 7 . 

18 . 

19. 

20 . 

21. 

22. 

2. 3. 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

M ap o f north polar r egi o n s ------------------------

Snow tunne l (cut- and- cove r type )- - - -----------------

M ean densit y o f u nproce ssed Gr ee n l and snow a s a 

function of d epth - -------------------- ---------

T empe ratur es as a func tio n of d epth in ic e c ap at 

Camp C e ntur y --------------------------------

Texas T owe r concept used in G r een land I ce Cap 

DEW line Site s --------- ----------------------

N o rthe rn Gr eenland da ylight- darkness c hart ------- --

P e t e r · s n ow miller ------ ----L--------- ------------ Layout plan fo r Camp Fist clench------- -------------

P e t e r miller cutting a s traight- w all t r e n c h -----------

Open tr e nch covered with timbe r trusses ------------

Unde rcut tr e n ch------------ ------------- ---------

Undercuttring techniques-- ---- --- ------------------

View of unde rcut tr ench-- -------------------------

Me tal arch fo r ms bei ng e mplaced ove r undercut 

tr e n c h -------------- ----- ------- ------------ -

Unsupporte d s n ow a-r ch afte r r emoval o f forms - ----- -

Piles spaced symmetrically w ith r e spec t to fl oo r 

cente rline ------------ ----------------- - ------

V i ew of portal to Camp Centur y showing d oze r c l e aring snowd rifts aft e r a sto rm- -------------------

Wind tunnel test of a model bui lding ---- -------------

Contour s of drift ac cumulation ar ound c omposite 

building -- - ---- --- - -- ------------ -------------

Sche mati c sket ch o f wate r w e ll ------ ---------------

Location map - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Schematic layo u t of Camp C e ntur y ---- -- -------- - ---

Schemati c c r o ss secti o n of tr e nch and T - 5 building ---

l 

3 

3 

4 

5 

7 

8 

1 0 

l 1 

1 1 

12 

13 

14 

1 5 

1 6 

19 

2 1 

21 

2.2. 

2.4 

2. 6 

2 8 

2.9 

111 
l V 

F igur e 

2.4. 

2.5. 

26 . 

2.7. 

2.H . 

2.9 . 

30. 

3 1. 

32 . 

33 . 

34. 

3 5 . 

3 6. 

3 7. 

38. 

39 . 

CONTENTS (Cont ' d) 

Wonde r A r c h es be ing install e d- --- ---- --------------

T r l;!nch defo rmation - - - - ---------------------------

Detail e d layout of Camp C e ntury a s constructed ------

Monthly rn e an ten•perdtures ------------------ - --- --

D eformatio n in Main T r ench ----------------------

Defo r mation in Tr e nch 2.0 --------------------------

S eve r e distr e ss in Wonde r Ar c h - ---- -- --- -------- --

De fo rmation of Wo nde r A r c h -------- ----- -- -- ------

Sche matic sketch of a i r well ----------------- ------

Snow trimming ove r T - 5 building -------------------

Limit of contaminatio n at sewage sUinp ------- ------ -

View of water we 11 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -

O ve rhe ad utilit y lines-- - ------------------ --- ------

Cutaway view o f PM-LA------ --- ------------------

Glycol well cavity ---------------------------------

Sche1natic sketch u f conduit in tr e nch floor -----------

fABLE S 

Tabl 

I. 

II. 

III. 

Site II d r i ll h o l e m e asurements, 2.5 June 1 958 ---------

Defo rmatio n data - Camp Century -- --- ----- ---------

Well water analysis pe r f o rme d at For t B e l voi r , 

Vi r g ini a , 1960 ---- -- --- -- ---- --- --- --- ---------

Page 

30 

33 

34 

35 

39 

39 

40 

41 

42 

43 

43 

45 

46 

4H 

52 

54 

5 

37 

45 
SUMMARY 

T his r e p o rt t e lls the s t o r y of Camp C entury, an effor t to l e ar n 

how to construc t m ilita r y fac ilities o n the Gr eenland I ce C ap. It d e s -

cribes b riefl y the r esear ch d o ne by a numbe r of labor atories, scientists, and e n g i neers in a c hieving this obj ec tive . It discusses th e 

developme nt of c oncepts, methods, and e nginee ring te c hniques whi ch 

m ade the constr uction of Camp Century possible . Enginee ring p er -

fo r mance of the c amp and its f a c ilities is summariz ed, and some of 

th e mo t· e important r e p o rts r es ulting fr o m the effo rt arc refe r e nced . 

It i s concluded in the r eport that s ubsurfa ce i ce -cap c amps a r e 

feasible a n d p r a c tic abl e, that nuclear powe r offe r s si gnificant ad -

vantages in r e du cing th e log i s ti cal burde n of suppor ting isolated, r e -

mote milita r y fa ciliti es, and that the wealth of data and exp e rience 

o btained f r om the Camp Centur y pro j ect 'vill be of inestimahl e val u e 

i n the deve lopme nt o f designs fo r futur e i ce-cap camp s . 

v 
CAMP CENTURY - EVOLUTION OF C O NCEPT A D HISTORY OF 

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND PERFORMANCE 

by 

Lt. Col. Elme r F . Clar k (Ret) 

INTRODUCTION 

With the adve nt o f such weapo ns as 

the atomic bomb, the s upersoni c l o ng -

r ange bomber, a n d the intercontine ntal 

ballistic missile , i t was inevitable that 

military attention should be drawn t o 

th e r e mote arctic regions which li e 

a thwart the s h o r test air routes between 

the maj or land masses o f the Northe r n 

Hemisph e re (Fig . 1) . Thus G r eenland, 

N o rthe r n Canada, and Alaska became 

irnportant in strategic consid e rations, 

and l e d t o the con s truc ti o n of suc h 

facilities as Lacld Air Force Base, 

Alaska; G oose Air F o rc e Base, 

L abrado r; and Thule Air Base, G r een -

land, as well as th e extension of the 

ring of ea rl y warning radar stations 

along the Arctic Circl . At the same 

ti me , i t becam e appa r ent that the r e 

was an u r gent military r equi re:-nent to 

initiate a r esearch and development 

p r og r a m whi ch would lead to s ubstantial 

enh ancen1 e nt of ca pabili ti es to conduct 

sustained militar y ope r atio ns in n o r th 

pola r, a r ctic, and suba r ctic regions. 

F igure 1 . Map of north pola r r egi o ns. 

I NCEPTIO OF THE GREE LA D RESEARCII A . D DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 

For the pu r pos e of identifying p r oblem a r e a " and obtaining info r mation upon 

which to base an integ rated and meaningful G r eenland r esea r ch and development 

p r og r am, M r . Robert R . Philippe, Offi ce of the C h i e f of Eng i nee r s; D r. Paul A . 

Si ple, Depa rtm e nt of th e A rm.y; M r . R oge r P ryo r , D epar tme nt of Defe n se a n d M r . J ame s 

E . Gillis, U . S . A n ny Corps of Enginee rs ~n , Ice and Permafrost Resea r ch 

Establi shment, v i s i t e d Greenla n d dur ing the sumn1er of 1953 . They consid e r ed the 

engi nee r ing and associated p r o blems which would have to be solved in o r de r t o make 

possible the military exploitation of G r eenland's str ategic loc ation. Among o ther 

r esear ch o bjectives whi ch r esulted fr o m t h i s v i si t was that of developing con cepts, 

me thods, techniques, and e qui pment r equir ed fo r the constr uc ti o n of camps o n t he 

ice cap. Problem areas which we r e consi d e r e d to have a di r ect bea r ing o n camp 

constr uc t ion we r e : 

1 . U sc of snow :>sa constr ucti o n mate r ial. 

2. . Foundations in snow. 

3 . Arctic housing . 

-t . C o ntr o l uf drifting snow. 

5 . s ,ur cesofpower. 

6 . Wate r supply . 

7 . Waste disposal. 
2 CAMP CE TURY - CONCEPT AND H ISTORY 

As a result of this visit, during the summer of 19 5-t a modest Corps of Engineers 

Greenland research and development prog ram was initiated and addr essed to these and 

o th e r problerns. In implementing the p r ogran>, specific research and develo p1nent 

tas ks we r e assigned to the fo llowing Co r ps of Enginee r s laboratories: U . S. Army 

Snow, Ice and P e r mafrost Research Establishment (USA SIPRE), now redesignate d 

U. S . Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering L a b o r atory (USA CRREL); U. S . 

Army Engineer Research and Development Labo r atories (USAERDL); U. S. A r my 

Engineer Waterways Experiment Statio n (USAEWES); and U . S . Army Enginee r 

Arctic Constructio n and Frost Effects Laboratory (USA ACFEL), sin ce combined 

with USA CRREL. 

In 1954, to provide logistical support fo r th e program, the l st Engineer A r ctic 

Task Force (1 st EATF) was organized and assigned the Greenland support m i ssion. 

This mission inc l uded construction and operation of necessary camps and related 

faci lities, and providing transportation, personnel, and equi pment r e quired by the 

labo ratories to conduct th e assigned r esearch (the 1 st Engineer Arctic Task For ce 

w a s redesignated the U. S. Army Enginee r Arctic Task Force in 1956). In 1958 it 

was r eor ganized as the U. S . Army Polar Resea r ch and Development Center 

( USAPR&DC), which since has been redesignate d the U. 5 . Army Research Support 

Group . 

The 1954 effo r t was devoted mainly to defining further the construction p r oblems 

and to th e development of promising approaches to the solution of these probl ems. 

Du ring the three years that followed , the program was expanded to inc lude more than 

30 specific t·esearch and development tasks, most of which were related e ither directl y 

o r indi r ectl y to ice cap construction. 

EVOLUTION OF THE SUBSURFACE CONCEPT 

The subsurface camp concept 

The question of whether to construct ice - cap camps beneath or above the s urface . 

is not an easy one to answer, as either c h o ic e has distinc t disadvanta ges of major 

proportions. The sever e storms, drifting snow, and extremely low temperatures 

which prevail on the ice cap are serious d isadvantages t o above-surface faci lities. 

Further, above-surface structures soon become subsurface as a result o f new accumulatio n and the continuo us drifting of snow. This is a condition for which they were not 

designed; henc e, unde r the stresses of the eve r-increasing ove rburden, ultimat ely 

they fail. On the o th er hand, to construct beneath the surface necessitates tunneling 

into the snow and erecting buildings and othe r structures within these tunnels ( F i g . 

2) . The main disadvantage to thi s concept is that snow is a v isco - e lastic mate ria l 

whi ch d e forms in a r e latively slow although so1newhat predictable manner as functions 

of density, temperature , and time under stress':' . Hence, in the case of subsurface 

construction the designe r must consider the maintenance p rice which must be paid 

in terms of a continuing snow-trimming effort i n o rde r to 1naintain the o r iginal 

geometry and cross section of the snow tunnels. He must con side r also the r e quir e d 

design life of the camp, sinc e , at some point in time, it becomes buried to a depth 

where the deformation rate i s so great that the trimming task is unacc eptabl y burde nsoJne a nd costl y . However, there is what might be called an optimum zone in which 

the closure r ate is smaller than either nearer the sur face o r at greater depths. 

T his zone is bel ow t h e depth where snow densifies r apidl y and above the depth of a 

g r e atl y increased overburden. (Figures 3 and 4 show the d ensities and temperatures 

of unprocessed Greenland Ice Cap s now as a function of depth. lt Although, at the 

::' Deformation is affected by the complex interaction of these several variabl es; thus, 

theoretical cal culations are limited to providing r easonable predictions of defo r mation rates at given depths. 

t Da ta in these figures were abstracted f rom USA CRREL r e ports on work accomplished at Site II a nd Camp Century (see Fig . 2 1 fo r location) . 
CAMP CE TUR Y - CONCEP T AND HISTORY 

F i g ur e 2 . Snow tunne l (cut-and- cov er t ype). 

20 

4 0 

-::: 60 

., 

.2! 

I 8 0 

Ill. 

•UJ 

0 100 

120 

140 

1601~ 20 25 30 3~ 40 ~ ~0 

DENSITY ( lb/ ft 3 ) 

F ig ur e 3 . M ean d e n s ity of unpr ocessed Green la nd 

s n ow at Sit e II (Fistcl e n c h ) a s a fu n c ti o n of dep th. 

3 
4 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

time of this w riting , there are not 

suffici ent avail able data to establish 

the precise limits of the optimum 

zone, it is deduced f r om measur e -

ments and observations of tempera -

tures, densities, and closure rates as 

a fun ction of depth at S ite I F and 

Camp Century tha t it extends from 

approximate ! y 60 to 120 feet bel ow 

TOP OF CASING 

the surface . Table I shows calculated 

hydrostatic pressures in Greenland 

snow as a function of depth. 

An alternative to subsurface constructio n, whi ch has be en studied and 

even put t o limit ed use in constructio n 

o f the ice - cap DEWline s tations, consists of cons t rue tion on piling (Texas 

Tower) and installati on of jacking 

systems so that the s tructures can 

be raised periodicall y t o keep them 

above the surface of the snow (Fig. 5). 

However, the initial cost o f this type 

of construction is far great er than 

that o f constructing beneath the surface 

and it has the added disadvantage of 

being readily v isible for miles against 

the white and featureless ice - cap 

background. For these r easons, 

except for ve r y specia l purposes such 

as cited above , it is not considered 

practicable fo r military facilities. 

<!) 

z 

iii 

<t 

u 

"' ...J 

0 

::r:: 

... 

0 

Q. 

0 

1-

3: 

9 

"' Ill 

::r:: 

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Q. 

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-25.0 

I I 

- 13.0 -12.0 - 11 .0 

TEMPERATURE 

-23.0C 

I I I I I 10.0 - 9.0F 

The major adv antages and disadvantages of both above-surface and 

subsurface construction are consider e d 

to b e: 

Figure 4 . Temperatur es as a function 

of depth in ice cap at Camp Centur y . 

1 . Above- surface construction 

a. Advantages: 

( 1) Mainte nanc e cost is substantially lower. 

(2) Is m ore suita ble fo r som e types of military fac ilities ( e . g ., 

radomcs, r adi o ante nnae, m e t eorologica l instruments and instrument t o w e r s ). 

(3 ) Requir es l ess power for l ightin g . 

(4 ) O ffe r s ps ycholog ic a l a d vantag es (i. e . , many p e ople have an ave rsio n 

t o liv ing in s ubs urface camps ). 

b . Disadva ntages: 

(1) Initial constructio n cost i s appr eciabl y hig her. 

( 2 ) I s s ubj e c t ed to the seve r e above - surface e nvir o nme nt. 

( 3 ) Requires m o r e i mporte d con s tructio n material s . 

( 4 ) E n gende rs a seve r e s now-drift r emoval pr o ble m (unless elevate d 

seve ral fee t abo v e th e s u rface o n columns ). 

( 5) Only d e lays eventual burial; h e n ce , provides no permane nt solution. 
CAMP C ENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTOR Y 5 

Tabl e I. S it e II d rill hole m e asur e ments, 25 June 19 58 . 

D e p t h be low Calc ulate d h ydr ostatic H ole 

1958 sur fa ce (ft) pr essu r e ( kg /c n1. 2 ) diamete r (i n . ) 

18 5 

235 

285 

335 

38 5 

-!35 

535 

58 5 

6 3 5 

685 

7 35 

785 

835 

88 5 

935 

98 5 

10 10 

10 3 5 

1085 

11 35 

3 . 58 

5 . 30 

6. 7 0 

8 . 1 0 

9. 50 

10 . 90 

13 . 7 0 

1 5 . 1 0 

16 . 50 

17 . 90 

19 . 31 

20 . 71 

2 2 . 11 

23 . 55 

24 . 92 

2 6. 32 

27 . 0 2 

2 7 . 72 

29. 12 

30 . 5 3 

5 . 836 

5 . 82 4 

5. 780 

5 . 808 

5. 77 6 

5 . 7 58 

5 . 935 

5 . 5 18 

5 . 4 7 0 

5 . 372 

5. 140 

5.000 

-L 958 

4.474 

4. 4 10 

-l . 022 

3 . 786 

3. 684 

3 . 068 

2. 7 04 

The flow r ate s ar e indicated by hole dia me t e r s a t successively g r e a te r depth after a 

p e r iod of approx 10 months f r om completion of drilli ng. Initial d iamete r of h o l e was 

5. 8375 ' ' . (Abstr acted fr om H ansen and Landauer, 1958) . 

Figur e 5 . T exas Towe r c o nc ept u sed in Gr eenl a nd Ic e C ap DEWline sites. 

Built- in jacking d e vice permi t s perio dic r a ising of s tructur e as n ew s now 

accumulat es. 
6 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

( 6) I s difficult to camouflage . 

(7) Is mor e vulnerable to enemy attack. 

(8) Requi r es more fuel for h e ating purposes. 

2. Subsur face construction: 

a . Advanta ges: 

(1) Ini tial construction cost is lowe r . 

(2) Avoids severe above - surface environment. 

(3) Requires less fuel fo r heating purpos es. 

(4) Requi r es less in1ported construction mate rials. 

(S) Minimizes the problem of drifting snow. 

( 6) Is easier to c amouflage. 

(7) Is less vulnerable to enem y attack. 

b. Disadvanta ges: 

(1) Maintenance cost is highe r . 

(2) Requir es year-round powe r fo r lighting. 

( 3 ) Has limited useful life , owing to the fact that it ultimately becomes 

bur ied to a depth where the deformatio n rate is greatly accelerated. 

( 4) Is psychologically undesirable 

After careful consideration of the foregoing, it was decided to addr e ss all efforts 

to the development o f techniques, methods, equipment, and design c r ite ria for 

subsurface camp construction. 

The subsur face road concept 

Full exploitation of the military po tential of the Gr eenland Ice Cap required 

reliable year -ro und access to camps and other facilities located within its boundaries. 

Summertime access on a fairly r e liable basis, by both air and surface means, had 

been made possible through development by the U . S. Air Force of satisfactory skis 

fo r large cargo planes and the develo pment of greatly improved ove rsnow transport 

equipment by the U. S . Army Transportation Corps. However, the daily 24 -hour 

darkness (Fig . 6), extremely low temperatures, and vi o lent storms made w inte r time 

transport by e ithe r means hazardous and exceedingly unreliable. During three years 

of ope r ati on of the ice cap AC&W stations, Sites land Il':' , Thule Air Base was unable 

for weeks at a t i m e to transport mail, passengers, and needed supplies to these sites 

by air. The history of wintertime air r escue operations in Greenland is filled w ith 

accounts of aircraft c r ashes and harrowi ng experiences of near disa ster. Winter -

time surface t r ansportation, although sornewhat l ess haz ardous, is time - consumi ng 

and not much more reliable than air transportation. 

In view of these limitations of bo th surface and air transportation, the concept 

of subsurface roadways was given serious consideration. Such r oadways would be 

inde pendent of weathe r, would e liminate navigation proble ms, and would provide 

r e l iable year-round access to camps located anywhere on the ic e c ap . Howeve r, it 

was reali zed that a system of subsurface roadways woul d be economic ally feasible 

onl y if major installations we r e envisioned. 

DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS, TECHNIQUES, AND DESIGN CRITERIA 

Use of s now as a construction material 

The knowledge that snow has excellent insulating prope rties and can be used fo r 

construc ti o n purposes is not new. In fact, the Eskimos have us ed it fo r centuri es to 

construct igloos and other types of survival s h elte r . When the r equirement for icecap camps was established, the po ssi bl e use of s n ow as a construction material 

':'Respectively 96 miles NNW and 220 miles ENE of Thule . 
DAYLIGHT- DARKNESS CHART 

CAMP CENTURY, GREENLAND FROM THSO N MET EOROLOGI CAL TABLES 

Fig ur e 6. Nor t h e r n Greenla n d (Camp C e ntur y ) day lig ht- d ar k n ess c hart. 

Civ i l twi li g h t include s the tim e a ft e r s u nse t and b efor e sunrise w h e n Lh e 

s un is b etween the h o 1·izon and 6 deg r ees be low the h o ri z o n . 

() 

;J> 

~ 

'"d 

() 

M 

z 

>-] 

c::: 

::0 

><: 

I 

() 

0 

z 

() 

M 

'"0 

>-] 

;J> 

z 

b 

:I: 

.... 

Cfl 

>-] 

0 

::0 

><: 
8 CAMP CENTURY - C O N CEPT AND HISTORY 

b e came an exceedingly attractive c o nside ration fr om the point of vi ew o f monetary 

as we ll as logistical economy. H oweve r , to use s now on a mass i ve scal e in this 

type of constr uction r e quir e d n ot onl y a tho roug h k now l e dg e of its physical p r ope r ti es, 

but also developme nt of new te chniques and e quipment d e signed to h andle it rapidl y 

and in l a rge vo lume s . Further, a s s now has low d ensity and s t r e ngth in its undi s -

tur bed sta te , it was n ece ssar y to de velo p a means fo r i ncr e asing these property 

val ues b y some processing technique befo r e its use in constr ucti o n could be consider ed seriously . 

I t had b een noted that snow cle a r e d from roads by r otary plows gained signifi -

cantl y in densit y, hardness, and be aring str e ngth a s a r esult of having be e n handl e d 

b y thes e p lows. H e nc e , i t was evide nt that some type of large r o tar y plow mig ht 

p r ovide a sol u tion t o the proc essing pro bl em. Such a plow, the P e t e r s n ow mille r::: 

( F i g . 7 ), used by the Swiss to clear r o ads of a v alanche s now i n the Alps, seem ed to 

offer p r omi s e fo r thi s a p plicatio n . It n o t onl y poss esse d a capa c i ty to handl e lar g e 

volumes o f s n ow (approximate l y 780 yd3 / h r in 0 . 4 g/cm3 snow), but was also c apable 

of cutting throug h dense snow containing deposit s of ice . Mo r eove r , its milli n g 

acti on pro duc e d a high tlensity (0 . 55 g/cm 3 ) g ranular mate rial w ith a broad range of 

grain sizes. This s now, called Peter s now, ha rde n s with time into a mate rial of 

significant m echanical s trength . 

Figur e 7 . Peter s n ow mille r in ope r ation c utting a tr e n ch . 

::< The introduction of the P e t e r mille r fo r thi s ap plicatio n in Gr eenland and the e n -

courag ing subs e que nt d eve l o pment s r esulti n g f r om its u se can b e c r e dited to Dr. 

H e nri B ade r, w h o was the n Chief Scientist of USA SIPRE. 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 9 

The trenching capability of the Peter miller was first investigated in 1955 at 

Site II (Fistclench), a location on the ice cap 220 miles east of Thule at an elevation 

of 6800 feet. In 1956, under the direction of R. Wate rhouse, USA SIPRE, proj ec t 

"Snow Structures" was initiate d and the study of snow as a material of construction 

was incorporated into the program of investigations. 

The first 500 feet of tr e nch was produced and covered with an arched snow roof 

composed of Peter snow, which was deposited by the P eter m ill e r on a specially 

designed removable metal form. The engineering properties of density , grain size 

distribution, unconfined compressive strength, and hardne ss we r e d e t e rmine d and 

r e late d to the operating characteristics of the machine, including ope ration a t va rious 

spee d s and casting over a range of distances. The obvious o bj ec tive was the p r o -

ductio n o f a mate rial which poss essed th e highest strength at the earliest possible 

time after d e p o sitio n. To this end the inve stigation s continued. 

During these e arly investigations, it w as l e arned that the best material fo r 

unsupported snow arches containe d a broad grain size distributio n (0 . 1 to 2. 0 mm) 

and that the snow gained str e ngth m ost rapidly if d e posite d in laye rs in whi c h larg e 

tempe ratu r e diffe r e n ces pr evaile d. It was obser ved also that this gai n in strength, 

or age-hardening pro c ess, was s low w h en the s n ow and ambi ent air temperatures 

we r e n e arly the same and that the faste r r a t es oc curred o n ly when the s n ow was 

colder than the air. Butkovi c h (1 962 ), in h i s stu dy of the ag e hardening of processed 

snow, described the phenomenon as th e fo r mati on of new bond s betwee n the g rains, 

b y both a sublimation and a surface migration proce ss, whe reby the mat e rial from 

the grains forms th e bonds, and the numbe r of g rains in a given cross section d e -

creases w ith time . H e observed that some o f the factors w hi c h influe n ce the process 

are hete roge neity of g rain size; t emp e r ature; t emp e ratur e gradients b e tween grains; 

and space betwee n g rains, or poro sity. H e r e p o rte d als o that, when a comparison 

was possible , the mechanical prope rty of proc essed s now w ith t ime always approached 

the v alue for naturally compacted snow of li ke d e nsity but never exceeded it to any 

great d eg r ee . The bene fit d e rived from rnilling the snow was the faster achievement 

of high d e nsity with rapi d age harde ning. 

Concurr e nt with these fi e ld trials and investigations, phy si c al scientists, working in Greenl and and at the USA SIPRE Laboratory in Wilmette, Illinois, w ere 

rigorously seeking a bette r unde r s tanding of the prope rties of th e natural snow pack 

as well as of the processed snow. :;, 

Prio r to 1957 all ic e - cap installations, including th e A ir Force AC&W stations 

(Site s I and II), had b een constructed above the surface , and later became subsurface 

as a r esult of accumulating snow. In 19 57 the first k nown deliberately desig ned 

subsurface camp was c o nstructe d at Site II b y the U . S . A rmy Enginee r Arctic Task 

Force (USAEA TF), under the supervision of Lt. Col. E . F . Clark, who w a s then in 

command of the A r my's R&D program in Greenland (Fig ur e 8 shows the layout 

sche m e for this camp). 

This camp (Camp Fis tcle m::h) e xploited the s n ow structur es studies which had 

been conducted by Wa.t e rho us e . The P e t e r mille r was us e d to c u t straight- walled 

tr e nches, w hich w e r e r oofed w ith con ventional structures o f wood and metal in all 

ca ses wh ere the spans we r e greater tha n 8 fee t (Fig . 9 , 10). S ystem s of m e asur e -

m e nt we r e initiate d to study th e m ovem ent o f the v iscoelas tic snow, whi ch continue s 

to d e nsify w ith time unde r l oad. It soon b ecame appar e n t that, in the desi g n of 

unde r snow fac iliti es of any size and life span, the gradual closur e of t r e nches had 

to b e consider e d and that some system of trenching was required w hic h would r educe 

the r oof mate ria l r e quirements fo r trenches 18 to 24 feet w ide at the floor. 

':'Sinc e 19 56 , a number of studies of the fundamenta l properties o f snow have b een 

made. For example, Nakaya (19 59 ) measured Young's modulus a nd viscosi ty as a 

function of t ime; Fuchs (1 960) studi e d the structure o f a ge - harde ned disaggregated 

Peter snow. 
10 CAMP CENTUB. Y rCONCEPT AND HISTORY 

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CAMP CENTURY- CO NCEPT AND HISTORY 

. 

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I 

Figure 9 . P e ter miller cutting a straight- wall tr e n c h. 

Figure 10. One of the o pen trenches cove r ed with timber trusses. 

Photo taken before pr efabricated buildings w er.e installed. 

1 1 
12 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Figure 11. Unde rcut tr e nch. 

To solve this problem, Dr. Bader suggested the undercut trench concept, and 

the snow structures team built the first undercut trench at Site II in 1958 (Fig. 11). 

The trench had a width of 8 feet at the top and 18 feet at the floor (Fig. 12, 13). A 

depth of lO feet provided sufficient overhead clearance to assure at l e ast a 5-year 

life before settlement of the roof would begin to crush the enclosed framed structures. 

The trench was covered with an unsupported snow arch roof. Thi's was accomplished 

by placing metal forms over the open trench, backfilling over the forms with Peter 

snow, and then removing the forms as soon as the snow had age hardened sufficiently 

to be self-supporting (Fig. 14, 15) (Waterhouse, 1960). Data obtained during this 

construction effort, augmented by studies of the effects of temperature on the strength 

properties of both unprocessed and P e ter snow, and the experience gained from 

occupation of Fistclench, provided information adequate for the d e sign of subsurface 

camps with some predictable performance characteristics. 
1.!. 

Figure 1 2. P e t e r snow miller in operation employing undercutting technique . 
Figure 13 . Top view of undercut trench. 

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CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 17 

The most important less o n s l e arned at Fistc l e n ch we r e that flat struc tural roofs 

ove r snow tr e n c h es we r e incompatibl e with the eve r - inc r easing snow l o a d f o r w:hich 

they had t o be d esigned, that waste c o uld b e dispos ed of satisfacto ril y i n shafts pro -

duced in the snow mass b y discharge of station efflu e n t , and that struc t u r al supports 

for buildings must be spaced symmetrically w ith respect t o the tre nch cente r line in 

order to a ccommodate an ar c hing of the snow fl o or as the tr ench defor ms. ':' 

Foundations in snow 

Another problem of major conc e rn was that of d eveloping d e sign c r ite ria for 

found ations in snow . Foundation s for i ce - c ap s tructures, such a s the U. S. Air 

Force AC&W s tations (Sites I and II), had been over- designed becaus e of the lack of 

reliable d ata on the bearing strength of snow. To obtain data upon which to bas e 

future foundation d e sig n, a se r ies of te s t s , under the s upe r vi sion of N . Costes, 

USA SIPRE, we r e initiated in 19 5 7 a t Site II. The program included tests of mode l 

and full- sca le piles a s well as spr e ad footings. Vario u s sizes, s pacings, and_ confi gurations of piles 'we re incorporated in the plan of test; rates of l.o ading we r e varied; 

ve r tical movements we r e measured a s functio ns of t ime and str ess. Skin fricti on 

and point- b eari ng value s we r e d e termined i n d e pendently . 

Seve ral different m ethods of installing the test piles we r e employed. These inc luded driv ing piles'into place ; auge ring holes, inserting the piles, and b a ckfi lling 

w ith snow slush; and a combination of these m ethod s, which consi sted of driving the 

piles several fee t a ft er they had b een placed in auge r ed holes. 

These earl y tests we r e n ot conclusive , a lthough they d i d provide conside r able 

data on the b earing capacity of piles and spr ead footings. Costes, a fte r 2 years of 

pile testing at Site II, concluded that 50 psi (point bearing), with a s afety factor of 

2, would be a con servative desi g n valu e fo r piles, provided they w ere spaced at least 

th r ee pile diameters apart, and driven or emplaced to a depth of 30 feet beneath the 

t r e nch floors. At that time, Costes appare n tly was convinced that skin f riction added 

little to the bearing capacity of a pile in snow and should ther efore be disregarded. t 

H oweve r, additio nal data o btained at Camp Century in a .recent ser ies of tests indicate 

that skin friction may be the mor e important factor in pile bearing capacity (A. 

Kovacs) . ':":' 

In construction of the Air Force AC&W stations, Camp Fistclench and the ice -

cap DEWline statio ns, spread footings we r e used exclusi vely. This decision r esult ed 

from the fact that insufficient data we re available at that time to p r ovide an adequate 

basis f o r reliable pile f o undation design. However, since these faciliti es wer e constructed, a continuing program of obse r ving the performance of spread footings at 

these locations has been maintained. Also, several seri es of t est s on the b earing 

c apac i ty of spread footings have b een condu c t e d a t other locations in Greenland 

since 19 55. As a r esult of these t ests and measurements, S. Reed, USA CRREL, 

observed that the settlement of spread footings on snow is strongl y depe ndent on 

temperatur e and initial snow densit y and that an exp onential relationship between 

temperature and the rate of se ttlement is indi cated. He furth.er o bserved that the 

r e l ationship between footing settlement and l oad is line ar up to a l o ad intensity of 

2000 psf, but that beyond this valu e the' settl ement rate incr e ase s mor e rapidly. 

':'Trench floor arching is discussed unde r " Foundati ons in snow" . 

t Costes expr e ss e d this conclusion in 1958 during a conference on design criteria 

for Camp Centur y. Since 1958, as a result of hav ing evalua ted additional d a ta 

which have been obtained, Costes apparently has c hanged his opinion concerning the 

v alue of skin fricti on and now agrees essentially with the observations of Kovacs. 

':":'Kovacs, who was in charge of the USA CRREL pile testing program at C amp 

Centur y in 19 64 , e xpressed this view while the author was visiting C a mp Century 

during the s umme r of 1964. 
18 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Dr. A. Assur (USA CRREL) has suggested the following expression for the re -

lationship between settlement and footing size: 

where: Sz /S1 

bl' bz 

bo 

n 

= 

= 

= 

= 

ratio of settlement of two footings 

width of t wo footings 

a factor defining the additional width over which the footing load is 

assumed to be distributed; i. e ., instead of the contact area, width 

b, the load i s effec tive ly distribute d over the greater width b+b0 

exponent dependent upon characteristics of s now under stress. 

Reed o bserved that the adoption of n=2 and b0 =1 (in feet) in the above r e lationship 

leads to a very close approximation of observed settlements. 

The advantages of pile s versus sp read footings are debatable and d epend largely 

upon the nature of the structures they are to support. The advantages and disadvantages 

of each from the point of v i ew of e as e o f construction, intended use, and logistical 

economy are considered to be as follows: 

1. Piles 

a. Advantages : 

( 1) Can extend sufficiently deep b e neath the snow surface (trench floor 

if in trenches) to avoid the adverse effects of heated structures or of 

solar radiation on the strength of the supporting snow . 

(2 ) Are more suitable than spread footings for above-surface constr uc -

tion, whe r e the surface snow has r elatively low density and strength, 

or where structures should be elevated several feet above the surface to minimize the snow drifting problem. ':' 

b. Disadvantages: 

( 1) Require more effort and equipment to install than spread footings. 

(2) Are of debatable advantage in cut- and - cover trenches o r tunne ls, 

except where heated structures will affect adve rsely the bearing 

capacit y of the upper l a yers of the supporting snow. 

2. Spread footings 

a. Advantages: 

(1) Require l ess effort and equipment to install than piles. 

(2) Are more suitable than p iles for installation in tr enches or tunnels 

whe r e wo r king space i s confined. 

(3 ) Require less logi'stical effort in terms of transportation. 

b. Disadvantages: 

{ 1) Are subject to the adver se effects of heated structures o r solar 

radiation on the strength of the supporting snow. 

{2) Are less suitable than piles for above-surface construction in lowdensity snow or for structures which should be elevated several 

feet above the surface to minimize the snow-drifting problem. 

>!< Pile foundations can be designed to extend from the surface into deeper and denser 

snow layers, which possess correspondingly greater str e ngth. Hence, in the utili z ation of a given area, piles would carry a greate r load with less settlement than 

footings placed on the surface, even if a monolithic plate covering the entir e area 

were to be used. If a structure is elevated on piles several feet above the surface, 

wind action tends to prevent the formation of snow drifts unde r or around the structure. 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 19 

The snow flo ors in trenches 

tend to become arched within a few 

months afte r con s tructio n has been 

completed. This effect is generally 

b elieved to result from the s tr ess 

distribution which concentrates most 

of the overburde n l oad on the snow 

directly unde r the tr e n ch walls, thus 

causing the snow a t thes e points to 

consolidate at a more rapid rate than 

e lsewhe r e in the floor. I n any event, 

to comp ensat e for this differential 

ve rtical movement, it i s conside r ed 

nec essar y t o space piles o r footings 

symmetrically w ith r es p ect to the 

floor centerline (Fig . 16 ). 

T ests and obse r vations of b o th 

piles and spread footings in snow 

which we re conducted prio r to 1959 

did not provid e all of the desired 

solutions to problems of designing 

ic e cap foundati o ns. H owever, they 

did indicate that both types we re 

feasible and prov ided suffici ent data 

t o design foundations i n snow with 

reasonably predi ctable performance 

c haracte ristics. 

Arctic housing 

ORIGINAL 

SNOW FLOOR 

II 

lJ 

SNOW SURFACE 

SNOW FLOOR 

AFTER ARCH ING 

11 HAS OCCURRED 

1J 

Figure 1 6 . Piles s paced symmetr ically 

with respec t to floor centerline. 

With the d evelopme nt of a s atisfacto r y c u t -and-cove r method of con struc ting 

trenches, the r equirement fo r development of lig h twei ght and i nexpensive buildings 

for u se in t h e trenches b ecame important. The then exi sting family of arctic buildings and shelters we re designed for the surface e n vironme nt, wh e r e wind and snow 

l o adings a s we ll a s insulation are important design con siderations. Howeve r, in 

the trenches the r e are no wind or snow l oads and temp e ratur es r emain more nearly 

constant than on the surface . Consequently, structural m emb ers can b e made lig hte r 

and r e q uir ements for insulation can b e g r eatly reduced. The optim um building fo r 

use in the trenches would have the followin g characteristics: ve ry light weigh t; 

inexpensive; s ufficient structural strength t o support o nly the d esi gn floor l oad s, the 

n e ce ssary insulation, and such appurte nant hardware as might be installed; fire proof; 

e asy to transport and e r ect o r fabricate o n-site; and easy to disassemble a nd r emove. 

New developments in mat erials, particularly in organic p o l yme rs, app ear e d t o 

offer promise in the d evel opment of s u ch a building. Honeycomb paper, foamed 

conc r ete , geodesic d omes, inflatable shelter s, and many othe r n ew developments in 

both materials and design seemed to merit careful evaluati on. 

To explor e these possibilities, the U. S. A rmy Engineer Research and Development Laboratories (USAERDL) was assi g n ed the task of s tudying a nd evaluating 

various n ew mate rials and design concepts a nd of designing a pro to type building 

which would satisfy the subsurfa ce construction r equirement . In conduct ing the 

studies, USAERDL consider ed a number of new materials, commercially a v ailable 

prefabricated buildings, and fabrication techniques. Non e fully satisfied all of the 

above - stated requirements. 

Standard off-the - shelf commercial buildings, although generally suited in most 

respects for semi-permanent s urface camps in the ar c tic , we r e ove r - designed for 

use in the cut-and-cover trenches. Further, without major modification, most 

were too large for installation in trenches, w h ere width was limited b y the construction t echniques that had b een d evel oped. 
20 CAMP CENTURY-CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Of the materials c o nside r e d for this application, polyurethane foam appeared most 

nearly to satisfy all of the state d requir ements. Its chief disadvantage was that it 

could be foamed only in a contro lled environment (i.e., 40 ° to 65° F) . Nonetheless, 

its light weight (2 to 4 lb/ cu ft), exc e llent insulating properties (thermal conductivity, 

or K factor, of 0.15 Btu/sq ft / hr /° F / in), and a high fire-retardant potential (can be 

made to be self-extinguishing when specially compounded) more than compensated for 

this disadvantage. Also, it offered a logistical advantage in that it could be shi?ped 

to the construction site as drummed chemicals, which would result in a substantial 

transportation economy, if on- site fabrication techniques could be developed. 

Concurrently with other research on problems relative to ice-cap camp construction, efforts to develop buildings suitable for installation in trenches continued. 

Control of drifting snow 

Of prime importance in ic e -cap construction is_.the development of methods and 

techniques for preventing drifting snow from closing the entrances to subsurface 

camps and rapidly burying abov e - surface structures (Fig . 1 7). To solve this problem 

a number of methods were conside r e d, including the use of portable snow fences, 

layout configurations, and building geometries which would minimize the problem; 

inflatable air locks at trench or tunnel entrances; and air curtains in the form of 

clusters of high-velocity air jets at ramps and portals to prevent the formation of 

snowdrifts. 

Considerable effort was dir e cted to the testing of various snow fence types and 

fence layout arrangements, but results were generally far from satisfactory. The 

almost unimaginable mass of snow that is repeatedly shuffled by wind action made the 

use of portable snow fences ineffective and at best only a temporary expedient. 

Further, digging them out and reinstalling them frequently, as they become buried 

in the snow, is a time-consuming task. Another disadvantage of fences is the fact 

that their continued use around ramps and portals aggravates the problem by the 

creation of large mounds of snow, which in turn interfere with wind action and thus 

accelerate the formation of new drifts. 

The use of inflatable air locks or air curtains to protect portals and ramps was 

considered, but was never actually tested in the field. However, it may be that 

either of these devices would be more effective than snow fences as a solution to the 

problem of controlling drifting snow. Appendix B describes a method of p-r-otecting 

portals that was tested hy USA CRREL at Camp Century in 1964. 

The closure of portals is only one of a number of problems involving control of 

drifting snow which were studied by USA SIPRE during the period 1954-1964. ':' 

These efforts were devoted to a broad spectrum of snow- drift problems, including 

the influences of layout configurations, building geometries, and orientation with · 

respect to prevailing wind directions on control of drifting snow. The investigations 

and tests which were conducted ranged from theoretical studies on.fluid dynamics to 

actual field tests with full - scale structure s as well as scale-mode~ simulation of a 

blowing snow condition in wind tunnels (Gerdel, 1961). Figures 18 and 19 show an 

exan1ple of the wind tunnel tests. 

The most important findings relative to control of drifting snow were: that any 

object, obstruction, or depression on the surface results in the formation of snowdrifts at a steadily increasing rate; that surface structures must be elevated 10 to 

20 feet above the surface on piles, if rapid burial is to be avoided; that snow fences, 

although useful for some purposes, can be considered only a temporary expedient; 

and that surface structures should be laid out, oriented, and spaced with respect to 

prevailing wind directions so that no structure is located in the area of the snowdrift pattern caused by another structure. 

>:<USA CRREL since 1961. 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTOR Y 

Figure 17. Vi e w of portal to Camp Centur y showing dozer 

clearing snowdri!ts after a storm. 

Figure 18. Wind tunnel test of a model of a composite Dye 

Site building during stages of construction (Gerde l, 196 1 ). 

2 1 
22 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

4-----

6 

25 

24-------------------

Wind 

Flow 

Figure 19. Contours of drift accumulation around the composite Dye Site II 

building on the ice cap during a 10-month period (upper drawing) and contours 

showing the accumulation pattern developed in the tunnel on a scale model of 

the composite Dye Site building (lower drawing). Elevations shown are in 

feet above the natural surface. (Gerde l , · 1961) 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 23 

Water supply 

Dr. Bader in 1955 advo cated producing wate r for ice - cap camps by melting a 

shaft into the ice to a depth of approximate ly 10 0 f eet, wh e r e the s n ow has a density 

of about 0. 70 g / cm3 and is imperme abl e to wate r. Then, w ith the us e of steam j ets, 

a pool of water suffici ently large to satisfy ca;np requirements could b e melted and 

maintained. The water could be pumpe d into sto rage tanks by means of a deep well 

pump (Fig. 20). Bader's concept was bas e d upon his obse r vati ons of _the sewage 

disposal system at Site II, wher e water - borne sewage which was dumped into a pit 

rapidly melted its way down to a depth of about 100 feet. It then pond ed and created 

a pool of ever increasing size which remaine d in the liquid state a s long as the heat 

input w as continue d (Bader and Small, 1955). 

The advantages of this concept ove r the conventional snow melter were o bvious. 

Not onl y would l ess manpower be r e quired in the production of water but also an 

abundance of water could be produced at less cost per gallon. 

In 1958 a task was assigned to USAERDL to test the ice-cap well conc-ept. In 

1959, Mr. R . R:'odriguez, USAERDL employee , assembled the-necessary equipment 

(steam generator, flexible steam pipes,--steam nozzles, deep well pumps, stor age 

tanks, winch, etc. ) and condu cted a field test on the ice cap. He developed a wate r 

suppl y system which is now known as the "Rodrigue z Well. " The e q uipment consisted mostly of.modified commercial items. The success of this test is documented 

b y USAERDL Technical Repor·t No . 1737. 

Sourc e s of power 

Providing conve ntional types of fuel (i. e ., dies e l oil, gasoline, kerosene, etc.) 

for heat and electric ity be comes a logistic ally burde nsome requirement, not onl y on 

the Greenland Ice Cap, but also in any r emote region. Solar furnaces, wind _.powered 

electric generato r s , or water turbines may provide partial solutions to this problem, 

but each ha s distinct disadvantages and limitations. In the high polar latitudes, solar 

power is not available at all during the polar night, which lasts from early Novembe r 

to mid-February of e ach year; wind powe r is at be st s p o radic and undependable; and 

the wate r - powe r p o t e ntial is limited to the two to thre e months of summer during 

which streams flow. Further, on the Green land Ice Cap, sources of water for 

Op€ration of turbo-electric gene rat ors are available only at the very edges, where 

temperatures rise abo ve 32 ° Fin summe r. Hence, nuclear powel' appeared to be. 

the only feasible solutio n . 

During the summer of 1955, two Corps of f:ngineers representatives from the 

Army Nucl e ar Powe r Program v isited Greenland f o r the purpo s e of determining the 

feasibility of installing a modular-type nuclear power plant on the Greenland Ic e Cap. 

They considered also the advantages, if any, such a plant would offer in comparison 

to standard die sel- e lectric plants. After inspecting the Army R&D camps and s ites 

and discussing power requirements and installation problems with USA SIPRE 

engi neers and scie ntists and the CO, 1 st EATF (Lt. Col. E . F . Clar k , who was then 

in command of the Army R&D program in Greenland), they concluded that the 

engineering problems of installing a p lant on the ice cap, although difficult, we r e 

not insurmountable and that a tremendous logistical economy in i ce cap transportation would be realized. ':' They recommended that such a plant be desi gned and installed on the Greenland Ice Cap. The primary reason for sel e c ting the i c e cap for 

this test was that if a plant could be installed and operated successfully there, 

wher e engine ering problems would be complicated by excessive de.formation of the 

snow trenches housing it, installation and ·operation of such a plant in other less 

severe environments would be eas y by comparison. Experienc e with the SM- 1 

Nuclear Power Plant, then under construction at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, would 

prov i de sufficient data upon which to base the design of a small modular-type, skidmounted plant. Accordingly, plans w e re formulate d to d e sign a plant and irtstall it 

in Greenland during calendar year 1960. 

':'A few pounds of e nriche d U-235 contains as much n~rgy as thousands of drums of · 

fossil-fue l. 
24 CAMP CENTURY- CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Ceiling 

TRENCH 

Floor 

"A" FRAME and WINCH 

CABLE ASSEMBLY 

PUMP 

SUSPENSION CABLE 

ICE CAP SURFACE 

Water Line 

STEAM 

~========~GENERATOR 

MELTING-PUMP 

BIT ASSEMBLY 

WATER 

STORAGE 

TANK 

F igure 20 . Schematic sketch of water well and equipment. 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 25 

Waste disposal 

A complete l y satisfactory method of disposing of water- borne waste o n ice c ap s 

was devel oped by the Corps of Engineers and incorporated in the design of the Greenland I ce Cap AC&W stations, Sites I and II. This method consisted of dumping the 

waste into an unlined snow pit, from which it melted a vertical shaft down into the 

snow to an impermeable laye r (approximately 100 feet), where it spread laterally and 

formed a b ell- shaped cavity. The spread of lateral contamination was subsequently 

determined by coring down through the contaminate d zone at consecutivel y grea ter 

distances from the shaft. T his provided a basis fo r determining minimum safe distances between ic e c ap w ater wells and sewage pits. 

Disposal of trash and other non- water- borne waste was provided by burial in 

snow trenche s in the same manner as in normal sanitary fills in l and areas. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAMP CENTURY DESIGN 

Decision to construct a new subsurface camp 

Ear 1 y in 1 9 58 plans for a modular-type, semi- portable nuclear reactor power 

plant to be installed on the ic e cap had been complet ed, approved, and funds for its 

construction had b een programmed and promised b y the Department of the Army. 

However, the sit e for its installation had not be e n selecte d. The austere prototype 

undersnow camp at Site II had not been designed t o accomodate such a plant. Furthermore, Site II, located 218 miles from Camp Tuto (Fig. 21), impos ed an unnecessary 

logistical burden in terms of surface transportation, since all of the research and 

development being conducte d there could be c o nducted nearer to the ic e cap edge and 

much closer to Camp Tuto. Also, f r om the r esearch point of view , construction of 

a new camp, which would incorporate all of the metho ds and techniques that had been 

developed during the preceding 4 years, seemed highly d e sirable. Based on these 

considerations, a d ecision was made to construct a n ew camp which woul d incorporate 

all of the previously developed ice cap construc tio n methods and techniques. 

Selection of a location for the new camp 

Considerati ons of prime importanc e in selecting a site for the new camp we re: 

1. A location where the seasonal fluctuations in temperatur e would not 

endanger the snow structures through excessive melting or w arming of the snow 

mass. 

2 . A location free of crevass'es. 

3. A location whi ch would serve the foreseeabl e research needs. 

4. A l ocation closer to Camp T uto than Site II. 

5. A l ocation that could be serve d by surface transportation over the 

existing trail which had b een constructed through the c r evasse zone extending from 

Camp Tuto eastward approximately 60 miles. 

With these limitations in mind and with the advice of Dr. Bader, a s ite 1 38 miles 

east of Camp Tuto, along the Tuto-Site II trail, was tentatively selected. Subsequent 

g r o und r econnaissan ce verified its s uitability. Howeve r, with no detailed r ecords 

of Greenland I ce Cap weather dating earlier than 19 52, this sel ec tion was made w ith 

the knowledge that it was a calculated risk and that surface air t e mpe ratures might, 

on rare occasions, ris e above 3 2 ° F. This would be serious onl y if continued for 

l o ng p e riods, which was thought to b e improbable by A ir Force and Army meteo rologists, who w ere most familiar with North Greenl and weather. 

A name for the new camp 

In se lecting a name for the n ew camp, a deliberate attempt was made to avoid 

naming it after any person liv ing o r d e ad. Danish representatives at Thule A ir Base 

had expressed a distinc t aversion to maps which r ead like an obituary column. 

Originally, it had b een suggest ed that the n ew camp b e located 100 miles f r om the 

ice cap edge. This b e ing so, R. Philippe had s uggested that "Camp Century" would 

b e an appropriate name for it. T hrough usag e in corresponde n ce and con fe r e n ces, 

this name came to be accepted officially. 
26 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND H ISTORY 

GREENLAND MAP OF LOCAL AREA 

ale in iles 

0 

---- ---- 10 20 30 40 8 0 

Figur e 2 1 . Camp Century locatio n. 

Assignment of r es p o nsibilities for the construc tion of Camp Century 

After consider abl e discussion within OCE b e tween the various s taff elements 

which had a direc t inter est in Camp Century, assignment of r e sponsibilities for its 

construction wer e made as follows: 

Responsibilities 

Ove rall construction, except as 

otherwise note d 

Contracting for design and con -

struction of the nuclear powe r 

pla nt (PM-2A), except as otherwise noted 

Design and supervision of constru ction of buil dings and othe r 

structures require d for the PM-2A 

Design of the camp, including wat er, 

power, distribution, and wa s te dis -

posal syst ems 

Consulting s e rvic es on snow s truc tures 

De sign of fuel core for the PM- 2A 

Supe rvision of PM-2A insta lla tio n 

Unit or A g ency_ 

U . S. A r m y Polar Research and 

Deve lopment Cente r (USAPR&DC) 

U . S. A rmy Engineer Dis trict, 

E astern Oc e an (EOD) 

U. S. Army E ngineer District, 

Eastern Oc e an 

U. S. Army Engineer Research and 

Developme nt Laboratories 

U . S. Ar my Snow, Ic e and P e rmafrost 

Research Establishment 

Army Nuclear Power Program, OCE 

Nuclear Power Fie ld Office, OCE 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 27 

Design criteria 

The Chief of Engineers provided the USAPR&DC, USAERDL, USA SIPRE, and 

EOD conceptual guidance and general design criteria essentially as follows: 

1. The facility was to be a subsurface camp (constructed by use of the cut-andcover trenching technique), with a capacity to house 100 personnel on a year -round 

basis. 

2. Design of the camp was to incorporate the following general features: 

a. A nuclear power plant was to provide electrical power and steam to 

operate the water well. 

b. Maximum use was to be made of sno:'N as a construction material. 

c . The camp was to have a design life of 10 years (with appropriate 

maintenance). 

3. Camp facilities were to include: 

a. Living quarters 

b. Kitchen and mess hall 

c. Latrines and showers 

d. Recreation hall and theater 

e. Library and hobby shops 

f. Dispensary, emergency operating room, and a 10-bed infirmary 

g. Laundry 

h. Post exchange 

i. Scientific laboratories 

j . Cold storage warehouses 

k. POL storage tanks 

1. Communications center 

m. Equipment and maintenance shops 

n. Supply rooms and storage areas 

o. Nuclear power plant (also a standby diesel-electric power plant) 

p. Administrative buildings for office space 

q. Utility buildings 

r. Chapel 

4. Layout of the camp was to consist of a series of parallel main trenches in 

which buildings and other structures were to be housed. A main vehicular access 

trench, large enough to accommodate tractor-drawn sled trains, was to extend 

through the center of the camp, perpendicular to the main structure trenches, thus 

connecting them (Fig. 22). 

5. Buildings were to be a prefabricated modular-type, and as light in weight as 

would be consistent with other requirements. 

6. All buildings which were to be heated or contain facilities that would generate 

heat were to be supported on timber cribs or piles, with approximately 2 feet of 

unobstructed clearance between the snow trench floor and building floor. 

7. Water was to be produced by development of an ice-cap well, located at 

least 1000 feet from the liquid waste disposal sump. Steam was to be used to melt a 

shaft down to a depth of approximately 100 feet. At this depth a pool of water of the 

desired size was to be produced and maintained by use of steam jete. Deep-well 

pumps were to be used to transport water from the well pool to storage tanks. 

Storage tanks and distribution lines throughout the camp were to ·be heated and insulated. · 

8. Camp ventilation was to be provided by two separate systems, i.e., an inclosed system for ventilation of buildings and a separate system to expel heat and 

gases from the trenches. 
28 

A~· c 

20 

[ 19 

18 l 

[ 

CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

ENTRANCE 

~ 

[ 

J C==J I 

J~8 l[ c 

J 

7 

•+--0 

KEY 

I. TRENCH NUMBER 

A SEWAGE SUMP 

8 PUMPING STA. (SEWAGE) 

C LABORATORY 

D OLD WATER WELL 

E NEW WATER WELL 

F REACTOR AREA 

Figure 22. Schematic l ayout of Camp Century, showing l ocation 

of sewage sump in relation to water well. 

9 . Build ings w e re to b e heat ed electri c a lly. 

10. W;;tter - borne waste was to be pumpe d into well-type sumps, located at 

l e ast 1000 fee t from the wate:~; supply s o urce and not less than 500 feet from the 

nearest building. Solid waste was to be deposited in a separ~te t rench a nd cover e d 

with snow. 

1 1. Cut-and-cover trenches were to be the undercut type . Unsupported s now 

a rch roofs we r e to be used to the max imum practicable extent. Standard trenches, 

approximately 24 feet wide at floor l e v e l, w e re to be used to house buildings a nd 

other structures throughout the camp. E xc e ptions to use of th e standard type tren ch 

were to be limited to maintenance shops. 

12. Fire walls w ere to be installed between'buildings. 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Tunnel Cross Se c t. 1on .. .... C amp Century 

ORIGINA L 

SNOW SUP~A E 

A RCH FILL (PETER SN OW) 

T-5 

BUILDING 

SPOIL 

FRO M 

EXCAVA ION 

Figure 23. Schematic of modified T- 5 building in a standard trench. 

Design problems 

29 

Very early in the process of preparing plans and specifications for Camp 

Century, it became apparent that a number of undesirable compromises would have 

to be made. Specific problem areas and solutions decided upon were as follows: 

1. Buildings - USAERDL stated that insufficient time was a v ailable to design 

and test new modular -type buildings such as envisioned, and recommended that the 

T-5 arctic building b e adapted for use in the standard trenches by reduction of its 

width from 20 ft t o 16ft (Fi"g. 23). This building was expensive and had been designed 

to withstand h eavy snow and wind loads. Hence, it was grossly over-designed for 

use in Camp Century. However, there appeared to be no alte rnative to its use. 

Acco rdingly, the USAERDL recon1mendation was approved, with agreement that only 

fifty percent of the normal numbe r of laminated plywood roof trusses would be in 

each building. 

2. PM-2A Trenches - ALCO Pro ducts had been awarded the contract to construct 

the nuclear power plant and had agreed originally to a desig n which could be accommodated in the standard 24-foot trenches. However, before preliminary designs 

had been completed, they requested relief from the 24 ft trench width r estriction for 

certain portions of the power plant on the basis that the specified configurations and 

hardw are could not be adapted practically to so little space. The EOD held a conference in Ne w York to discuss these and other problems. At this conference R. 

Waterhouse, USA SIPRE, recommended a solution to the trench width problem which 

would permit construction of straight-wall trenches up to 40 ft in width. His solution 

c onsisted of the use of corrugated metal arches (Wonder Arches) to cover the side 

trenches (Fig. 24). It was his opinion that 16 gage corrugated metal arches would 

satisfy the design life requirement, provided the arches acquired a filled spandrel 
30 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Figure 24. Wonder Arches being installed over 40-foot wide 

reactor trench at Camp Century. 

load symmetrically, with a limited thickness at the crown, and provided a venti lation 

system adequate to prevent excessive warming of the snow over the arches was installed. A decision was made to accept Mr. Waterhouse's recommendation. It was 

realized at the time that this type of construction (i.e., wide, straight-wall trench, 

covered with metal arches) had not been tested and might not prove to be a satisfactory 

structure. However, at the time there appeared to be no alternative to this solution. 

3. Ventilation - The CO, USAPR&DC requested relief from the requirement to 

construct convection barriers in the trenches between heat sources (i.e., buildings, 

etc.) and the snow arch r oofs. At a conference held at USAERDL on design problems, it was agreed that the barriers could be omitted from the design plans. It was 

also agreed at this conference that, instead of an inclosed ventilation system for all 

buildings, several methods would be used in various parts of the camp in order to 

evaluate a number of possible solutions to the problem. 

CAMP CENTURY COST ESTIMATE 

Based upon preliminary plans and specifications, the cost of Camp Century was 

estimated as follows: 

Item 

Prefabricated buildings 

Roofing forms 

Electrical heating system 

Water supply system 

Waste disposal system 

Ventilation systems 

Power distribution system 

Shower and ablution set 

Amount 

700,000 

150,000 

90,000 

70,000 

50,000 

200,000 

50,000 

100,000 
CAMP CENTURY - C ONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Alarm systems (fire &: c arbon mono:l{ide ) 

Fire fighting s ystem 

Fuel sto rage tanks 

Mise const materials 

Design costs 

PM-2A 

Standby power plant 

Sub to tal 

T otal 

10,000 

50 , 000 

50,000 

200,000 

100 ,000 

1, 820,000 

5, 700, 000 

400, 000 

7, 920, 000':' 

':'The actual to t a l cost of Camp Century was h e ld to this fi gure . 

CONSTRUCTION OF CAMP CENTURY 

Design, plans , and specifications 

3 1 

Detaile d design p lans and specifications for Camp Century we r e accomplished 

during the latte r part of 1958 and earl y 1959. USAERDL, with assistance and g u i dance 

from USAPR &:DC and USA SIPRE, prepar ed preliminary d esign specific ations for 

the c a mp. Most of this wo rk was done in- h ouse . H oweve r, design specifications and 

drawing s for th e camp's electrical power distribution system we r e p repared by the 

U. S. Army Enginee r District of Washington. The bulk of this planning, along with 

finaliz ed drawings and bills of m a te r i a l, was completed by December of 1959 . 

In the meantime , planning fo r the nuclear power plant had p r og r essed rapidly . 

In Octobe r 1958, the Chief of Engineers let a design study contract to A LCO Products, 

Incorporated, Schenectady, New York, to investigate t h e feasibility of c o nstructing a 

nucle ar power plant on a polar ice c ap . Based upon the fav o rabl e con c lu si o ns of this 

study, the Chief of Engineer s dir ec t ed E OD t o let a contract fo r design and fabrica -

tion of a plant, the PM-2A, t o be ins talled a t Camp Century. In F e bruary 19 59 ALCO 

Produc ts wa s a warded this con tract. An additional contract wa s a war ded by EOD to 

Metcalf and Eddy, Boston, Massachusetts, t o design support fa c ilities for the PM-ZA, 

including foundations, buildings, and o ther utilities. These and subsidiary contracts 

allowed only 18 months for the fabrication, testing, and delivery of the PM-2A Nuclear 

Power Plant, together with all materials, buildings, and ancillary equipment necessary fo r its complete installation. 

As prev i ously discussed under design problems, a number of compromises had 

to b e m ade in the final design plans for the c amp, and particularly in p r oviding the 

wide, straight-wall trenches to h o us e p o rtions of the PM- 2A. Hence, the final plans 

for Century were a comp osit e of tried and proven methods and t echniques, w hich had 

resulted from 4 year s of previ ous R&:D efforts, along w ith untested and unproven 

techniques. The p lans also incorporated many items of bulky and unnecessarily 

heav y hardware, such as spiral steel stairways in the escape hatches, standard T - 5 

buildings, and c onventi onal plumbing syst ems, because time did n o t permit the r edesign 

of these items . 

Construction of the camp 

Camp Century was constructed by the U. S. Army Polar Research and Development Center (USAPR &:DC ), und e r the command of Col onel J ohn H . Kerkering. 

Major Thomas C . Evans was the Proj ect Officer for the non- nuc l ear portions of the 

camp, and Major James W. Barnett was Project Officer and Resident Engineer for 

fabricati o n , factory testing , transportation, installation, and acceptance testing of 

the PM-ZA Nuclear Power Plant (Barne tt, 1961). 

Actual construction of the camp was started in June of 1959, and comple t e d in 

Octo ber 1960. Appendix A is a chronological summary of e vents, abstracted from 

the USAPR&:DC report on the construc tio n of Camp Century (Ev ans, 1961 ). 
32 CAMP CENTURY-CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Weather, time a v ailable during the two short summer c o nstruction seasons, and 

a number of o ther minor considerations caused innumerable minor deviations from 

the original design plans as approved. Most of thes e we re not serious. However, a s 

will be shown in the section of thi s report o n the perfo rmance of the camp, some 

we r e quite seri ous and ultimate ly created problems of major proportions. 

Major dev iations fr om the approved design plans were as f o llows: 

1. Steel arch forms we r e l eft in place in many o f the standard trenches, 

including the main communications tr e nch which provides vehi cular a ccess to the 

camp. This change w as made by the CO, USAPR&PC based on o b ser vations of the 

behavior of some of the unsupported snow arches i n which the metal arch fo rms had 

been remove d before suffi cient age hardening had occurred ( Fig. 25). In these instances, as might have been predi cted, the unsupported snow arche.s defo r med 

rapidly. 

2 . The original plans called fo r the installation of sliding ove rhead-type 

doors. However, the dark winter season came in 1960 befor e this had been accompli'shed, and snowdrift pro blems encountered during the first v,:inter of occupancy 

indicated that the o riginal plans were nQt feasible. Hence, installation of closure 

means w a s deferred until more studi es could be undertaken. The problem of portal 

closure w ill be discussed in the perfo rmance section of this report. 

3 . Although not specifically stated in the approved plans, it was agreed that 

the waste disposal sump would be at least l 000 feet from the wate r well and at least 

500 feet from the nearest building. As the camp was construct ed, the sewage sump 

was located onl y 1 50 feet from the nearest building. Time again prev ented adherence 

to the original plans. 

4 . The ventilation systems called fo r in the original plans were not·installed. In the case of ventilation o f the interior of buildings a nd other structures, 

this was not serious. Convectio n and the natural air permeability of snow pr ovided 

adequate fresh air in the tunnels to prevent dangerous carbo n monoxide l evels from 

accumulating . The buildings were designed so that fresh air was drawn into living 

quarte rs and o ther structures by a system of l o u ve rs and fans. However, failure to 

install a system to expel h eat from the trenches became a serious p r o blem, w hich 

will be discussed later in this report. 

5. Fire walls between each set o f structur es were not installed, owing t o 

s h ortage of time and funds. It was planned to install these in 1961, but these p lans 

were later cancelled, as it was considered that the installed sprinkler systems and 

other fire fighting equipment were more than a ·dequate to isolate any fire which 

might occur. 

The constr ucti on of Camp Century r equired an impressive logistical effort 1n 

terms of transportation of heavy cargo by tractor-drawn sled train. Materials 

hauled from Camp Tuto to Century, a distance of 138 miles, approximated l 000 s hort 

tons in 1959 and 4600 short tons in 1960. Some of the cargo transported consisted 

of items too h e avy or bulky to be carried on the 20-to n cargo sleds. Accordingly, 

special s l eds had to be fabricated in Greenland. · 

Details of the construction of Camp Century are provided in the U. S . Army 

Polar Research and Development Center r e port, date d 31 December 1961, entitled 

"The Construction o f Camp Century. " This report documents the construction 

techniques u sed, organi zation and employment of the construction force, the sequence 

of construction, pertinent logistical data, and the major con s truction problems encountered. It does not, howeve r, include "as built" plans, which are available at the 

U. S. Army Engineer Research and Deve l opment Laboratories, Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia.':' Figure 26 is a plan view of Camp Century as it was actually constructed. 

The sewage s ump w as l ocated 150 fee t from the end building in Trench 19. 

>:<USAERDL was designated the offi c ial offi ce of record fo r all drawings of Camp 

Century, except those pertaining to the nuclear power plant and buildings. 
General 

CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

.... _ 

Figure 25. Example of a cut-and-cover which deforme d rapidly 

because the forms were remov ed too soon. 

PERFORMANCE OF THE CAMP 

33 

It is apparent, in the light of 4 years of Camp Century performance data, that 

in general the subsurface concept is sound. In most cases the engineering design of 

foundations, buildings, cut-and-cover trenches, and other structures has satisfied 

stated requirements. Data which have been obtained through careful measurements 

and observations at Camp Century will be of the utmost significance in improving 

and perfecting the engineering design of future undersnow facilities. Both design and 

construction deficiencies which have been observed during the past 4 years are discussed in subsequent paragraphs. Figure 27 compares m onthly mean ambient 

temperatures on the surface of the ice cap with those in two unheated trenches at 

Camp Century. This comparison prov ides a basis for judging the value of subsurface 

ice cap construction in terms of protection f rom extreme cold. 

Deformation rates 

Of the engineering studies which have been made of the performance of Camp 

Century, the one that, understandably, has received the most attentio n is that of 

tunnel (cut-and-cover trench} deformation and the resulting loss of vertical and 

horizontal clearance. 

There are several possible modes of adverse structural behavior of snow under 

load, and there are a number of factors which determine which mode, or modes, 

will occur in a specific case. Under rapidly applied loads which grossly exceed the 

yield strength of the snow, either complete disaggregation or tensile rupture of the 

snow may occur, resulting in collapse of the structure. Under lesser loads, distress 

is generally evidenced by viscous flow (plastic deformation). At Camp Century only 

the l~tter has been observed. 
34 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

-zo-

-·~ 

-1.8-

. Met. 

Stancl-by 

-15-

Camp Century - Plan View 

F i gure 26. Schematic lay out of Camp C e ntury. 
25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

+> 

..-1 0 1! 

1=: 

Q) 

~ '"' -5 rs. 

Ul 

Q) 

Q) 

'"' bO -10 

~ 

-15 

-20 

-25 

-30 

-35 

CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

-1-----........ 

..__ --· 

Fig ur e 27 . Monthl y mean temperatures (Camp Cen.tury- 1962 ). 

- Monthly mean air temperatures on the surface at Camp Century . 

---Monthly a ve rage m ean t emp e r a tures in two tr e nches ( 13 and 14 ) 

which contain no h eat ed structures. Data was o btained from 

USA CRREL r ecords. 

35 
36 CAMP CE TUR Y - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

I n most cases the rates of d efo rmation have appr oximated c l o sely those which 

had bee n pr edicte d . Howeve r, flow rates are highly temperature depende nt, and 

whe r e concentrations of heat have persisted in the camp, the t emperature of the 

adjacent snow mass has risen se ve ral degrees. As a r esult, the snow has deformed 

more rapidl y than pr e dicted by several f o ld . >:: Although ther e is considerable varia -

tion, the average approximate s 30 inc h es o f gro ss ve rti c al c l osure a year. 

Table II (abstracted from an unpubli s hed report b y W . Tobias son, L963) provi des 

examples o f d e f o rmatio n data which wer e collected during 1962 and 1963. t It is of 

interest to note that the closur e rate s have been appr eciably lower in the trenches in 

w hi ch the metal r o of forms we r e left in place. Judging fr om this fact alo ne, it 

might be deduced that the in- place metal arches w r e r e sponsible fo r the lower rates, 

and there can be littl e doubt that they we r e o f some value in this r espect. Howe ve r , 

the fac t that most o f the tr enches retaining the in-place metal arches c o ntaine d no 

buildings o r other s o urce s of h eat is considered a more significant factor in r e tard -

ing the flow rates. Figur es 28 and 29 show defo rmatio n in the Main T rench and 

Tr e nch 20 during a pe rio d of approximately 18 m o nths. The Main Tr e nch c o ntained 

no h e ated structur es; Trench 20 h o u sed the camp h e adquarters buildings and the 

gymnasium. In bo th tr e nches th e m e tal arche s we r e left in place initially. Howeve r, 

th e arches in Tr e nch 20 were r e m oved in 1963 to p e rmit o verhe ad trimming o f the 

encroaching snow. 

In T renche s 3, 4, and 5 (trenches up to 40 ft in w idth, which contained the 

major PM- 2A Nuclear Power Plant modules) Wonder A r ches were installe d but were 

not cove r e d unifo r m l y with P ete r snow. In fact, in places they wer e l e ft partially 

uncove red, owing to the haste whi ch had t o b e e x e r c is e d in completing construction 

of th e camp b e f o re fall of the long arctic dar k season. As a r esult, the Wonder 

Arches a c quired non-symmetrical l o ads and by the end of the first yea r of o ccupancy 

showed severe d istress in a numbe r of places (Fig. 30, 3 1) . It was apparent that 

e xpeditious rehabilitation a c ti o n had to be take n. T w ice during the 3 - y e ar life of 

the PM-2A at Centur y, s e ctio ns of these arches were raised appr oximately 6 feet to 

pr event damag e to the inclos ed buildings a nd other structures. 

Wide, straight- wall tr enches, cove r ed with Wonde r Arches or timber trusses, 

s imilar to those used in th e undersnow camp at Site II, are consider ed f easibl e for 

certain purpos es. However, if Wonde r A r ches are t o perfor m satisfacto rily the y 

must be seated on a nd cove r ed w ith Pe t e r snow so that they a cquir e a symmetri c al 

l o ad. 

The c hief disadvantage of Wo nde r Arches, or of l eaving short- span metal arches 

in place, is the great increase in cost as well a s the r equir ement to import m any 

additional t o n s of con s truc tio n materials. T h e prim ar y obj ec tive of d evel oping the 

under-cut trenching technique was to economize o n importe d materials b y r e ducin g 

arch span width so that unsuppo rted snow arches could be used. 

Accumulation of heat in t h e tr enches 

During earl y s tage s of the r esear ch and explorator y development which led t o the 

d esign of Camp C e ntur y , it was r ealized t h at buildings, the PM- 2A Nuclear P ower 

Plant, and o th e r sourc es of heat including vehi c l es, electric lights, and even people 

w ould raise a ir t e mperatur es a nd present se rio u s problems in regard t o h eat dissipatio n. Data o n th e detrimental effec t of h eat o n the stability of s now s tructures, 

a s pr eviously discu ssed in this r e p o rt, resulted in the i nitia l d e sign criteria w hich 

s pecified the u se of convection barriers to protect the s n ow tr e nches. Howeve r, in 

the final construction plans, as approved b y the Chief of E ngineers, convection 

barrie rs w e r e no t inc luded. T h e ir r emoval would have b een necessary wheneve r 

:::a has been observe d that the c r ee p r a t e is tw i ce as fast at 14° F as at 2° F and o ne 

hundr ed times as fast at 28° F a s a t -40 ° F . 

t D e taile d and compr ehensive data on deformati o n rates are contained in Waterhouse, 

T o bias s on, and Scott ( 1963 ). 
CAMP CENTURY-CONCEPT AND HISTORY 37 

Table II. Deformation data - Camp Century; a rch movement, 1962 - 1963. 

Trench numbering system is shown in Figure 25 

Heights measured on centerline of trench from floor to arch apex 

Stationing: Main Trench, 0+00 at Borth end 

Side Trenches, 0+00 on Main Trench centerline 

Legend: (M) Metal a.r ch still in place 

(S) Metal a rch removed - measured to snow 

Trench Station 1962 height 1963 height Yearly change 

Main 0+21 15.80 ft 14. 70ft !.lOft 

Tr. 5 14. 35 l2. 70 1. 65 

Tr. 21 14. 85 12.80 2.05 

Tr. 6 1 5.45 14. 10 1. 35 

Tr. 20 1 5.30 13.85 1. 45 

Tr. 7 14. 85 13. 65 1. 20 

Tr. 19 14.55 13 . 10 1. 45 

Tr. 9 14. 95 13.70 1. 25 

Tr. 18 16.90 13. 65 3.25 

Tr. 10 15.35 14. 10 1. 25 

Tr. 11 15. 10 13. 90 1. 20 

Tr. 16 14.90 13. 70 1. 20 

Tr. 12 1 5. 10 13.90 1. 20 

Tr. 15 15.45 14.50 0.95 

Metal a rch in place along entire Main Trench 

6 0+50 15. 7 (S) 13 . 2 (S) 2. 5 

3+50 15. 4 (S) 13.5(S) 1.9 

4+00 15. 7 (M) 14. 6 (M) 1.1 

7 0+57 17. 1 (M) 14.8 (S) 2 . 3 

1 +50 16. 8 (M) 12 . 9 (S) 3.9 

2+60 16.6 (M) 12.9 (S) 3.7 

3+65 19.0 (M) 15.7 (M) 3.3 

3+95 20.0 (M) 17.3 (M) 2.7 

9 0+50 19.2 (M) 16.4(S) 2 . 8 

1+50 20.4 (M) 17. 1 (S) 3. 3 

2+50 20. 4 (M) 1 7. 1 (S) 3. 3 

3+70 19.7 (M) 1 6.4 (S) 3.3 

10 0+50 20. 1 (M) 17. 6 (M) 2. 5 

1+60 20.0 (M) 17.9 (M) 2. 1 

2+00 20.3 (M) 1 7.7 (M) 2. 7 

2+50 20. 4 (M) 17. 5 (M) 2.9 

3+00 19.4 (M) 16.2 (M) 3. 2 

3+70 18.5(M) 1 5 . 3 (M) 3.2 

3+95 20. 7 (M) 1 7 . 9 (M) 2.8 

11 0+50 20.2 (M) 17. 8 (M) 2.4 

1+50 20. 4 (M) 1 7. 6 (M) 2.8 

2+00 20.0 (M) 17. 2 (M) 2.8 

2+65 18.9 (M) 15. 8 (M) 3. 1 

3+30 18.7 (M) 15.8(M) 2.9 

3+70 18. 4 (M) 1 5.0{M) 3.4 

3+95 19.6 {M) 16. 6 {M) 3.0 

12 0+50 21. 0 {M) 17.8 {M) 3. 2 

1+50 20. 8 {M) 17.2{M) ·3. 6 

2+00 26. 8 {M) 23.4 {M) 3 . 4 

2+50 2 5. 8 {M ) 22. 5 {M) 3.3 
38 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Table II (Cont'd). Deformation data-Camp Century; arch movement, 1962 - 1963 . 

Trench 

1 5 

1 6 

18 

19 

20 

2 1 

Summary': 

Station 1962 height 1963 height Yearly change 

0+50 19. 3 (S) 17. 0 (S) 2.3 

2+50 18 . 3 (S) 14. 7 (S) 3 . 6 

2+90 19. 3 (M) 15.9 (M ) 3. 4 

3+65 19. 3 (M) 15.4 (M) 3 .9 

Trench r oof cut during June -July 

0+50 18 . 0 (M) 14. 5 (S) 3 . 5 

1+50 17. 3 (M) 13 . 7 (S) 3.6 

3+75 20 . 0 (M) 16. 8 (M ) 3 .2 

1+60 11. 8 (S) 8 . 4 {S) 3.4 

2+60 12. 6 (S) 9. 6 (S) 3 . 0 

0+50 18 . 9 (M) 15. 4 (S) 3 . 5 

1+50 19 .4 (M) 15. 3 (S) 4. 1 

2+50 19 . 8 {M) 15. 9 {S) 3 . 9 

3+60 19.8 (M) 15. 7 (M) 4 . 1 

3+80 2 1. 0 (M) 18 . 0 {M ) 3 . 0 

0+30 25. 1 (M) 24 . 1 {MJ 1.0 

1 +50 21.8 {M) 21. 5 (M) 0.3 

2+00 23 . 8 (M) 2 1.9 (M) 1.9 

2+50 24.1 (M) 21.5 (M) 2.6 

Metal ar c hes in Trenches 7, 9, 16, 18 and and 20 removed 

during June - July 19 63 

Main Trench: 1 6 in. /year (average) 

Side Trenches {between station 1 +00 and 3+00 where end effects 

ar e not present): 34 in. /yea r {average) 

Side Trenches {near front and back whe r e endwalls act .to 

decrease movement): 34 in. /year (average) 

Overall average throughout camp: 29. 66 in. /year. 

snow tr imming of roof arches became necessary, but there can be little doubt that 

the us e of convection barriers would have retarded the closure rates significantly. 

It may be concluded a lso that the non-uniform rates of closure shown in Table II resulted from accumulations of heat and that any system which would have dissipated 

or otherwise expelled the heat from the trenches would have extended their useful life 

span, without extensive maintenance. 

During 1959-1960 USA SIPRE experimented with a unique method of cooling the 

Camp Century trenches (Yen and Bender, 1962 ). Simple in concept, it consisted of 

drilling 14- inch diameter holes (air wells) approximately 40 f e et into the snow mass 

b eneath the trench floors. Air pumped from these holes into the trenches by means of 

electrically driven fans was drawn through the colder and permeable underlying snow 

mass, and thus cooled several degr ees {Fig . 32 ). Yen and Bender concluded, as a 

result of this expe riment, that the air wells provided a practical and economical means 

of cooling snow trenches, but only if the w ells were spaced at l east 80 feet apart and 

were operated on a year-round basis in order to take maximum advantage of the cold 

outside air temperatures in wintertime. They also recommended that all portals and 

ventilation shafts leading to the outside be left open during the winter season to facili -

tate the natural convection flow of wintertime cold air through the trenches and thus 

r e duce the rates of c l osur e . 
December 1960 

1963 

Scale in Feet 

Figure 28. Deformation in the M ain Trench, C amp 

Century, Station 6+00. Looking south. Temperature v aries with season between 14° F and -40° F . 

Reduction in cross sectional area=l2% p e r year 

(Tobiasson, USA CRREL). 

February 19Sl 

Both of these cross-sections were t a Ken prior t o the 

lst winter s hut down of Camp Century . 

Scale in Fee t 

0 --- l -- 2 3 4 5 

Figure 29. Defor mation in T r ench 20 , Camp Century, Sta tion 

2+60. L ooking west. Temperature ha s var ied between 2 3° F 

and 5°F, d e p ending upon the t ime of year. Reduc ti on in c r o ss 

sectional area= l 7% per ye ar ( Tobias son, USA CRREL). 

10 
40 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Figure 30. Severe distress manifested by Wonder Arch buckling and coming 

into contact with the roof of one of the PM- 2A buildings. 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 41 

.. -- .-- ·-. 

-. 

Figure 3 1. Deformation of Wonder Arch over one of the PM-2A buildings. 

The snow trimming problem 

Based on past d eformatio n rates, the amount of snow which has to be trimmed 

and r emoved from Camp Century each year in order tci maintain the original cross 

section of the trenches is estimated to be on the order of 20,000 cubic yards. Assuming a work-year of 240 days of 8 h ours each, snow trimming and r emoval would 

have to be at the rate of approximately 0. l 73 cu yd/min. Hence, even for a camp 

no larger than Century, the snow trimming effort is burdensome, and particularly so 

if done with hand tools alone {Fig . 33). Efficient mechanical equipment systems 

capable of trimming the trenches· and transporting the st1ow out of the camp could be 

developed. However, the cost would be hig h {estimated 0. 4 million dollars), and 

this expensive development effort would not be justified unless a numbe r of subsurface installations such as Century were planned. 

Sewage disposal 

The liquid disposal system which had been d eveloped by the Corps of Enginee-rs 

for use at ic e c ap AC&W Sites I and II was incorporated in the Camp Century de sign 

{i . e., dumping into a snow pit and letting it melt its way down into the ice cap). 

However, experience at the abovementioned stations indicated that the sewage sump 

should be vented and s h ould be located at least 500 f eet from the nearest occupied 

building to prevent accumulation of odious fumes in living or working areas. As 

Century was nearing completion in September of 1960, the approach of th.e winte7 

dark season and· the great amount of work remaining to be done resulted 1n locahng 
42 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

AIR 

FAN CASING~ 

i i i 

[]]]~FAN 

I 

I I I 

\ 

\ \ \ 

I 

I I 

I \ 

\ \ 

\ ~ 

~ \ 

\ \ \ \ 

\ \ I \ \ \ 

-\ \ 

\ \ \ \ \ "'- _I 

\ "- I \ \ \ " "-_, 

\ 

"'. ......___ I \ " 

__ , 

\ ""' '- -: 

AIR FLOW~ ' "-.._ ..__ I 

LINES " 

1 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

---I I 

L ___ .J 

APPROX. 40 FT. 

'Figure 32 . Schematic sketch of air well. 

the sewage sump within 150 feet of the nearest T- 5 building which was to serve as 

living quarters. The sump was not vented. As a result, the odor of sewage became 

almost unbearable in the nearest quarters by the following sumrper and traces of 

sewage odor were detectable throughout Trenches 18, 19, and 20. Subsequent venting of the sump reduced the odor to a more tolerable leve l but did not c omple tely 

eliminate the condition. 

To determine the extent of sewage c ontamination of snow at Camp Century, a 

research project was initiated by the Surgeon General in 1962. Some prior research 

on this problem had been conducted in 19 60 by Major Thomas Ostrom, MSC, of 

Walter Reed Army In.stitute of Research at the abandoned Site II AC&W Station. 

However, the results of the 1960 investigation were inconclusive and, furthermore, 

the volume of water- borne sewage at Century was much greater than at the Site II 

installation. Hence, it was considered necessary to reinvestigate the problem. 

j 
CAMP CEN TUR Y -CONCE PT AND HISTORY 4 3 

F i gur e 33 . View from top of one of the T- 5 buildings in a 

s tandard tr e nch, show ing a s o ldi e r u sing an e l ectri c chain 

saw to trim snow a w ay fr om the building eave . 

The 1962 inv estigation was acc omplishe d unde r the supe rvision of 

Major Ostrom, Walter Re e d Army 

Institute of R esear c h and 1 s t L t . J ohn 

Wilson, U. S. Army Environmental 

Hygiene Ag e ncy. 2nd Lt. T e rry Orr, 

DeWitt Army H o spital, was assigned 

as Project Eugine er. 

Holes w e re drill e d in the snow 

mass surrounding the sump. Ice 

core samples were obtained from the 

holes and analyzed. Figure 34 shows 

the limits of the contaminated snow 

as determined during this investigation. The farthest lateral penetration 

of the liquid waste from the sump was 

about 170 feet. However, this had 

occurred in a period of less than 2 

years. How far such contamination 

{" S'IOW SURFACE 

·t2d 

••. LIMIT OF COVTMIIVATIOfoJ 

-so· 

. -- ----- - - - . - -. - :.{.:~ ~ - - ---- -- (_ .:.:·ttOIJ/0'--: -;; \ 

t6o· s'o· 

c·! O$ / - - -- - - - - - - CAiiPCENT/fiY DATIN 

·20' 

TYPICAL CROSS SECTION 

OF 

t2o· t6o· 

SEWA~ CONlllWVATEO SNOW 

Figure 34. Limits of contaminated 

snow at the sewage sump at Camp 

Century. 

will ultimately spread with time is a matter of conjecture. Undoubtedly, as additional 

heat and liquid are deposited, the lateral penetration will continue until a state of 

near equilibrium is reached after many years. 

During the first 2 years of operation of Camp Century it is estimated that 3. 26 x 

106 gallons of liquid waste were pumped into the sewage sump. The temperature 

range of this discharge varied from 60 to 88° F. The sewage mass in the sump in 

August 1962 had a liquid volume of 1. 3 x 106 gallons with a mean temperature of 

33° F. This liquid state had been maintained by the daily addition of 4650 gallons of 
44 CAMP CENTURY-CONCEPT AND.HISTORY 

liquid waste with a temperature range of 60 to 8s• F, thus adding daily approximately 

1. 0 to 2. 0 x 106 Bt:1.1. This quantity of heat ( 365 to 730 x 106 Btu/yr), during the first 

two years of operation, warmed the surrounding snow mass several degrees and 

greatly accelerated the rate of deformation of the trenches. As a result, the snow 

floor in the end of Trench 19 settled about four feet, necessitating removal of the 

two T-5 buildings nearest the sump. 

In view of the data obtained at Site II and Camp Century, it appears that locating 

the sewage sump 1000 feet fr om the water well and 500 feet from the nearest building 

is sufficient. However, as observed by Ostrom ( 1962), the shape and volume of the 

contaminated area are functions of sewage temperature, frequency of waste discharge, daily volume of discharge, and density of.. the neve. Hence, accurate records 

of the volume, freque ncy, and temperature of the di.scharge into the sump should be 

maintained. This would permit use of the Bader and Small ( 19 55) procedure in estimating the volume and probable lateral spread of the contamination. 

The water well 

The subsurface water well, which has been discussed previously in this report, 

was installed at Camp Century during the summer of 1960. The major items of 

equipment for the well consisted of a diesel-fired steam geherator* capable of producing 165 psi of saturated steam at 3 73 • F and at a rate of about 800 pounds per hour; 

a melting-drill bit assembly for melting a well shaft into the ice; a melting-pump 

hit assembly for melting the glacial ice and pumping the melt to the ·surface; a gasoline engine-powered cable winch for raising and lowering the bit assemblies; an Aframe and two wanigans; a 5000-gallon insulated and heated water storage tank; and 

necessary rubber hose to convey the steam from the generator to the bit assemblies, 

and to convey the melt from the pool to the s torage tank (Fig. 35). 

This equipment functioned efficiently and easily produced sufficient water to 

satisfy all camp requirements, including those of the PM-2A Nuclear Power Plant. 

Owing to the fact that the well had reached a depth of over 500 feet, which was nearing the maximum head for the type of deef well pump in use, the well was relocated 

in May 1962 after approximately 3 . 5 x 10 gallons of water had been produced. More 

than 5 x 106 gallons have been pumped fr om the new well as of September 1964. The 

overall average monthly consumption rate has been slightly more than 230~00 

gallons. 

The quality of the water obtained from the well was excellent and suitable for 

drinking without filtration or chlorination. R. Rodriguez, during his installation 

and testing of the well·equipment, obtained several water samples which he shipped 

to the Sanitary Engineering Branch at USAERDL for analysis. The results of these 

analyse s indicated that the ice melt was better in quality than water obtained by 

triple distillation in glass (Rodriguez. 1963). Table III shows the results of the 

tests conducted by USAERDL at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. 

The 12-foot wall T-5 buildings 

During the finalization of building d e signs for Camp Century a decision was 

made to use 12-foot wall T-5 buildings instead of the standard 8-foot wall type for 

some of the facilities. As all of the buildings, except in the maintenance and Ply1-2A 

trenches, were to be fitted into standard trenches (approximately 24 ft x 24 ft) this 

decision resulted in a 4-foot reduction in overhead clearance between the building 

roofs and the snow arches above them. The consequence was that trimming of the 

snow arches above the 12-foot wall buildings had to be commenced even before the 

rest of the camp had been completed. 

'~ The diesel-fired steam generator wa~ installed as a standby heat source. The 

primary source of heat for the water well at Century was the 106 Btu/hr produc e d 

by the Nuclear Power Plant. 
CAMP CENTURY-CONCEPT AND HISTORY 45 

Figure 35. View of water well from top looking down. 

Table Ill. Well water analysis performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia - 1960. 

Temper- Specific 

ature conductance 

Depth of water Resist- at25'C Concentration 

Date of well in well ance (micromho/ <ms/ll 

Sa mple taken (ft-in.) ('F) __ ____e!:!. ___ t~~~ em) lila K ~a ~L S!!t !ill!~ 

I Zl May 174-10 42 6 . I 600,000 0.17 0 .02 0.04 0. I 0 . 02 

2 28 May 176-4 41 6. I 590, 000 0. 17 0.02 0.02 0. I 0. I 0 

3 II Jun 183-0 35 6. I 680, 000 0. 15 0.01 0.02 0. I 0. I 

4 18 Jun 185-0 34 6. I 720, 000 0. 14 0.02 0.02 0. I 0.04 

5 25 Jun 185-11 32 6. I 680, 000 0. 15 0.02 0.04 0 . I 0.02 0.03 

6 2 Jul 191-6 46 6.0 700,000 0. 14 0.01 0.03 0. I 0. I 0.02 

7 9 Jul 194-6 40 5.8 750, 000 0. 13 0 .01 0 . 03 0 . 03 

8 16 Jul 197- 5 39 5. 8 700,000 0 . 14 0 . 02 0 . 03 0 . 03 

9 23 Jul 199-8 34 5.8 700,000 0. 14 0 . 02 0.03 0. I 0.00 

10 30 Jul 203-6 39 5.8 720, 000 0. 14 0.01 0.00 

II 6 Aug 207-0" 40 5 . 9 850,000 0 . 12 0 . 02 0.04 0.00 

12 13 Aug 208-8 39 6.0 800, 000 0. 12 0 . I 0.00 

Average 38 6.0 708,000 0. 14 0.02 0.03 0. I 0.04 0 . I 0.03 

(Abstracted from USAERDL Technical Report 1737-TR) 
46 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

Figure 36. View of main communication trench 

showing overhead utility lines. 

Ove rhead utility lines 

In the main communications trench utility lines wer e placed ove rhead (Fig. 36). 

Also, to provide a trench floor which would accommodate tracked vehi c l es without 

serious deteri o ration, a 3 in. x 12 in. plank wearing surface w a s installed in this 

trench. The result was that, as the trench deformed, snow trimming t o maintain 

the required vertical cle arance could not be accomplished without r emoving e ither 

the utility lines or the plank floor. During the summer of 1963 the floor was removed and an additional 4 feet of snow was excavated. 

Disaggregation of snow in trench floors 

Under vehicular traffic, the snow floors in the trenches soon deteriorated unless 

wood or metal wearing surfaces were installed. This deterioration consisted of 

progressive disaggregation of the snow to depths of 12 or more inches. This loose 

and coarse granular snow made walking difficult. Further, o il, grease, and fuel 

drippings from vehicles made recompaction of the disaggregated snow virtually 

impossible. 

In the construction of Century, this problem h ad been recognized and a wood 

wearing surface ( 3 in. x 12 in. planks, nailed to 6 in. x 6 in. timber stringers) had 

been installed in the main communication trench. However, no such precautions 

were taken on the ramp entrances to the camp. As a result thes e ramps were difficult to negotiate by men on foot and in time could have become virtually impassable 

even to tracked vehicles. Maintenanc e efforts consisted of removing the loose, 

granular snow with a bulldozer, but this w as only an expedient solution. The new 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 47 

surface, under traffic, again rapidly dete riorated. Further, with e ach removal of 

the surface laye r of loose snow, the ramp was made deeper and had to be extended in 

length in order to rnaintain a proper slope. 

USA CRREL conducte d considerable research on this problem (Abele, 1963). 

Efforts included processing the snow fl oor s with the Peter miller and mixing several 

types of additives, such as wood shavings or sawdust, w ith the snow and sprinkling 

the mixture with water which froze , forming a binder. None of the measures provide d a satisfactory solution of the problem for tracked vehicles. Howeve r, the 

P e ter snow pavement hel d up well unde r wheel ed vehicles mounted on smooth (without tread) low pressure tires. Of the problems associated with the construction and 

maintenance of Camp Century, this one and the c'Jntrol of snow drifting in ramp 

entrances ar e the only two for which r e asonably satisfactory solutions have not been 

developed, a lthoug h studies have been made on r amp protection (see App. B). 

Snowdrift problems and portal closure 

The almost continuous drifting of snow created a problem of m ajor proportions 

at Century. Portal ramps to the camp filled with drifting snow within a few hours 

during frequent storms. Structur es whic-h protruded above the surface created 

snowdrift patterns that acc. e lerated the rate of accumulation. Thus the ove rburden 

was increased proportionately and, in tur n, it may be assumed that the defo r m a ti on 

rates of the snow· trenches beneath become correspondingly greater. 

Vari ous approaches to a solution of this problem we r e tried without any appreciable degre e of success. Tests involving the use of snow fences to control drifting 

around portals and ramps were conducted during the first 2 years the camp was 

occupied. However, the tremendous v olume of drifting snow during severe storms 

soon cove r ed the fences and thus render e d them ineffective. Further, the fences 

created large drifts adjacent to the portals and ramps whi ch tended to aggravate the 

probl e m by trapping even gr e ater volumes of snow. 

A system of air locks made of nylon, polyurethane film, or some similar 

mate rial w hich could b e installed quickly in the ramps and portals dur ing storms 

seems to offer promise, but to date the concept has not be e n tested. 

The PM-2A Nuclear Powe r Plant 

The PM- 2A Nuclear Power Plant, which was constructed by ALCO Products, 

Inc . , under OCE contract, was installed at Camp C e ntury during the summer of 

1960. The plant achieved initial criticality and b ecame operational on 2 Octobe r 

1960, and, except for down- time to accomplish ·routine mainte nance or r e pairs, it 

ope rated continuously until 9 July 1963 at which time it was closed down pending a 

decision to relocate it. Figure 37 is a c utaway ske tch of the PM-2A as it was installed at Century. Major characteristics of the plant are as follows : 

PM-2A Characteristics 

10, 000 kw 

2, 000 kw 

Gross thermal power 

Gross e lectri c power 

Net e l ectric powe r 

Process steam 

1, 560 kw 

1,000,000 Btu/hr 

Plant wei ght 

Number of packages':' 

Core life (at full power) 

Crew size 

Generator 

Generator 

G ene rator 

Phases 

rating 

voltage 

frequency 

Plant cost (through FY 61) 

Operator and maintenance cost (0. 8 PF) 

Relocation and reinstallation cost ( estimated) 

':'9 ft x 9 ft x 30ft o r less, 30, 000 lb or less,. 

3 10ST 

27 

17 Mo 

18 Men 

2, 000 kw 

4, 1 60 v 

60 CPS 

3 

$5. 7 Million 

65 M ills/kwh 

$2. 5 M illion 
Air Bias• Coolers 

2 Hea• Exchanger 

2 Condenser 

4 Turbine Genera•or 

s-l•chGear 

• Control C•nter 

7 Laboratory 

• Reactor 

• HotWasteTank 

.. Feecl-ater 

.. 

:41 

.1 

I . 

....... 

~ / 

• 7 

Cutaway View of PM-2A 

Figure 37. Cutaway view of PM- ZA layout. 

() 

>-

~ 

'U 

() 

M 

z 

>-3 

c:: 

:::0 

><: 

I 

() 

0 

z 

() 

M 

'U 

>-3 

>- z 

t::1 

:r: 

...... 

Cfl 

>-3 

0 

:::0 

><: 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 49 

The only serious difficulty experienced during the first year of op e ration of the 

PM-2A was a series of malfunctions of the turbine-generator. In each case similar 

symptoms were manifested, i . e ., excessive noise and 'vibration in the v i cinity of 

the reduction gears and turbine oil pump, loss of turbine governor control (frequency 

hunting), and deposition of metallic particles in the turbine oil system. During each 

such p e riod, maintenance on the turbine - generator unit was performe d by the normally 

as signed crew, under supervision of one or more of the manufacturer's r e presenta -

tives. As a result of these difficulties the PM-2A produced no electrical output 

during the following periods: 26 April through 14 May 1961, 10 June through 6 July 

1961, and 2 August thr ough 31 August 196 1. 

Indications are that these difficulties resulte d from a thrust bearing failure 

early in November of 1960 which contaminated the e ntire turbine oil system with 

metallic particles. However, the condition was agg ravated by a poorly designed 

turbine oil filter system, which was ultimately corrected by installation of a centrifuge 

type of filter . 

The o nly significant modification of the PM-2A e quipment during approximat ely 

33 months of ope ration was that of providing additional shielding to supplement that 

r e quir e d by the original plant design. 

The following summary of PM-2A Power Plant ope ration is abstracted from 

the official records of Corps of Engineers and covers a typical p e riod of 1 year 

(1 January- 31 D ecembe r 1962); 

Gross electrical output 

Net e l ectrical output 

Steam output 

Core burnup 

Time on line 

Time off line':' 

Percent of time on line 

Output data 

5, 388, 900 kwh 

2, 663, 544 kwh 

2080xl 0 6 Btu 

4, 712 MWY 

6, 491 hr 

2,269hr 

74. 1 

Ave rage gross e l ectrical d e mand whi le on line 830 kw 

':'The greater percentage of the time off the line was caused by the necessity to 

cease operation of the plant for several weeks while USAPR&DC crews rehabilitated the metal arch roofs covering the r eactor building tr ench. 

Miscellaneous statistics 

Ave rage cor e burnup rate 

Average radiation do se p e r c r ew 

membe r 

No . of personnel overexposur es 

Primary wate r befor e demineralizer: 

Normal r esistivity 

Nonnal activity 

Primary wat e r after demine ralize r : 

Normal r esisti vity 

Normal activity 

0 . 265 MWDihr (at power) 

50 mremlmo gamma 

40 mremlmo n eutron 

None 

2 . 2 megohm- em 

5.08x10- 5 melee 

2 . 4 m egohm-em 

l. 50xlo-s melee 
50 

Date of dis p osal 

3 Jan 62 

22 J a n 62 

9 Feb 62 

25 Feb 62 

1 1 Mar 62 

2 A p r 62 

26 Apr 62 

26 May 62 

8 J u n 62 

24 Jun 62 

28 Jun 62 

1 1 Jul 62 

1 A u g 62 

28 Aug 62 

24 Sep 62 

10 Oc t 62 

26 Oct 62 

14 Nov 62 

4 D ec 62 

18 Dec 62 

CAMP C ENTURY - CONCEP T AND HIS TORY 

Wa ste dis Eo sal':' 

Q uantity Specific Activity 

di schar ged acti v i ty di sch_a_r.K_e_<!_ 

(gallons) (melee ) (me) 

27 55 l.l lxl0 - 7 l. 11 5 

261 3 l. 8 l x l 0 - 7 l. 790 

3025 1. 33xl o - 7 1. 525 

2 8 50 1. 1 5xl o - 7 1 .240 

18 12 1. 74xlo-s 0. 11 8 

2205 2 . 72xl o -s 0.227 

2350 3 . OOxl 0 -= 8 0.267 

3 250 1. 29xl o - 7 1 . 5 30 

3 4 68 9 . 9 7x l o -s l. 3 10 

2400 6. 65xl 0 -s 0.605 

2325 2 . 43xl o - 8 0 . 2 14 

19 50 8 .7 l x lo - 9 0 . 064 

2375 4 . 08xlo - 9 0 . 037 

18 50 4 . 70xlo-s 0. 33 0 

1950 l. 57x lo - 9 0.012 

2050 l. 80xlo -s 0.41 0 

2000 2 .1 6xlo-9 0.016 

1850 l. 8 0 x l o -s 0 . 126 

1 62 5 l. 70xlo -s 0 . 105 

2375 6 . 25xl o-s 0. 562 

4 7,078 Avg. 6. 55xl 0 - S 1 1. 333 

Cumulative 

(me ) 

l. 11 5 

2.90 5 

4.430 

5.670 

5. 788 

6 . 0 1 5 

6 . 28 2 

7.8 12 

9 . 122 

9 . 727 

9.941 

10.005 

10 .042 

10. 372 

10.384 

10 . 524 

10. 540 

10 . 666 

10 . 7 71 

11. 333 

11. 333 

':'Radioacti v e liquid wast e whi ch was discharged into the Gr e enland I ce Cap. Dani sh -

Ame rican a g r eement p e rmits up to 50 m illic uries pe;r year of radioa c tive liquid 

waste dispos a l in the ic e cap. In a ccordance with this agreement all s o lid w aste 

must be removed from Green land and dispos e d of in accordance w i th AEC r egu lalations , i.e., place d in conc r e t e casks and dumped into desi gnated locations i n the 

ocean or buried in one of the d esi g nate d land ar e a burial g r ounds in the __ Unite d States. 

An aux iliar y powe r plant, w hi ch consiste d of three 300-kw diesel powered 

generators, was installe d at Cam p Centur y in 1960. Its func tion w a s that of providing necess ary power when the P M - 2A had to be shut d own f o r routine maintenance 

o r r e pair. During the period w h e n the PM- 2A was unde rgoing shakedown t esti ng, 

the diesel plant pr ovide d powe r for the entir e camp for more than fifty percent of 

the time. 

On 2 August 1963 , aU. S . Army M ateriel Command plan to .remove the P M -2A 

Nuc l e ar Power Plant from C a mp Centur y was appr oved by the Chi ef of Research and 

Deve l opment, Department of the Army. Thi s decision st e mme d primarily from 

p l a ns to discontinue year-round operations at Camp Century i n order t o reduce 

Greenlan d R& D support costs. The fa c t that c losing down the PM-2A and l e avi ng 

i t unattended during part of the year p osed a numbe r of techni cal d ifficulties of 

major propo r ti ons, plu s the poor u tilizati o n fac t o r resu lting from o p e rating it part 

time, made i ts r e moval the onl y practica b le alternative . Further, it wa s considered 

that the r esearch and development o bj ec tiv es of installing and operating a modulartyp e , air - transpor table nuclear power p lant on the Greenland Ic e Cap had b een 

achi eved. T h e p r oj ect had demonstrated con clu sivel y that nuclear powe r i s feasible 

at r emote military installations and that these plants can b e o perate d e fficientl y 

with military p e rso n nel had b een t h e primary o bj ective in choosing the ice c ap f or 

t esting the first modular type plant. It was o bv iou s that if it could b e done successfully in an i ce cap e n v ironment, whe e fo undations of snow, extremely low temperatures, and the con fin e d s pace in tr e n c h es m agn i fi ed d esign , con structio n, and 

ope rating diffic ulties, the fea sibility of employing nuclear p ower a t isolated m ilitary 

installation s would b e establis hed. 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 51 

During the summer of 1964, the PM-2A Nuclear P ower Plant was disassembled, 

r emoved from Century, and shipped to the United States. ,;, No unforeseen major 

difficulties were encountered during this operation. Howeve r, residual radiation 

levels around the primary unit (i. e . , reactor and hot waste tank ) were considerably 

higher than had been anticipated. H e nce, daily permissible exposure of crew members disassembling these components was shorter than had been calculated, and, as 

a result, more personnel were r e quired to accomplish the task in time to meet 

scheduled shipping dates than was· planned o riginally. 

The glycol heat sink, after its installation in 1961, worke d efficiently. t It is 

inte r esting to note that, during the period of approximately 2 years it was in operation, a subsurface cavity containing approximately 20, 000, 000 gallons of water was 

produced (Fig. 38 ). This pool of water was determined to be entirely suitable fo r 

drinking and other camp n eeds. It contained no radioactive contamination above the 

normal ice-cap background level and was as pure chemically as that produced in the 

ice-cap wat e r well. Henc e , in futur e d e signs for ice cap camps which are to b e 

powered by nuclear plants, the heat sink offers a most economical means of supplying 

water and cooling the plant w ith a single system. 

A complete t echnical analysis of the glycol h eat sink is contained in USA CRREL 

Research Repo rt 60 (Tien, 1960). 

SUMMARY OF RESULTS 

R esults of the Camp C e ntury project considered to be significant ar e : 

l . The capability to c onstruct both surfac e and subsurface military facilities 

o n ice caps has b een demonstrated. 

2. The methods and t echniques employe d in the construction of Camp 

Century have been determined to be feasible and fundamentally sound. 

3. The following distinct adv antage s of subsurface over above -surf a ce 

c amp s have b een d emonstrate d: 

a. The initial construction cost is lower. 

b . The severe above - surfac e environment is avoided. 

c. L ess fuel is r e quired for h e ating purposes. 

d . Less impo rte d construction materials are required. 

e. The p roblem created by drifting snow is min imized. 

f. Effective camouflage is made easier. 

g. Vulne rability to enemy attack is greatly reduc e d. 

4 . Founclations in snow capabl e of supporting very heavy and large struc ture s 

c an be designe d with confidence . 

5 . Substantial economy can b e realized b y use of lightweight materials in 

de sign of buildings. 

6. The ''Rodriguez W e ll" i s a ve ry efficie nt i ce - cap wat e r supply system. 

7. Nuclear p ower plants offer significant advantages in reducing the 

l ogis tical burde n of s uppo rting isolated, remote military outposts. They. provide a 

reliable sour ce of power and ar e able to r e spond instantaneou sl y to changing power 

,;,The primary unit was s hipped to the AEC for destructive t esting (i. e. , determining 

rates of embrittlement and maximum safe service life of m e t a l components, such 

as the pressur e vessel, which are subj ected t o n e utr on bombardment). The secondary unit is stored at a depot in the Unite d States pending delermination of a rel ocation sit e . 

t A system for removing wast e h e at f r om the reactor system. Water, pumpe d into 

a heat exchan ge r from a pool within the ice cap ; removes h eat from the glycol. 

Glycol, in a closed loop, i s u sed as the condensing medium fo r the turbine exhau st 

steam. 
52 

-E-< 

1&1 

~ E-< 

::z:: 

d 

H 

~ 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

20 

40 

60 

80 

100 

120 

CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

NORTH-SOUTH 

SECTION 

(Looking West) 

I 

\ 

I 

I 

I 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

120 

WATER 

\. 

" 

100 80 

~· • ICE 

I-' I-' 

"' '-" :I :I 

~ t-'" 

0 

""" H 

0 

(J 

60 40 20 0 

DISTANCE FROM· £ 

• 

I-' 

"' " 

20 40 

( FEET) 

·---._ 

r 

125 1 To Well 

Head 

~ 

~ ~ I • ,. I \.11 

• 

• 

60 

I 

I 

/ 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

ICE 

80 100 

Figure 38 . Glycol well c a vity, Camp Century. Measured: 20 June 64. 

Depths obtained by direct taping; diameters estimated from sonar data. 

conditions. However, to a.chieve these advantages, a high initial cost must b e paid, 

much higher than for comparable fossil- fue l ed plants. 

8. The sewage disposal system deve loped for Centur y is efficient and 

economical. 

9 . Onl y two s e rious problem s pertaining to ope r ation and maintenance of 

subsurfa ce camps do not h a v e reasonably acceptable solutions; namely, stabilization 

of snow trench floors for tracke d vehicles a nd prevention of drifting snow f rom 

closing ramp entr ances. However, Appe ndix B d esc ribes a c ov ered entrance c oncept, devised by USA CRREL in 1964, which appears to offer p romise as a solution 

to the problem of drifting snow closing ramp e ntranc e s. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based upon the foregoing discussions , it is concluded that: 

l. The main objectives of the Camp Century pro j ect wer e achieved. 

2. Subsurface c a mps o n i ce c aps are fe asible and practic able, but onl y in 

envirorunents as cold o r colde r than Centur y. 
CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 53 

3. Both undercut trenche s, cov ered with unsupporte d snow arch roofs, and 

straight-wall trenches, cov ered with metal a r che s (such as the Wonder Arch) or 

timber trusses, are feasible and perform acceptably well, if properly installed. 

Each serves a specific purpose. ':' 

4. The cost of future subsurface ice cap camps, such as Century, c an be 

reduced appreciably by: 

a. Removal, during construction, of all metal arch forms in which the 

·span does not exceed 12 ft in width. 

b. Use of foam plastic or o ther very light weight materials for all 

buildings. 

c. Simplifi cation of utility systems, i. e., avoidance of overhead 

utility lines and unnecessarily sophisticated power distribution systems. 

5. Modular-type, semi-portable nuclear power plants are feasible and 

practicable for remote military facilities as large or larger than Camp Century. 

They can be operated and maintained efficiently by trained soldier crews. 

6. Means for a continuous program of trimming · the snow trenches should 

be provided in initial planning for any undersnow camp. 

7. Roughly 10 years is the maximum feasible design life for an undersnow 

camp in environments similar to Century. t This presupposes an adequate maintenance 

program. 

RE COMMENDATIONS 

For the design of undersnow camps, the following specific recommendations are 

made: 

1. Site should be selected where the annual mean temperature· do e s not 

exceed 25° F for more than a few hours at a time. The selected location should be 

free of crevasses. ':" :' Allowable surface slopes should not exceed two percent, as 

greater slopes coul d be indicative of rapid visco-elastic flow rates. 

2. Metal arch roof forms should be removed from trenches in which the 

arch span does not exceed 12 ft in width. 

3. In the construction of unsupported snow arch roofs, Peter snow should 

be backfilled over the metal forms, in approximately 1-foot lifts, until the arch has 

acquired a filled spandrel load symmetrically. Forms shoul d not be removed until 

the age - harde ning proc ess is well advanced . tt 

':'For trenches wider than 24ft at the floor, straight- wall trenches, covered with 

metal arches, are pre ferable; for trenches up to 24ft wide at the floor, undercutting 

and covering with unsupported (metal forms removed) snow arches is considered 

preferable, since both a dollar and a logistical economy are realized (i.e., procurement cost and transportation of metal arches to the site). 

tThe average annual accumulation at Century is approximate ly 4 fe e t of snow; the 

average annual mean temperature is around -l0°F, In a colder climate , with less 

precipitation, a proportionately longer design life may be feas.ible. For example, 

at Byrd Station in Antarctica, a design life of 20 years is not unreasonable, prov ided adequate maintenance is a c complishe d. 

~': It is the consensus of glaciologists that crevasses normally do not occur where ice 

cover is at least 1000 feet thick. The presence of crevasses is often indicative of 

relatively fast flowing ice. 

tt Bender ( 1957) reports that snow with a ram number (Rammsonde) of less than 57 

has no compressive strength. Hence, it is recommended that arch forms be left in 

place until a ram hardness number of 100 is reached at a depth of 15 em below the 

surface. 
54 CAMP CENTURY - CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

~COVER 

WATER 

DRAIN w---.. ELEC. ...._ __ UTILITY CONDUIT 

STE 

Figure 39. Proposed location of conduit in trench floor. 

4. Lightweight, modular-type prefabricated buildings, which are easy to 

erect or disassemble, should be used throughout the camp. 

5. Design criteria.should emphasize simplicity, dependability, and maximum use of indigenous materials (i.e., snow and ice). 

6. Utility lines should be located in a sub-floor utility duct (Fig. 39). This 

permits trimming of the snow roof without removal of a great amount of hardware and 

the resulting disruption of p ower 'and sewage services. 

7. Sewage sumps should be in a separate and sealed trench, vented, and 

located;a minimum distance of 500 feet from the nearest building. 

8 . The water well should be located a minimum distance of 1000 feet 

from the sewage sump. 
CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 55 

L ITERATURE CITED 

Abele, G . ( 1963) Trafficability in s now trenches, U. S. Army Col d Regions Research 

and Engineering Laboratory, Technical Repo rt 88. 

Bade r, Henri and Small, F . A . (1 955) Sewage disposal at ice c ap installations, U . S . 

Army Snow, I ce and P ermafrost Research Establishment, SIPRE Report 2 l . 

( 1960) Theory of densification of dry snow on high polar glaciers, 

-----.U,.-. - S". Army Snow, I ce and Permafrost Research Establishment, Research 

Report 69 . 

Barnett, James W ., Major CE (1961) Construction of the Army Nuclear Powe r Plant, 

PM-2A, a t Camp Century, Greenland (Final Report), Department of the 

Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers, Nuclear Power Division. 

Bender, J. A . (1957) Testing o f a compacted snow runway, Proceeding of the Ameri -

can Societ y of Civil Engineers, J ournal of the Air Transport Division, Vol. 

83 , No. 1, p . 1324-1 to 1324-20. . 

(1957) Air permeability of snow, U. S . Army Sn ow, Ice and P e rma- ------,f""r t,.-Research Establishment, Research Report 37. 

Butkovich, T . R. (1 956) Strength studi es of high density snow, U. S. Army Snow, 

Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, Research Report 18. 

Clark, E. F . , Lt. Col. CE ( 1955) After operations r eport, 1st Engineer Arctic 

T a sk Force, U. S . Army Corps of Engineers. 

(Ret), Eistory of re~earch and development in Greenland -----,('1"9"6"0"")-,- u.-.--. ......,.,S-. - Army Corps of Engineers (Unpublished). 

Diamond, Marvin and Gerdel, R . W . ( 1957) Oc currence of blowing snow on the 

Greenland Ice Cap, U. S . Army Snow, Ice and P e rmafr ost Re search 

Establishment, Research Report 25 . 

Evans, Thomas C., Major CE ( 1960) The constr uction of C amp Century (final 

report), U. S . Army Polar Research and Development Center. 

Fuchs, Alfr e d ( 1959) Some s truc tural prope rties of Greenland snow, U. S. Army 

Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment , Research R eport 42. 

Gerdel, R. W . and Str om, G . H. ( 1961) Scale model s imulation of a blowing snow 

environment, Procee dings, Institute of Environmental Sciences, 1961. 

Hansen, B . L . and Landaue r, J. K . (1958 ) Some results of i ce c ap drill hole 

m e asureme nts, Symposium of Chamonix, International Union of Geodesy 

and Geophysics, Associ ation o f Sci e ntifi c Hydrology, 16-24 Sept. 1958 

(Gentbrugge 1958 ) p . 3 1 3 - 3 17 . 

Irving, Frederick F ., Capt. CE ( 1959 ) Design and constructi on of an unders now 

camp on the Greenland I ce Cap (1957) , U. S. Army Polar Research and 

De velopment Center, Report l. 

Kerr, Arnol d D . (1 962) Settl ement and tilting of footings on a v iscous foundation, 

U . S . Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, R es.earch 

Report 8 1. 

Landauer, J. K. (1 957) On deformation of excavations in the Gre e nland neve, U. S. 

Army Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, Research 

Report 30. 

L e ighty, Robe rt D. ( 1963) Pictorial performance study of Camp Century ( 1960- 1962), 

U. S. Army Cold R e gions Research and Engineering Laboratory , Special 

R e port 56. 

Nakaya, Ukichiro ( 1959)· Visco-elastic properties of processed snow, U . S. Army 

Snow, I ce and P e rmafrost Research Estabhshment, Research Report 58. 
56 CAMP CENTURY -CONCEPT AND HISTORY 

LITERATURE CITED (Cont' d) 

Nakaya, ~kichiro ( 1961) Elastic properties of processed sriow with r eference to its 

Internal structure, U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering 

Laboratory , Research Report 82 . 

Ostrom, Thomas R., Lt. Col. MSC ; Wils on, John J., 1st Lt. MSC; and Orr, Terry 

E: , 2nd Lt. MSC ( 1962 ) Greenland waste disposal project, Camp Century 

(final r e port), Walter Reed A r my Institute of Research. 

R eed, S. C .. ( 1964) 1963 Performance study of the DEWline ice cap stations, Gree nland, U. S. Army Cold Regions R e search and Engineering Laboratory, 

Technical Note (Unpublished). 

-----,.--(in preparation) Spre ad footing fo undations on snow, USA CRREL 

Technical Report 175. 

Rodriguez, Raul ( 1963) Developme nt of gfacial subsurface water supply and sewage 

systems, U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laborato ries, 

Technical Report 1737-TR. 

Stearns, S. Russell (1959) Snow beams and abutments using Peter snow, U. S. Army 

Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, SIPRE Report 55. 

Tien, Chi (1960) Analysis of a sub-ice heat sink for cooling power plants, U. S. 

Army Snow, Ice and P e rmafrost Research Establishment, Research Report 

60. 

Waterho use, R. W. (1955) Structures for snow investigations on the Greenland Ice 

Cap, U. S. Army Snow, Ice and P e rmafrost Research Establishment, 

SIPRE Report 2 7. 

( 1960)Cut-and-cover trenching in. snow, U. S. Army Snow, Ice 

-----a-n"""d:-=P""'e_r_m-a'""frost Research Establishment, SIPRE Report 76. 

; Tobiasson, Wayne N.; Scott, Barrat G. (1963) Camp Century _____ m_o_v_e_m_e--,.nt record, U. S. Army Cold Regions Resear c h and Engineering 

Laboratory, Technical Report 121. 

Wuori, Albert F . (1963) Snow stabilization for r<;>ads and runways, U. S. Army 

Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Technical Report 83. 

Yen, Yin-Chao and Bender, J. A. (1962) Cooling of .an undersnow camp, U.S. 

Army Cold R egions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Research 

Report 95. 

( 1963) Effective thermal conductivity of ventilated snow, ------.u~.--:=:S-.--.A-r_m_y--::C..-o'l'd-R"" egions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Research 

Report 103. 
57 

APPENDIX A: CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF EVENTS 

Event 

Initiation of project 

Preliminary design of Camp Century 

Study contract for P M - 2A Nuclear Plant 

Final design of thos e portions of Century to b e 

c o nstructed in 1959 

Procurement of construction materials to be 

emplaced in 19 59 and portions of thos e r e quired 

for 1960 

L e tting of contract to ALCO Products, Inc . for 

design, fabrication, and testing of PM-2A 

Nuclear Plant 

L etting of contract to Metcalf and Eddy, for 

design of support facilities for PM-2A 

Departure of 1959 construction force to Greenland 

Sel ec tion of site for Century 

Organization of materials at Tuto and buildup of 

stockpiled supplies at Century 

First construc tion troops arrive at Century 

Construction of t emporary surface camp at Centur y 

t o house construction troops 

Experimentation to deve l op practical trenching 

techniques':' 

Construction of 1 Oo/o o f the p e rmane nt c amp ( 5 

tre nches and 5 buildings) 

Closing of Century for the winter of 19 59 - 60 

Return of construction troops to the United States 

for the w inte r of 19 59-60 

Final design of r e mainder of Century 

Procurement of remainder of materials 

Training of Peter miller operators at Houghton, 

Michigan 

Training of reactor crew at ALCO Products plant 

during test ass embly of the PM-2A 

Departur e of 1960 construction force to Greenland 

Organization of mate rials at Tuto and buildup of 

stockpiled supplies at Centur y 

Reopening of temporary surface camp at Century 

Arrival of bulk of 1960 construction troops at 

Century 

:::consisted mainly of training P eter miller operators. 

Date s 

Sep 58 

Sep - 15 Nov 58 

14Jun 58 - 31 Jan 59 

1 5 Nov 58 - 1 5 F eb 59 

1 Dec 58 - 20 May 59 

23 Jan 59 

26 Feb 59 

15 Apr - 15 May 59 

17 May 59 

13 May- 14 Jun 59 

14Jun59 

14Jun- 10 Jul 59 

25 Jun- 1 5 Jul 59 

5 Jul - 1 Sep 59 

1 Sep 59 

2 - 7 Sep 59 

1 Aug - 1 Sep 59 

Oct 59 - 1 Apr 60 

Dec 59 - 1 Jan 60 

5 Jan - 20 May 60 

7 Apr - 7 May 60 

1 0 Apr - 1 0 May 60 

17 Apr 60 

1 - 20 May 60 
58 APPENDIX A 

Event 

Expansion of temporary surface camp to accomodate 

increa sed construction force 

1960 start of construction on Centur y 

Disassembly, packing, and loading of PM-2A N uclear 

Power Plant on USNS M arine F iddler at Buffalo, 

N. Y. fo r shipmen t to Greenland 

Shipment of one P M - 2A a i rblast cooler to Greenland 

by C - 124 air c raft to d emonstrate its air transportabilit y 

Arrival of USNS M arine Fiddle r with P M - 2A at Thule, 

Greenland 

Transport of PM- 2A components and materials to 

Century 

Installatio n of PM- 2A a t Century 

Arri val of c r ew to o p e rat e c ompleted camp 

Departure of C entur y construc tion troo ps 

C ompl e tion of n on-nucle ar portions of C e ntury 

Completi o n of installation o f PM- 2A (inc luding 

additional shielding ) 

Acceptance of PM- 2A by USAPR&DC 

Dates 

10 - 25 M ay 60 

12 May 60 

2 8 Apr - 27 Jun 60 

27 May 60 

10 Jul60 

ll J u l -

1 5 Jul -

9 S e p 60 

Sep 60 

O c t 60 

12 Sep - 1 5 O ct 60 

1 Oc t 60 

6 Feb 6 1 

8 Ma r 6 1 
APPENDIX B: ABOVE-SURFACE COVERED ACCESS TO 

CUT-AND-COVER TRENCHES 

by 

Wayne Tobiasson 

59 

Figures Bl -B4 illustrate the above-surface covered entrance concept devised by 

USA CRREL to provide a year -round access to ice cap facilities. 

Using plywood forms, two 14-ft high processed snow abutments were erected 12 

ft apart. The abutment snow consisted of backcast Peter miller snow picked up by 

a traxcavator and dumped betwe en the forms. A vibratory c ompactor was used to 

break up lumps of snow. After 24 hours the forms were removed and reerected for 

the next pour. Each abutment was poured in three sections. 

A timber arch seat was placed on each abutment and 14ft span corrugated metal 

arch used to cover the trench. A standard Peter miller blew 6 to 12 inches of processed snow over the arch. 

A timber door frame was constructed at the open end of the ramp a:1d a threepiece plywood door erected to provide personnel and vehicular access while preventing drift snow from depositing in the end of the ramp. 

The abutments have been instrwnented for deformation. 

Figure Bl. Erection of 14-ft high plywood forms. 

,, . .. .... · 

Figure B2. Traxcavator filling 

plywood forms with Petermiller snow. 
60 APPENDIX B 

,. .... 

Figure B3. Peter miller c overing arch. 

Figure B4. V ehicular access d o or. 
Unclassified 

Security Classification 

DOCUMENT CONTROL DATA · R&D 

(Security claaaillcation ol title , body of abstract end indexing annotation muat be entered """'•" the overall report i a c lea allied) 

I . ORIGINATING ACTIVITY (Corporate author) 2e. REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 

u. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Unclassified 

Engineering Laboratory, Hanov er, N. H . 2 b . GROUP 

3 . REPORT TITLE 

CAMP CENTURY -EVOLUTION OF CONCEPT AND HISTORY OF DESIGN, 

CONSTRUCTION, AND PERFORMANCE . 

4 . DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ( Type o f report and i nclus ive dates ) 

Technical Report s. AUTHOR(SJ (Last nam e , firs t name, ini tial) 

Clark, E. F. 

6 . REPORT OATE 7a. T-OTAL NO . OF PAGE~ l7b. NO . OF

3

R

1

EF5 

Oct 1965 66 

Sa. CONTRACT OR GRANT NO . 9a. ORIGINATOR'S REPORT NUMBER(SJ 

b. PROJECT NO . 

Technical Report 174 

c. DA IV025001Al30 9b. OTHER REPORT No(SJ (Anyothernumbere lhatmeybeeeai.,ed this report) 

d . 

1 O. AVA I LABILITY / LIMITATION NOTICES 

Qualified reque sters may obtain copies of this report from DDC. 

11 . SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12. SPONSORING MILITARY ACTIVITY 

u. s. Army Cold R e gions R e s e arch and 

Engineering Laboratory,. Hanover, N.H 

13. ABSTRACT 

This report t e lls the story of C amp Century, an effort to l e arn how to construct 

military facili tie s on the Greenland Ic e Cap. It describes bri efly the research 

done by several laboratories, scientists, and engine ers in achieving this objective. It discusse s the development of concepts, methods, and enginee ring 

techniques which made the construction of Camp Century possible . Engineering 

performanc e of the c amp and its facilities is summarized, and some of the more 

important r e ports r e sulting from the effort are reference d. It is concluded that 

subsurface ice- c ap camps are feasibl e and practi cable, that nuclear power offers 

significant adv antages in reducing the logistical burden of supporting isolated, 

remote military facilities, and that the wealth of data and e xperie nce obtained 

from the Camp Century proj e ct will be of ine stimable value in the development 

of designs for future i ce-cap camps. 

DO FORM 

1 JAN e4 1473 Unclassified 

Security Classification 
Unclassified 

Security Classification 

14. 

KEY WORDS 

Camp Century 

Military operations 

-Greenland 

-Polar regions 

Snow (construction material) 

Utilities (polar regions) 

Construction - Greenland 

Subsurface ice-cap camps 

LINK A LINK B LINK C 

ROLE WT ROLE WT ROLE WT 

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assigned any other report numbers (either by the originator 

or by the sponsor), a lso enter this number(s). 

10. AVAILABILITY/ LIMITATION NOTICES: Enter any limitations on further dissemination of the report, o ther than those 

imposed by security classificat ion, u sing standard statements 

such as: 

( 1) "Qual ified requesters ma y obtain copies of this 

r ep o rt from D DC'' 

(2) "Foreign announcement and dissemination o f this 

report by DDC is not authorized." 

(3) "U. S. Government agencies may obtain copies of 

t his report directly from DOC. Other qualified DOC 

users shall request through 

( 4) "U. S. military agencies may obtain copies of this 

report directly from DDC Other qualified u sers 

shall request through 

" 

(5) "All distribution o f this report is controlled. Qualified DDC users shall request thro ug h 

If the report has been furnished to the Office o f Tec hnical 

Services, Department of Commerce, for sale to the public, i ndicate this fact and e nter the price, if kno wn. 

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES: Use for additional explanatory notes. 

12. SPONSORING MILITARY ACTIVITY: Enter the name of 

the departmental project o ffice or laboratory sponsoring (paying lor) the researc h and devel o pment. Include address. 

13. ABSTRACT: Enter an abs tract giv ing a brief and factual 

s ummary o f the doc ument indi c ative o f the report, even though 

it may also appear elsewhere in the body o f the technical repo rt. If addit ional space is required, a continuation sheet 

sha II be attach ed. 

It is highly desirable that the abs tract of classified repo rts be unclassified. Eac h paragraph o f the abstract shall 

e nd with an indi c at ion of the military security classification 

of the info rmat io n in the paragraph, repre s ented as ( TS) , (S), 

( C ), or ( U ) . 

There is n o limitatio n on the ~?:t h of the abstract. H owever, the s uggesterl length is from 150 t o 225 words. 

14. KEY WORDS: Key words are technic ally meaningful terms 

o r s h ort phra ses that c h aracterize a report a nd may be used as 

index e ntries fo r c ataloging the report. K ey word s must b e 

s e l ect e d so that no s ecurity clas sific atio n is required. ldenfiers , s uc h a s e quipment mode l designation, trade name, "nilitary p roject code name, geop:raphic l ocati o n, may be used as 

k ey words but w ill b e fo llowed by an indi c at ion o f tec hni c al 

c o ntext. The assignme nt o f links . rules, and weights is 

o ptio nal. 

Unclassified 

Security Classification