Rock Splitter Takes Nothing For Granite

 

"Solid as a rock" may pass out of the English language if William C. Cooley of Terraspace Inc. in Rockville, Md., has his way. He has developed some innovative ways to disintegrate concrete and rock, particularly in urban areas where blasting may not be allowed. What's more, he promises to be quiet and dust-free while he's at it.

Three years in the making, Cooley's two mechanical rock breakers, the Terra-Frak units, used with a conventional drill, can break a rock hydraulically and produce cones of rock or concrete up to four feet in diameter. Another device, called a Hydro-Burst, shoots water inside a rock, causing it to break into fragments.

"Over 10% of the energy in this country goes into breaking rock -- rock tunneling, crushing rock for use in concrete buildings, highways, asphalt, cement, and processing of minerals," he says. It took a conventional rock hammer several weeks to do sewer excavation near Cooley's headquarters in Rockville. Cooley maintains that his mechanical device, production-type equipment based on his research with the Terra-Frak units, could do the job more rapidly.

Cooley plans to sell his innovation to rock splitter distributors, rental companies, and construction companies. His Hydro-Burst unit, which he says is ideal for boulders and trenches, will sell for about $10,000. A large hydraulic-powered hammer that can do comparable work costs up to $150,000.