The overall aim of this research proposal is improvement to the safety, design criteria and assessment of multi-strand anchorages. In order to achieve this, the work will focus on the most critical aspects, the anchorage head and fixed anchorage length. The research will combine extensive full-scale laboratory work with numerical modelling. The overall testing will comprise initial field and laboratory testing. The initial field testing will be carried out on a number of already installed multi strand anchorages with different anchorage head assemblies. This will be followed by the construction and testing of two full scale strand anchorages - one will be a two-strand rock anchorage and the other will be a typical four-strand rock anchorages. In addition anchorage head test rigs will be constructed in order to obtain the stiffness characteristics of the anchorage heads. A numerical model of multi strand anchorages will be developed in order to investigate their dynamic response to changes in the anchorage head and/or fixed anchorage length. This will be validated and then used to provide the optimal stiffness characteristics for an anchorage head suitable for load estimation using dynamic testing.Finally, the results from both the laboratory and numerical studies will lead to the development of a new anchorage head design with a view to improving the assessment of the load condition of these anchorages. This will be tested on a full scale field anchorages of a similar design.

The early years of the 21st century have seen energy policy return to the political agenda both in the UK and internationally. Growing concerns about environmental, economic and social issues associated with energy production (climate change, the depletion of hydrocarbon resources, declining public trust in science and technology and increasing energy prices) have led to a reappraisal of the wider energy scene and of individual energy technologies. The return of various nuclear power options to the list of candidate technologies being actively considered is but one element of this change. One potential advantage of nuclear power is that it may help us to reduce CO2 emissions and therefore mitigate some of the climate change concerns, However, it is far from clear how sustainable the nuclear option is overall, compared to other generating options. Issues such as health and safety, investment risks, security, public trust and perception are also important for understanding of the full sustainability implications of nuclear generation. Furthermore, the nuclear power industry is faced with many uncertainties, including financial, technical and regulatory. Decommissioning and high-level waste disposal are prime examples of areas where these uncertainties exist. The public attitude toward nuclear power in general ranges from ambivalent to negative; there is, however, a growing public awareness and concern about the impacts of global warming which may start to influence the change in public opinion. Therefore, any decisions about the future of nuclear power will need to take into account these and other relevant issues, taking an integrated, balanced and impartial approach to evaluating the relative environmental, economic, social and political sustainability of nuclear power.This project proposes to develop such an integrated approach and apply it to sustainability appraisals of nuclear power relative to other energy options. The main objectives of the project are:1. development of a rigorous, robust and transparent multicriteria decision-support framework for sustainability assessment of energy options;2. sustainability assessments of the nuclear option within an integrated energy system;3. engagement with and communication of the results of research to relevant stakeholders.The outputs of the project will help to inform the debate on the future of nuclear power in the UK.