Surface Excavation Design

Surface Excavation Design

What is an explosive?

An explosive can be solid, liquid or a mixture of substances. When

a suitable stimulus, (e.g. electric, flame, spark, percussion) is
applied to the explosive substance it is capable of developing a
sudden high pressure by the rapid formation or liberation of stable
gases at high temperatures.

ANFO
Emulite-100 Emulsion explosive
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A short history

An English monk and scientist, Roger Bacon discovered the formulation for black powder, a secret from ancient
China for weapons and became known as gunpowder by some users. Black powder was first used during the 13th
century.

1600 – Black powder was first used by the German and Hungarian mines by placement in rock fissures and joints

1689 – Black powder was introduced to Cornish tin mines where paper cartridges were used to package the black
powder.

1831 – William Bickford introduced “miner’s safety fuse” which made the use of black powder explosive charges
safer to initiate.

1866 – Alfred Nobel introduced dynamite, a combination of nitroglycerine and Kiselghur. (diatomaceous earth)
which absorbs three-four times its own weight of nitroglycerine.

1885 – Smith produced delay detonators

1950s – Ammonium nitrate was combined with various combustible and began to replace some quantities of nitro-
glycerin based explosives in open cast mines.
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Properties of Explosives

vVelocity of detonation (VOD)

vStrength
vDetonation stability
vSensitiveness (propogation ability)
vDensity
vWater resistance
vSafety in handling
vEnvironmental properties
vResistance to freezing
vOxygen balance
vShelf life
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The velocity of detonation (VOD) is the speed at which the detonation travels through the
explosive. High velocity of detonation would be favourable in the case of hard rock.
Explosives like Emulite are suitable for hard rocks like granite, gneiss and basalt while
ANFO is suitable for softer rocks like limestone and sandstone.

The strength of an explosive is in most cases used to be expressed as s percentage of the

strength of blasting gelatine. The weight strength (RWS) denotes the strength of any weight
of an explosive compared with the same weight of blasting gelatine. Lately the manufacturers
have started to compare theweight and volume strengths with those of ANFO.

Detonation stability means that the detonation goes through the entire explosives column.

The sensitivity of an explosive product is defined by the amount of input energy necessary to
cause the product to detonate reliably. This is sometimes called the minimum booster rating
or minimum priming requirements. Some explosives require little energy to detonate reliably.
Sensitiveness is measured by determining the explosive's critical diameter.
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Critical diameters of some of the explosives

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Hazardous and performance sensitivities of some explosives.

The density of an explosive is its specific weight expressed as kilograms per liter (kg/l)
or grams per cubic centimeter (gr/cm3). The density determines the possible charge
concentration in the blasthole.

The water resistance is an explosives’s ability to withstand water penetration and is

normally expressed as the time the product can be underwater and still detonate reliably.
Plastic explosives normally have high resistance to water. Emulsion explosives have
excellent water resistance properties as the salts are protected by an oil/wax film .
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Safety in handling is of the utmost importance as the transportation and usage of an
explosive should be carried out without any risks for the personnel involved. Before
an explosive is approved by the authoroties it is subjected to extensive tests.(The
drop hammer, friction, projectile impact and heat tests).

The environmental properties are more and more taken into consideration. The
aim is to mininmize the toxic fumes and such negative side-effects as headaches and
skin irritation when handling nitroglycerin explosives. The gases produced from a
detonation of a civil explosive are principally carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water
vapor, which are all non-toxic. Various toxic gases are also produced like carbon
monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and nitroglycerin vapors.

Resistance to freezing is important in countries where the temperature falls below

0° C. Dynamites and watergels become stiffer in low temperatures and lose their
good tamping characteristicswhile emulsion explosives retain their excellent tamping
characteristics even at the lowest temperatures.
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The oxygen balance must be considered in underground applications. An excess of
oxygen in the explosive can form nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) and a deficit of
oxygen will form carbon monoxide (CO). In open air blasting these gases rarely cause
any problem as the blasting fumes are rapidly dispersed after the detonation.

In pure form, ammonium nitrate (AN) is almost inert and is composed of 60% oxygen
by weight, 33% nitrogen, and 7% hydrogen. With the addition of fuel oil, the ideal
oxygen balanced reactions for NH4N03 is:

3N2H4O3 + CH2 → 3N2 + 7H2O + CO2

The shelf life of the explosive is very important as the explosive frequently has to be
kept for along time in storage, often under unfavourable conditions.
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Classification

vHigh Explosives
vBlasting Agents

High explosives are characterized by high velocity of detonation, high pressure

shock wave, high density and by being capsensitive.

Blasting agents are mixtures consisting of a fuel and oxidizer system, where none
of the ingredients are classified as an explosive and when unconfined cannot be
detonated by means of a #8 test blasting cap. Blasting agents have to be initiated
by a primer. ANFO is a typical blasting agent.
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Table 1. Explosive Ingredients
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Types of Explosives
The term blasting agent does not detract from an explosive's
ability to detonate or function as a high explosive. The term
blasting agent is a classification considered from the standpoint of
storage and transportation.

Explosives which are blasting agents are less sensitive to

initiation and therefore can be stored and transported under
different regulations than what would normally be used for more
sensitive high explosives.

The term high explosive refers to any product used in blasting

that is cap sensitive and that reacts at a speed faster than the
speed of sound in the explosive media.

The reaction must be accompanied by a shock wave for it to be

considered a high explosive.

Normally, blasting agents do not contain ingredients which in

themselves are high explosives. Some slurries containing TNT,
smokeless powder or other high explosive ingredients can be
classed as a blasting agent if they are insensitive to initiation by a
number 8 blasting cap
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Blasting Theory
The rock is affected by a detonating
explosive in three principal stages.

In the first stage, starting from the

initiation point, the blast hole expands
by crushing the blasthole walls. This
due to high pressure upon detonation.

In the second stage, compressive

stress waves emanate in all directions
from the blasthole with a velocity
equal to the sonic wave velocity in the
rock. When these compressive stress Radial crack formation Compressive stress waves
waves reflect against a free rock face,
they cause tensile stresses in the rock
mass between the blasthole and the
free face. If the tensile strength of the
rock is exceeded, the rock breaks in
the burden area, which is the case in a
correctly designed blast.
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In the third stage, the released gas volume
“enters” the crack formation under high
pressure, expanding the cracks. If the
distance between the blasthole and the free
face is correctly calculated, the rock mass
will yield and be thrown forward.

The explosive reaction in the blasthole is

very fast and the effective work of the
explosive is considered completed when the
blasthole volume has expanded to 10 times
its original volume which takes approx. 5ms.

Gas penetration of crack formation

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Zones of Deformation
Four major zones can develop.

The first is the explosion cavity (essentially the

original charge cavity) where the process is
hydrodynamic.

The second and third zones are the crushed and

blast-fractured zones, respectively, where the
shock pressure is rapidly reduced as a result of
plastic flow, crushing, and cracking.

The fourth zone is the seismic zone, where the

stress is below the elastic limit and no
fragmentation occurs, except near free
boundaries.
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Blasthole expansion in relation to time.

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Bench Blasting

Bench blast geometry and terminology.

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TIME DELAY BETWEEN ROWS
Guidelines for row-to-row initiation are as follows:

a) Short delay times cause higher rock piles closer to the face.
b) Short delay times cause more endbreak.
c) Short delay times cause more violence, air blast and ground vibration.
d) Short delay times have more potential for flyrock.
e) Long delay times decrease levels of ground vibration.
f) Long delay times decrease the amount of backbreak.
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Piling and Uplift Resulting from Timing

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Too short a delay between rows

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Perfect delay between the rows

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Simple firing pattern for
a laterally constricted
multiple row round. All
holes in the row have
the same delay except
the perimeter holes,
whic are delayed one
interval number to
avoid excessive
overbreak outside the
limits of the excavation.
Firing pattern,multiple row blasting
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This firing pattern gives
better fragmentation. The
ratio between true spacing
and true burden, S/B,
becomes more favourable.
One disadvantage with this
firing pattern is the risk that
the center hole in the
second rowof the blast may
detonate before the
detonation in the front row
with the same delay
number due to the scatter
within the delay interval.
The hole will then be quite
constricted causing
incomplete breakage which
will form boulders and
possible butts above the
theoretical grade.
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This firing pattern
provides separate
delay time for
practically all
blastholes and gives
good fragmentation as
well as good breakage
in the bottom part of
the round.
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Inclined holes
with an
inclination of
approx. 3:1
reduce the back
break and the
amount of
boulders from the
upper part of the
blast.
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Precision in
drilling is
important for the
blasting result.
Poor precision in
drilling will form
boulders due to
irregular burdens
and spacing.
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It is a known fact
that most of the
boulders in a blast
come from the front
row. Therefore,
multiple row blasts
give proportionally
fewer boulders than
a single row blast.
However the length
of the blastshould
not be greater than
50% of the width.
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Frequently large size
fragmentation is
required. In the
construction of ports,
large size rock is used
for the construction of
breakwaters.The
geology of the rock may
form the greatest
obstacle to obtain a good
blasting result. A
homogenous rock is
preferable in large
fragmentation blasting
to a fissured rock.
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When the rock is
fragmented by a
blast, its volume
increase
considerably, up to
50%, this is known
as the swelling. For
long blasts, the rule
of thumb is that the
elevation of the
swelling has to be
considered when the
length of the blast
exceeds 50% of the
width.
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Maximum forward movement as a function of specific charge

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Flyrocks are rocks
ejected from the blast.
They tend to travel
long distances and are
main cause of on-site
fatalities and damage to
equipment. Flyrock is
mostly caused by an
Maximum travelling distance of flyrock as a function of
improperly designed or blasthole diameter for different specific charges.
improperly charged
blast.