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Drilling and Blasting of Rocks PDF
Drilling and Blasting of Rocks PDF
OF ROCKS
Translated by
YVONNE VISSER DE RAMIRO
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Original text:
Manual de perforacion y voladura de rocas
O 1987 Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espaila
During the past two decades, there have been numerous macrosystem and that the results obtained by them in-
technical contributions which have brought a better un- fluence the production and economy of the whole exploi-
derstanding of rock fragmentation with explosives, an tationor construction process. At the Same time, the
improvement in drilling equipment and a noticeable evo- objectives and contents of this handbook contribute to
lution in the development of new explosives and blasting improved safety in mining.
accessones. The Geomining Technological Institute of There are very few similar works in other languages,
Spain (ITGE), aware of this Progress and of the impor- and certainly none other in Spanish.
tance which the breakage process has acquired in mining We sincerely hope that this handbook, which brings
and civil engineering projects, has considered the publi- together practical and theoretical aspects, will be of use to
cation of a 'Rock Drilling and Blasting Handbook' of all engineers who work with drilling and blasting as a
great interest. rock breakage method.
This handbook was conceived with integration in
mind, as the Systems and machines of drilling, the types Camilo Caride de Liiian
and characteristics of explosives and the methods for Director of the Geomining Technological Institute of
calculating the blasts are treated together, without ever Spain
forgetting that these breakage operations form part of a
Preface
'\
Rock breakage with explosives has existed since the This handbook was written by the following engineers:
XVII century when black powder came into use in min-
ing, rapidly becoming one of the most popular methods. Carlos Lopez Jimeno, Doctor of Mining Engineering,
The important historical events which have marked an era Project Director for EPM., S.A.
were the invention of dynamite by Alfred Nobel in 1867, Emilio Lopez Jimeno, Doctor of Mining Engineering.
the use of ANFO starting in 1955, the development of Francisco Javier Ayala Carcedo, Doctor of Mining Engi-
slumes from the late fifties on and, lastly, the preparation neering, Project Director for ITGE.
of blasting agents such as emulsions, heavy ANFO, etc.,
which are still in evolution. Translated by: Yvonne Visser de Ramiro
At the Same time, blasthole drilling progressed with
such decisive events as the the use of compressed air as This work has been totally financed by the Geomining
the source of energy in rotary percussive rigs in 1861, the Technological Institute of Spain under contract with the
use of large rotary drills and of down-the-hole hammers EPM, S.A. Company (Estudios y Proyectos Mineros,
in the fifties and the development of hydraulic hammers S.A.).
in the late seventies.
However, rock blasting was always considered, until
recently, as an art bom from the skill and experience of
the blasters. Now it has become a technique based on
scientific principles derived from knowledge of the ac-
tion of explosives, the mechanisms of breakage and the
geomechanic properties of the rock masses.
The purpose of this handbook is to give basic knowl-
edge of the drilling Systems, the types of available explo-
sives and accessaries and the Parameters that intervene in
blast designing, whether controllable or not.
The handbook is primarily meant for students of the
Technical Schools, to be useq as a textbook, and for all
professionals who are involved with explosives in mining
operations and civil engineenng projects.
The authors wish to express their most sincere gratitude to the following experts, companies and official organisms for
their collaboration and release of technical material as well as permission to reproduce certain data and figures.
I DIAMETER
"OLE
(Inch) I " 11/2" 2" 3" 3 1/2" 5" 6" 9,' 12" 15"
I
HUO HEL0 DRLLS mOOUCTIOH.-1HO N 1mGE SCUE. W A C E W
APLlCATlON
Fig. 1.1 Fields of application for drilling
RANGE methods as function of the compressive
4
L W BE-
-W
H E A W -B strength of the mcks and the diameters of
L the blastholes.
METHODS OF
1 ROTARY PERCUSSIVE DRILLING I ROTARY DRILLING I
BENCH
BLASTING 1 1 DOWN THE
HOLE HAMMER I CRUSHING 1 CUTTMG I
CONSTRUCTION
WORK
SURFACE
MlNlNG
ONIlSVl8-3Nl1llH8
mc - 0.i !
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OS 05
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I
I LN3WdlnO3
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4 Drilling and blasting of rocks
the same sense that igneous rocks are poorer in silica, Table 1.1
they are richer in ferromagnesian silicates. The acids are Classification Mohs' scale of Compressive
more abrasive and harder than the basic ones, but they are hardness strength (MPa)
also more dense and resistant to impact. Very hard +7 +200
Hard 6-7 120-200
Medium hard 4.5-6 60- 120
1.4.1.2 Metamorphic rocks Medium soft 3-4.5 30-60
Metamorphic rocks are derived from other pre-existing Soft 2-3 10-30
endogenic or exogenic rocks through important transfor- Very soft 1-2 -10
mations of their mineral components. These marked
changes are produced by the necessity of stabilizing their
minerals under the new conditions of temperature, pres- can find, as an example, the evaporites or saline rocks
sure and chemism. precipitated by over-saturationof a brine that is subjected
These rocks are intermediate in physicai and chemical to intense evaporation. The third type are accumulations
characteristics, between the igneous and the sedimentary, of shells, skeletons of animals or remains of plants, such
because they have associations of minerais that pertain to as the conchiferous limestones. This last group is subdi-
the two types. Thus, minerals such as quartz, feldspars, vided into organogenous biochemistry and mineral
rnicas, amphiboles, and olivines, essential in igneous biochemistry depending upon whether their components
rocks, are also found in metamorphic rocks; however are of organic or inorganic nature. For the first we have
they do not contain aikali feldspars. As in sedimentary coal and petroleum, and for the second the limestones,
rocks, they can have calcite, dolomite, silica and he- dolornites and phosphatic rocks.
matites; but they do not contain evaporites. Minerals For an initial classification of sedimentary rocks, their
comrnon to the two other types also appear such as formation process is taken into account, later the grain
tourmaline, zircon, magnetite, topaz and corundum; all of size, the characteristics of their bonding, apart from the
which are very stable in any exogenous or endogenous types and quantities of their rninerai components.
medium.
There is a series of minerals that are very specific to
metamorphic rocks, which can form part of the grains of 1.4.2 Rock properties that affect drilling
detrital rocks, owing to their stability in exogenous me- The principal physical rock properties that have influence
dium~,and others are at the same time products of meteo- upon penetration mechanisms and, as a consequence, on
ric alteration of the minerals in endogenic rocks. Actually, choice of the drilling method are: hardness, strength,
meteorization is a mineralogical transformation that is elasticity, plasticity, abrasiveness, texture, structure, char-
both a physical and chemical process, but at low tempera- acteristics of breakage.
ture and pressure.
1.4.2.1 Hardness
1.4.1.3 Sedimentary rocks Hardness is considered to be the resistance of a surface
Sedimentary rocks are formed by accumulation of broken layer to be penetrated by another body of harder con-
and decomposed rock material, by chemical precipitation sistency.
of solubilized minerals or by accumulation of shells or In rock, it is a function of the hardness and composition
other organic material: animal or vegetable. of its mineral grains, the porosity, degree of humidity,
In the first case, detritic sediments are produced such as etc. E
gravels, conglomerates or sands in which gravity has The hardness of rocks is the principal type of resistance
played a role in their precipitation. In the second case one that must be overcome during drilling, because once the
bit has penetrated, the rest of the operation is easier.
Rocks are classified as to their hardness by using
Friedrich von Mohs' Scale of Hardness (1882), in which
the concept is that any mineral can scratch anything that
has a lower or equai number to it, numbering from 1 to 10.
As can be seen from Table 1.1, there is a certain correla-
tion between hardness and compressive strength of the
rocks.
1.4.2.2 Strength
Mechanical strength of a rock is the property of opposing
destruction by an extemal force, either static or dynarnic.
The rocks give maximum resistance to compression,
normally, as the tensile strength is not more than 10 or
15% of the compressive strength. This is due to the
fragility of rocks, to the large quantity of local defects and
irregularities that exist and to the small cohesion between
Fig. 1.4. Geological cycle of rocks. the particles of which they are constituted.
Rock drilling rnethods 5
1.4.2.3 Elasticity
The majonty of rock minerals have an elastic-fragile
behavior, which obeys the Law of Hooke, and are des-
troyed when the strains exceed the limit of elasticity.
Depending upon the nature of deformation,as function
of the Stresses produced by static charges, three groups of
rocks are taken into consideration: 1) The elastic-fragile
or those which obey the Law of Hooke, 2) The plastic-
fragile, that have plastic deformation before destruction,
3) The highly plastic or very porous, in which the elastic
deformation is insignificant.
The elastic properties of rocks are charactenzed by the
elasticity module 'E' and the Poisson coefficient ' V ' . The
elasticity module is the proportionality factor between the
normal Stress in the rock and the relative correspondant
deformation, its value in most rocks varies between 0.03
X 104and 1.7 X 1o5 MPa, basically depending upon the
The rock strength fundamentally depends on its mine- mineralogical composition,porosity, type of deformation
ralogical composition. Among the integrating minerals, and magnitud of the applied force.
quartz is the most solid with a strength that goes over 500 The values of the elasticity modules in the majority of
MPa, while that of the ferromagnesian silicates and the sedimentary rocks are lower than those corresponding to
aluminosilicates vary between 200 and 500 MPa, and that the minerals in their composition.The texture of the rock
of calcite from 10 to 20 MPa. Therefore, the higher the also has influence on this Parameter, as the elasticity
quartz content, the more the strength increases. module in the direction of the bedding or schistosity is
The mineral strength depends upon the size of the usually larger than when perpendicular.
crystals and diminishes with their increase. This Poisson's coefficient is the factor of proportionality
influence is significative when the crystal size is under 0.5 between the relative longitudinal deformations and the
mm. transversal deformations. For most rocks and minerals it
In rocks, the size factor has less influence on strength is between 0.2 and 0.4, and only in quartz is it abnonnally
as the intercrystallinecohesion force also intervenes. For low, around 0.07.
example, the compressive strength of a fine grained
arkose sandstone is almost double that of a coarse
grained; that of marble composed of 1 rnrn graines is
equal to 100 MPa, whereas a fine grained limestone - 3 to
4 mm - has a strength of 200 to 250 MPa.
Amongst the sedimentary rocks the ones with highest
strength are those that contain silica cement. With the
presence of clay cement, the strength is drastically
reduced.
Porosity in rocks with the Same lithology also reduces
strength proportionately, more porosity - less strength; as
it simultaneously reduces the number of contacts of the
mineral particles and the force of reciprocal action be-
tween them.
The depth at which rocks were formed arid the degree
of metamorphism also have influence upon their strength.
Therefore, the strength of clay beddings near the ground
surface can be of 2 to 10 MPa, whereas in clay rocks that
went through a certain metamorphism the strengths can
reach 50 to 100 MPa.
On the other hand, the strength of ansiotropic rocks 0 I0 20 30 40 60 SO
depends upon the sense of action of the force. The com- DEFORMATION (mm x 108)
pressive strength of rocks in the perpendicular to Fig. 1.6. Curves of stress-deformationfor different types of rocks.
6 Drilling und blasting of rocks
Table 1.3. Cornmon rock names and their geological definitions (based on Dearman, 1974;ISRM, 198la).
W k Qrwp s.dh.mY
Ba4d.d FUiM
Wtamorphk
I Ign-
M8uhrJOhll.d
-
m n
Fr.pmnid (d.mW ~ n l n i ) Cryniillnr or o l y ( ~ l l l n )
Onln 60% onlns ui 01 C ~ I U I - &M.a ~ d i p . n uorit-mhd m i m r b inq u a
.In' Qralm srr oi rak qurm. 60* anIn* an D9ndi k l d s w . da.i n d Iak&mdIkmm l n n h
T*min
Ialdipu. and sl.y mlmu O' uttonar*
fintgrrlned mw. ,dcuhr
mm Ipneau. rock mcLs drrk mlmnh P'mt
w d lnt.m.dim 8.lk
V W fl0und.d
-
Gnlna arr oi mcL ir.pmnti
prslna:
M
T B
rudlls ~ Z a r
gralm:
m"~pnim: voIc.nIs Sdlne Omln: *- E
QR~&
bmala I b
'"' . n - T w ~
*o
2 . h.lll&~hydrlta. oi p r u u l u a d
pndnon:g n h r inmJnPl
m l w d h.prnrm 5 nii;ydm M a
~ m i i b
Ci2
S(itstrns: 50* nncpnlind
0.- lall*
(üi.L)
firn zo CI. o n s o r ~ n ~
praind *drnd"
Glorl
Chml Volunk 0lP.r:
nlnt ob.idin. pltchslo(~.trhyutr
Rock drilling methods 7
Table 1.4. Properties of rock types according to origin-based
classification.
Rock type Specific Grain Swell Compressive
gravity size factor strength
(m3) (mm) (MPa*)
Tntru-
..-.- Diorite 2.65-2.85 1.5-3 1.5 170-300
sive Gabbro 2.85-3.2 2
INGENOUS Granite 2.7 0.1-2
Andesite 2.7 0.1
Extrusive Basalt 2.8 0.1
Rhyolite 2.7 0.1
Trachyte 2.7 0.1
Congomerate 2.6 2 SPACING OF JOINTS lOOOcm 105 10 1 0.1
Sandstone 2.5 0.1-1
A) STRONG ROCK
SEDIMEN- Shale 2.7 1 B) MEDIUM ROCK
C) WEAK ROCK
TARY D) VERY WEAK ROCK
Dolomite 2.7 1-2
Fig. 1.7. Classification of the rock masses.
Limestone 2.6 1-2
Limerock 1.5-2.6 1-2
Gneiss 2.7 2
Marble 2.7 0.1-2
In Fig. 1.7, the rock masses are classified from the
METAMOR- Quartzite 2.7 0.1-1
PHIC spacing between joints and the strength of the r o c h
Schist 2.7 0.1-L material.
Serpentine 2.6 -
Slate 2.7 0. L
* 1 MPa = 1 MN/^^ = 10 kg/cm2 = 142.2 psi REFERENCES
In Table 1.4, the characteristic properties of different Atlas Copco: Manual atlas copco, 4th edition. 1984.
types of rocks are indicated, according to their origin. Heinz, W. F.: Diamond drilling handbook. 1989.
Hunt, R.E.: Geotechnical engineeßng techniques und pracdces.
McGraw Hill. 1986.
1.4.2.7 Structure Sandvik-Coromant: Manual de perforacibn de rocas. Teoria y tkcnica.
1983.
The stmctural properties of the rock masses, such as Tamrock: Handbook of surface drilling. 1989.
schistosity, bedding planes, joints, diabases and faults, as
well as their dip and strike affect the allignment of the
blastholes, the drilling performance and the stability of
the blasthole walls.
CHAPTER 2
Tahle 2.1.
Drilling method Drilling diameter (mm)
Surface Underground
Top hammer 50- 127 38- 65
Down the hole 75-200 100- 165 The percussion mechanism consumes from 80 to 85%of
the total power of the equipment.
ROTATION
2.2.2 Rotation
Rotation, which tums the dnll bit between consecutive
blows, has the function of making the bit stnke upon
FEED FORCE different points of the rock in the bottom of the blasthole.
Fig. 2.1. Basic actions in rotary percussive drilling.
In each type of rock there is an optimum rotation speed
which produces larger sized cuttings taking advantage of
the free area of the hole created with each impact.
When drilling with insert bits, the most common rota-
tion speeds oscillate between 80 and 150 r.p.m. with
angles between indentations of 10 to 20°, Fig. 2.3. For
button bits from 51 to 89 mm, the speeds should be lower,
between 40 and 60 r.p.m., that bring turning angles be-
Fig. 2.2. Sequence of rock failure during Center formation (Hartman, tween 5 and 7". Bits of larger diameters require even
1959).
lower speeds.
evaluate as it depends upon many factors such as: type of 2.2.3 Thrust load
rock, shape and size of piston, drill steel characteristics,
bit design, etc. Another thing to take into account is that The energy generated by the mechanism of hammer
energy is lost through the sleeves of the rod couplings, blows should be transfered to the rock, for which it is
due to reflection and fricton which is converted into heat n e c e s s q to have the dnll bit in permanent contact with
and wear on the drill steel threads. In the first coupling the the bottom of the hole. This is achieved with the thrust
losses oscillate between 8 and 10%of the shock wave load or pull down, supplied by a pull down motor, which
energy. should be adapted to rock type and drill bit.
In down the hole drilling the piston energy is tran- Insufficient thrust load has the following negative ef-
srnitted directly to the bit, giving greater performance. fects: lower penetration rates, greater wear of rods and
In these drilling Systems, percussion force is the pa- sleeves, loosening of drill steel threads and heating of the
rameter that most influences the penetration rate. Same. On the contrary, if the pull down is excessive the
The energy freed per hammer stroke can be estimated penetration rate is also diminished, there is increased
from the following equations:
BUTTON BIT
. .
and taking into account the previous equations, the fol- Fig. 2.3. Rotation speed between consecutive blows as a function of
lowing can be stated: penetration rate and bit diameter.
10 Drilling und blasting of rocks
FLUSHING
FLUID
FEE0
Fig. 2.4. The effect of thmst load upon penetration rate in top hammer
dnlling.
6.1 INTRODUCTION of cut. This force is divided into two, one tangential N,
and another vertical E, Fig. 6.4.
Rotary drilling by cutting action was at its peak in the The tangential force is the one that overcomes the
forties, in American coal mines, for blastholes in overbur- compressive rock strength when confronted with the bit.
den and in the ore itself. With growing use in surface The resisting torque T,., measured in the axis of the
operations using rotary rigs with rolling tricone rock bits, drilling element, is the product of the tangential force
this method has been limited to soft rocks, usually with multiplied by the radius of the bit. The resisting torque on
small to medium diameters, clearly competing with direct the total cutting area, supposing that it is a circularcrown,
breakage Systems. In underground jobs, rotary percussive is given by:
drilling has taken over most of the work, leaving only low
to medium strength rocks that are non-abrasive (potash,
coal, etc.) to the rotary rigs.
Drilling by cutting action in production blastholes is
carried out with bits whose stnictures have elements of where: T, = Resisting torque, p = Coefficient of friction,
tungsten carbide or other materials such as synthetic E = Thrust on the bit, r, = Outside radius of the bit, r, =
diamonds or polycrystalines, which vary in shape and Inner radius of the bit.
angle and can be classified in the following types: This resisting torque is determined by the rninimum
a) Two-wing drag bits, with diameters from 36 to 50 torque of the rock drill that allows the rock to be pene-
mm. trated. Calling r, the effective radius of the bit, which is
b) Three and four-wing drag bits with diameters from equal to
50 to 115 mm.
C) Three replaceable blade bit with fluted reamers in
diameters that go from 160 to 400 mm.
222- 50
I
oL J 1
o
I
25
I
o5
,
I
o 75
I
I
1 0
I
I 25
I
in
0 6 12 5 19 25 y) mm
DISTANCE CUT
Fig. 6.3. Drag-bit force - displacement curves (Fairhurst, 1964)
CUTTING EDGE
CHIP I
CRACKS -v//t;3
NEW SURFACE
Fig. 6.4. Forces that act upon the cutting tool.
Q
LT
LINEAR PORTION
BY CLOGGING
AT THE BITS
C) THREE REPLACEABLE BLADE BIT W
Z
Fig. 6.1. Rotary drag bits. W
a
APPLIED THRUST
Fig. 6.5. Basic th~st-penetrationrate curve for rotary drag-bit drilling
(Fish and Barker, 1956).
>,,.,:.',< - -- --
.. ' . '
,;, ,
I'. (,
In Table 6.1, the recornrnended thrusts and rotary
(C) speeds are given in function with blasthole diarneter and
Fig. 6.2. Drag-bit cutting sequence (Fish and Barker, 1956) compressive rock strength.
74 Drilling und blasting of rocks
Zone I
Rotary dnlling with little thrust.
- Thrust: From 1 to 8 kN.
- Rotary speed: 800 to 1.100 rlmin.
Two practical limits of rotary drilling can be given: - Dry drilling
compressive rock strength, which should be under 80 - Types of rock: coai, potash, salt, gypsum and soft
MPa, and the siliceous content, which should be less than phosphate.
8% because, if not, the wear could be uneconomicai. - Tools: Spiral rods; Two wing drag-bits, 6 = 110-
Eimco-Secoma has developed a test for measuring the 125", ß = 75", y = 0-14".
drillability and abrasiveness of the rocks. It consists of - Drilling rates = 3.5 to 5 mlmin.
drilling a hole in a rock sample with constant thrust and - With humid air the penetration rates are multiplied
rotary speed. The bit is of tungsten carbide and the by 1.5 and 2.
flushing is carried out with water.
A penetration-time curve is obtained and, from this, Zone I1
the drillability index or hardness expressed in 1110 mm of Thrust: 8 to 12 kN.
advance and, by measuring the wear undergone by the - Rotary speed: 550 to 800 rlrnin.
calibrated tool during 30 seconds, the abrasiveness is - Drilling with humid air injection.
determined in tenths of mm of bit edge wear. - Types of rock: Limestone and soft bauxites, soft iron
The rocks are clasified in four groups or zones, in ores.
function with the two parameters, which define the most - Cutting bits: 6 = 125", ß = 75-80", y = 0-2".
adequate drilling methods. - Penetration rate: 2 to 3.5 mlrnin.
ROTARY
O 0.9 DRILLING
V) ROTARY PERCUSSIVE-DRILLING
Rotary drilling with cutting action 75
LEAD ASSEMBLY
- ...
I) HOLLOW STEM AUGER. 1.6m LENGTH 9) BIT TYPE CUTTER HEAD BODY 16) PlLOT BIT SHANK
2) HEX DRIVE CAP 10) CARBIDE INSERT BIT 17) BOLT. PILOT BIT SHANK
3) ROD T 0 DRIVE CAP ADAPTOR 11) BIT LOCK RING 18) TUNGSTEN CARBIDE PILOT BIT. LARGE SlZE
4) LOCKING PIN 12) BLADE TYPE CUTTER HEAD 19) PILOT BIT, SOFT FORMATION
6) LOCKING PIN BOLT 13) CARBIDE INSERT BLADE 20) HEX QUICK BREAKOUT ADAPTOR
6, CENTRE DRILL ROD , 14) BLADE BOLT 21) LOCKlNG WEDGE
7) PLUG 16) TUNGSTEN CARBIDE PILOT BIT 22) WEDGE PUNCH
8) PLUG BOLT
Fig. 6.7. Helicoidal drill rod and bits with differentconfigurations.
Drilling and blasting of rocks
7r
NEGATIVE SIDE
RAKE ALL CUTTERS
'6
,TER FLUSH HOLES
3- DIAMETER
-E F O R AIR
W A T E R FLUSt
7-C2542
STRATAPAX
BLANKS
(0)
BIT ROTATION -
CORE CRUSHER
(TUNGSTEN CARBIDE)
SECTION X-X
Fig. 6.10. Drill bit with diarnond cutting elernents.
7.1 INTRODUCTION mounted on the lower end. The casing tube encloses an
inner drill stnng of standard drill steel which is extended
Apart from the standard drilling equipment, there are by use of coupling sleeves that are independent from
units and mounting systems on the market for special or those of the casing tube. The casing tubes as well as the
very specific applications. drill steel is connected to the hammer by a special shank
Among these jobs, a few can be mentioned such as: adaptor, which transmits impact force and rotary force to
drilling rock masses with overburden of a non- both, Fig. 7.1.
consolidated material andlor sheets of water, drilling rigs The basic operations for application of the System are:
for shafts and raises, thermal and water jet drilling, etc. - The casing tubes, with or without the inner drill
steel, proceed simultaneously through the overbur-den.
- The outer ring bit advances a few centimeters when
7.2 DRILLING THROUGH OVERBURDEN
it reaches the bedrock.
These drilling methods were developed to solve prob- - Drilling is carried out with the inner drill steel unless
lems that appeared when drilling in rocky ground, uncon- decomposed or sand beds are encountered, in which case
solidated or alterated masses, overburdens, etc., that the casing tube would descend at the Same time.
require continuous casing tubes to maintain blasthole - The extension rods are drawn up.
stability. - The plastic casing tubes are allowed to remain in the
Some of the applications for these systems that are in hole to serve as channels for charging the explosive, or
use at present are: plastic tubes are inserted for this purpose, and
- Drilling for underwater blasting - The casing tubes can be removed.
- Drilling for rock rnass blasting with overburden that As between the casing tube and the blasthole walls
has not been removed previously. there is friction which increases with depth, the rock drills
- Anchonng should be used with high rotary torque.
- Foundations Water is usually the flushing fluid in these cases, or
- Water wells compressed air with or without foam. If the upward
- Soil and core sampling, etc. bailing of the cuttings is insufficient with central flushing,
The overburdens can be b ~ d sof natural clay, sand, then lateral flushing can be added.
gravel, etc., as well as of fill with compact or non-
compact materials, rock fill, etc.
Drilling can be canied out, as will be noted later on, 7.2.2 ODEX Method (Overburden Drilling with
with top hammer or down-the-hole hammer, and consists
Eccentric)
of drilling through the overburden at the Same time that In this method, based on the principle of underreaming,
the casing tube is passed down into the hole, to keep loose the casing tube is driven into place by vibrations from the
material from caving in and blocking the hole, so that drill and its own weight. Very little rotation is necessary.
drilling can proceed into solid rock. The equipment consists of an eccentric reamer bit that
One important feature of these techniques is that the drills a hole with a larger diameter than the casing tube
flushing, or bailing out, of the debris be very effective. It which descends as drilling advances. Once the required
can be canied out centrally through the shank adaptor or depth has been reached, the drill string reverses and the
through a separate flushing head, in which case the fluid reamer bit becomes concentric, loosing diameter, and can
pressure should be higher. then be drawn up through the casing tube. The standard
The two methods that have been developed are known drill steel is then introduced and drilling continues,
as OD and ODEX. Fig. 7.3.
The rotary percussive rigs can be top or down-the-hole
7.2.1 OD (Overburden Drilling) Method hammers. If top hammers are used, the percussion im-
pacts are transmitted to the casing tube by means of a
In this method, the descent of the casing tube is canied driving cap and shank adaptor which make the tube rotate
out by percussion and rotation. The equipment consists of slightly and vibrate. The flushingcan be central or lateral,
an outer casing tube with a tungsten carbide ring bit Fig. 7.4.
78 Drilling und blasting of rocks
1 ii L
CHANK ADAPTER
CASING TUBE
CASlNG TUBE
4 5
Table 7.1.
Data For-down-the-hole-drilis For top hamrners
XD X X ODEX ODEX OD
90 115 140 165 215 76 127 72
Min. inside diameter (mm) 90 115 140 165 215 76 127 72
Diameter of reamed hole (mm) 123 152 187 212 278 96 162 108
Normal max hole depth in overburden (m)* 60 100 100 100 100 40 40 40
Inner equipment 3"DTH 4"DTH 5"DTH 6"DTH 7-8"DTH R38 R38 R38
Casina tube Weld thread Weld thread Weld Weld Weld Weld thread Weld thread Thread
*ODEX 90 at 1.2 MPa, ODEX 115-215 at 1.8 MPa. Source: Atlas Copco.
Special drilling methods and mounting Systems
Table 7.2.
BIT TUBE
ODEX OD
90 115 140 165 76 127 72
Water well drilling 0 X X X
Roadembankrnent 0 0 0 0 0 0 X
GUlDE Underwatter drilling O O X
Blasthole drilling 0 0 X X
REAMER
Anchoring X X X X
Fig. 7.5. ODEX down-the-hole dril- Injection X X X O X
ling equiprnent (Atlas Copco). Pros~ectine X X X O X
X = Suitable, 0 = Cm be used. Source: Atlas Copco.
When down-the-hole hammer is used, the unit has only 7.3 SHAFT SINKING
one wing coupling, as drill tubes are used instead of
extension rods. The string of casing tubes is pulled down When excavating long, large section shafts or metal
by means of a specially designed bit tube, and the flush- structures pneumatic or hydraulic jumbos are used with
ing is carried out through the rotary head, Fig. 7.5. three or four booms with the Same number of feeds and
In both methods the cuttings are swept upwards rock drills.
through the annulus that remains between the casing and When working, these rigs rest on the bottom of the
the drill steel, going out through the headstocks. shaft and are anchored to the walls with horizontal hy-
The flushing fluid can be air up to a depth of 20 m, draulic cylinders. The central supporting column can turn
below which the addition of a foam is recommended to 360°, and the booms, which are similar to the jumbos
increase the bailing efficiency, wall stability, lower wear used for tunnelling, can vary their inclination withrespect
and increase penetration rate. to the vertical and lengthen themselves if they are telesco-
This method has numerous advantages, although some pic.
important aspects that should be studied are: the sizes of Once each round is drilled and charged, the rig is
the casing tubes, the flushing and the drilling System. folded and moved to a safe position, later carrying out the
The depth of the blastholes must be taken into account mucking operation with twin valve ladles or hydraulic
when choosing the equipment. In Table 7.1, a selection clam shells, as shown in Fig. 7.6.
guide for both drilling methods is given. There are also platforms that have been designed to
On the other hand, as to the applications for these widen shafts.
drilling methods, aside from the one described for rock
fragmentation blastholes, Table 7.2 indicates other possi-
bilities.
80 Drilling und blasting of rocks
1. DRILLING 2. BLASTING
3. VENTILATION 4. SCALING
Fig. 7.9. Exploitation method in narrow and inclined beds. Photo 7.2. Work on Alimak platform.
Fig. 7.10. Jora method for vertical and inclined raises (Atlas Copco).
82 Drilling and blasting of rocks
DETONATMG
- CORD
Y C ~ V E DETONATION PPESSURE
OF PRIMER !MP!l
f 24.000
b
0
$!
7W
4.000-
STEADY-STATE VOD
3CGU-
I
K M 200 3m 400 500 Fig. 14.4. Primer cartridges with Detaprime primer (Du Pont)
MSTANCE FROM WTlATlON P W T (mm)
ASBESTOS TVBE C O H - N K N T
14.2.3 Initiation by downline
P-
iia k
3
. 350 Sb0
MSTANCE FROM MTIATIOW PONT (mnl
Sb0 W e n a d e t o n a t i i ~ i i n s u f f i c i e n core
t loadto
Fig. 14.2. Effect of primer's diameter on initial VD of ANFO (Junk,
initiate a charge of ANFO, the detonation of said cord
1972). creates a pressure front that expands in cylindrical shape
and a chimney of gas inside the ANFO. If the cross-
section of the blasthole is small then the lateral pressure
can compress and desensitize the explosive.
Table 14.1 According to Hagan, in blastholes of 75 to 125 mm, a
Blasthole diameter (mm) Size of pentolite booster downline with core loads of 10 glm that lies along or near
(Mass X diameter X length) the axes densifies and desensitizes at least some of the
-50 3 0 g x 2 3 m m x 52mm ANFO. If the downline is along the blasthole wall, there
50-1 15 60gx28mmx70mm is very little risk of desensitization with a properly rnixed
115-160 150g X 40mm X 79mm
160-320 400 e X 80 mm X 59 mm
ANFO, but it is possible in blastholes with water where
the explosive is alterated.
138 Drilling und blasting of rocks
1
ANFO DETONATION
VELOCITY(VERY LOW) combustion or deflagration of part of the explosive char-
3/8 RADNS OF TUE CHARGE
ge.
\
REACTION
When the detonating cord does not completely initiate
FRONT. C o
ANFO charges, the following Situations may appear:
- In blastholes with diameters larger than 200 rnrn and
cords with core loads under 10 g/m, the detonation of the
cord has an insignificant effect and the ANFO is only
+ affected by the primer.
Z
W
BLASTHOLE WALL - When a cord of 10 g/m lies along or near the axis of
o a 75 to 125 mm blasthole, the detonation of the downline,
as indicated before, compresses and desesitized the AN-
I
G
DETONATION
-
V E L ~ ~ lrnlsl
l ~ y
U
4000
1B
W
t- - - I
DETONATING CORD
4200 DETONATION
PRESSURE (MP4
FQ 0 . . are not dose
to the primer. When this occurs, the fraction of ANFO
that detonates decreases as the detonation wave propa-
gates into the ANFO. In practice, above all in angled
'"Mo
1300
blastholes, as the downline lies along the blasthole wall
500
and not the charge axis, this situation is not produced.
1000 If the downline side-initiates the charges, the primers
have little influence on the effect of the ANFO detona-
RACMAL DISTANCE (-1 tion, unless they are very close together.
Fig. 14.5. Detonation effect of a downline lying along the axis of a
blasthole upon the VD of ANFO.
14.3 PRIMING CARTRIDGE ANFO TYPE
BLASTING AGENTS
DOWNLME -
0 2 4 6 8 X)
Fig. 14.6. Energy losses provoked by the downline in ANFO columns TWS ONE OETONATE
(K0nya-&Walter,-1-9-~0>.-
shown for ANFO when it suffers damagefrom the down- Fig. 14.7. Inadequate and satisfactory pnming for cartridged loose-
line, owing to the pre~0mpreSSi0nbrought On by the poured ANFO in wet Blastholes (Hagan, 1985).
Initiation und priming Systems
Photo 14.1.Placing a booster to initiate a column of poured slurry. Fig. 14.8. Recommended priming system for pumped watergel and
emulsion changes (Hagan, 1985).
140 Drilling und blasting of rocks
In some place the accessories are lowered with clips in 14.6 LOCATION OF PRIMERS
the shape of tweezers that avoid their rising towards the
surface.
14.6.1 Bottom priming
Bottom priming gives maximum use of explosive energy,
14.5 PRIMING CARTRIDGED WATERGEL AND increasing fragmentation and displacement of the rock
EMULSION BLASTING AGENTS with a minimum of flyrock. This is due to the fact that the
detonation Progress towards the stemming while the
Watergels and emulsions have high water resistance, gases of the explosion are entirely confined within the
which allows primers to be widely spaced within charges rock mass, until the stemrning material is ejected and
if it were not for the potential problem of desensitization allows their escape. This time of confinement is usually
by the downline. The multiple initiation system is recom- around 3 to 4 ms, according to detonation velocity and
mended, as shown in Fig. 14.9. In blastholes with diame- length of column. The subsequent fall of pressure through
ters under 150 mm, the recommended weights of the escape on bench toe level takes place much later, Fig.
13< n
should be increased to 500. 4 4 e ~ a ~as well . e as~a lower vibration level due to
As with pourable slurries and emulsions, if two lines of shock wave propagation towards the top part of the
detonating cord are used in the blasthole, only one of bench.
these should reach the top of the column to avoid nsk of In bench blasts, as the breakage at floor level is ex-
desensitization. tremely important, the priming should be such as to
produce maximum strain at that point. If the priming
takes place at floor level and not at the bottom of the
blasthole, an increase in peak strain of 37% is obtained
(Staxiield, 1966) due to simultaneous detonation of the
two parts of the charge that are equidistant from that
point, Fig. 14.11. In the Same manner, a 37%greater peak
strain can be generated in any strong bed if the primer is
placed centrally within the bed.
In blastholes without subdrilling, the bottom primer
should be located as low as possible but never upon the
drill cuttings or in mud, recommending that there be a
distance of approximately 4D above the effective base.
Apart from the cited advantages, bottom priming has
much less chance of cut-offs than top or multiple priming.
In Fig. 14.12, two 270 mrn diameter and 20 m long
blastholes are shown as an example, where the spacing
between explosive columns and sternming height is 7 m.
The detonation velocities are 70OCCiKäKand mis in
PACKAGED WATE the cord and in the ANFO, respectively, and between both
OR EMULSION
blastholes there is a milisecond delay interval of 25 ms.
As blasting failures are produced by cut-off of the cord
through ground movement, the larger the difference in
W B O T INITIATION
0
nN
I-
Q
W
a
3 VENTlNG REACHES TOE
V)
V)
I
CAST PRIMER
W
h t'
(VENTING BEGINS
AT COLLAR)
TIME
Fig. 14.9. Priming system for packaged watergel or emulsion blasting Fig. 14.10. Effect of the position of the pnmer upon the pressure-time
agents (Hagan, 1985). profile in the blasthole.
Initiation und priming Systems
/: RESULTANT STRAIN
r \PULSE AT POHT P
RESULTANT STRAIN
PULSE AT POINT P :
I
I
I
,i I
I
TIME -- TIME
Fig. 14.11. Strain pulses at point P for charges pnmed (a) at their bases and (b) at bench floor level (Hagan, 1974).
14.6.2 Toppriming
In bench blasts where top priming is used, a high strain
wave is propagated towards the subdrilling Zone where,
of course, its energy is dissipated and therefore wasted.
In blasting overburden for a dragline, this strain energy
can be more usefully employed in fragmenting the rock
between the bottom of the blasthole and the top of the
coal, but not the coal itself, especially if there is a strong
bed irnrnediately above the coal andlor a well defined
Zone between the waste and the ore.
If peak strain is to be maximized along the rock that
surrounds the stemming column, the top primer should be
atleastl~M-af-the-hurden-be1~~_thetop-af-the~
(Starlield, 1966). If the explosive is initiated with a
primer at the highest point, the superposition of the
strains generated by adjacent charge elements gives a
lower result in any point of the stemming, Fig. 14.14.
The elimination of premature escape of the gases into
the atmosphere, with adequate stemming height, impro-
ves fragmentation and rock displacement by Bubble
Energy. For elongated charges, the efficiency of the
stemming with top priming is less because the inerte
stemming material, as well as the rock itself at the top,
start moving some miliseconds before detonation of the
lower part of the explosive. The fall of the presure of the
Fig. 14.13. Safety Pattern with bottom pnming. gases is greater in long explosive columns with low
142 Drilling and blasting of rocks
il
a) ELECTRIC b) ELECTRIC
.. . . .
. . .. .......
.... ... ... .
....
+ig~l4-l-5;Applieationssoffmu1 p-it- I. L-, . .. .. PP
. .
CORRECT INCORRECT
Fig. 14.16. Cartridge priming with an electnc detonator. Fig. 14.17. Priming cartridges and blastholes.
Initiation andpriming Systems 143
formations where more bubble energy is preferible. The C) Detonating cord. Contour blasthole or in soft rock,
theory that continuous side initiation significantly with decking to lower the total charge along the length of
increases the VOD of ANFO cannot be maintained, as the column.
has been demonstrated in practice.
The priming of cartridges consists of inserting a de- Anonymous: Puuled about primers for large-diameter ANFO char-
ges? Here's some help to end the mystery. Coal Age. August,
tonator or the end of a detonating cord in the cartridge to 1976.
activate or initiate the detonation of the main charge in Anonymous:Safe und eficient initiation of explosives. Downline, ICI,
the blasthole. NO.7, 10, 1988- 1990.
To maximize the use of the shock effect produced by Condon, J. L. & J. J. Snodgmss: Effects of primer type und borehole
t h ~ r diamerer on ANFO deronation velociries. Min. Cong. J. June,
1 Y14.
cartridge and to the axis of the explosive column, Fig. _ G ~ . ~ r n o ~ ~ ~ l ~ n u e ~
14.16. sifenvrac. Annales des Mines de Belgique, September, 1977.
Any primer is an activated explosive ready to detonate Hagan, T. N. & C. Rashleigh: Initiating systems for underground mass
under different stimulations, fire, strikes, etc., which Jiring using large diameter blastholes. The Aus. IMM. 1978.
Hagan, T.N.: Optimum priming systems for ammonium nitrate fuel-oil
means that they must be handled with extreme care, in type explosives. The Aus. IMM.July, 1974.
transportation as well as when being placed in the blast- Hagan, T.N.: Optimum initiating, priming und boostering Systems.
holes. They should never be directly tamped. AME 1985.
For priming cartridges and blastholes with electric Junk, N.M.: Overburden blasting takes on new dimensions. Coal Age,
January, 1972.
detonators and detonating cords, the Patterns given in Konya, C.J.: Initiierungstechnick für Lange Bohrlochladungen. 1974.
Fig. 14.17 should be followed. Konya, C.J. & E.J. Walter: Surface Blast Design. Prentice Hall, 1990.
The procedures for priming blastholes are as follows: Neil, I.A. & A.C. Torrance: The injuence of primer size on explosive
a) With instantaneous electric detonators. For isolated perfonnance. Explosives in Mining Workshop. The Australasian
or simultaneous blastholes in rock of low to medium Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 1988.
Smith, N.S.: An investigation of the effects of explosive primer loca-
strength. Wet blastholes. tion on rock fragmentation und ground vibration. University of
b) With electric delay detonator. Bottom priming for Missoun-Rolla. 1980.
simultaneous blastholes or without a face, without water Thiard, R. & A. Blanchier: Evolution des systemes d'Amorcage. Indus-
and in medium to hard type rock. With this System trie Minerale Les Techniques. Fevner, 1984
fragmentation is improved.
CHAPTER 15
15.1 INTRODUCTION man team, oscillates between 500 and 1.000 kilos per
shift, depending upon the cartridge sizes.
AlOng witn tne aeveiopment of ' 11 Tat>te 15.1,
T
Par-
~ e w a t e - ~ ~ W h 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j e c t e d - t 0~ - rim d gee c
d ahs eaf na rid izf f~e r e n t blasthole diameters are
tion, driven by the numerous advantagesthat this offers to indicated.
blasting as described below: The chargers, Fig. 15.1, consist of a tubular chamber
- Better use of the volume drilled in rock by being with a flip valve at each end, a charging funnel through
able to fill the entire blasthole with the explosive and put which the cartrigdes are introduced, a plastic loading
it into contact with the blasthole walls. hose and an ensemble of pressure-release pneumatic
- Increase in charge density inside the blastholes. valves.
- The possibility of forming selective charges by The pressurized air reaches the charger at a maximum
varying densities and specific energies along the column pressure of around 1 MPa and with a senes of regulators,
length. it is reduced to 0.3 MPa. There is also a safety valve.
- The use of bulk or loose-poured explosives which The loading hoses are made of black anti-static plastic,
are less costly than cartridged. although in certain special operations metal tubes can be
- Less charging time. used. The diameters of these hoses is in function with the
- Less personnel required for the chargng operation. cartridge sizes, and its length should not exceed 50 m. At
- The possibility of using ANFO, of lower cost than the end of the hose where the explosive emerges there are
watergels and emulsions, after dewatering the blast-oles. Cutter blades which slit the cartridges Open, and the force
- Better control over explosives and their supply. of ejection drives them to the bottom of the blasthole,
All these advantages lower drilling and blasting costs compacting and completely filling it.
as the dnlling Patterns can be more Open and the charging The tamping of these units is done manually, unless a
tirnes reduced. Robot, which can be attached to the charger, is used,
Photo 15.1, which substitutes the Operator in this tedious
--
and tiring work, especially in long blastholes, and allows
15.2 MECHANIZED BLASTHOLE CHARGING a more regular and unitorm charging.
SYSTEMS \ This complement consists of a double-action pneuma-
tic cylinder with a piston that is joined to a pneumatic
The mechanized charging systems are classified in two pusher, a front spacer tube and a support that holds the
large groups, depending upon whether they are merely aparatus in place against the blasthole. The cylinder has
charging instruments or integral systems of manufacture an oscillating movement hat is transmitted by the pusher
and charge. to the loading hose which, upon return, allows another
In the following, the present day methods for the most cartridge to emerge. The degrees of stemming achieved
important types of explosives are described: with the forward movements of the hoses vary between
Gartridged slurriesandgelatindynamites--- 1.4aCcl16. -P--
- ANFO and its derivatives (ALANFO and Heavy The use of these chargers is especially interesting
ANFO). when the rounds are made up of horizontal blastholes or
- Bulk slurries and emulsions. long, inclined upholes. The only limitations are based
upon the sensitivity to impact or friction of the cartridges,
15.2.1 Cartridged explosives thus in some instances the velocity has to be drastically
reduced.
Pneumatic cartridge charging equipment was developed Owing to the recent tendency towards using large
in Sweden during the decade of the fifties. These units diameter blastholes. above 100 mm in underground rnin--
allow the charging of blastholes with diameters between ing the conventional chargers have become useless.
35 and 100 mm, obtaining a 15 to 20% increase in However, the largest chargers on the market with hose
packing densities when compared to manual tamping, or centralizers have been used. This way, the cartridges of
even up to 30% if a robot is used. emulsion or slurry make impact in the center of the
The charging capacities for these Systems, with a two- column, reducing the risk of dislodging or falling back of
Mechanized systemsfor churging und dewatering blastholes
k WHEEL
SWITCHER VALVE
FLAP VALVE
TRIP00 MOUNT
SEMl'33tJWIiVC i I L t h e 4 . ~ ü o ~ n o f t hblasthole
e so that they will stick and
ANFO PRESSVRE
VESSEL not fall out.
The working pressures go from 0.15 to 0.3 MPa in the
vessels, and from 0.2 to 0.35 MPa in the injectors.
This type of charging equipment is recommended for
blastholes with diameters between 26 and 150 mm, un-
less they are upholes, where the diameters are limited to
AIR HOSE - 100 mm.
The yield of the chargers depends upon the interior
SEMlCONDUCTlVE
PATH T 0 GROVHD
diameters of the hoses and their length, which should
never be over 50 m, and the inclination of the boreholes.
Fig. 15.4. Control of static energy in pneumatic loading.
The maximum charging capacity oscillates between 2
and 4 tons. Apart from the equipment already described,
there are lighter models on the market which can be
transported by the Operator himself, with a capacity of
from 25 to 40 kg of ANFO.
These are used in underground operations to charge
blastholes of 28 to 65 mm in diameter and basically
consist of small vessels of polyethylene plastic with
Straps for their transport. They work with air pressures
that go from 0.4 to 0.8 MPa and the charging capacity
--P
reaches 7 kglmin.
A very importantaSpect,from a ~~~~~~~~~~~~--
the elimination of the large amount of static electricity
that is produced. In order to do this, it is necessary to
properly connect the loading hose, made of semi-
conductive material, and properly ground the whole
equipment, Fig. 15.4.
In the particular case of large diameter upholes, the
traditional method of pneumatic loading, consisting of a
Fig. 15.5.Pneumatic loading of ANFO in upholes.
lower closing plug and a charging tube has been progress-
-P
STER/DETONATOR
CENTRALIZER
CONWCTIVE HOSE
"270-340 KPa AR
Fig. 15.7. Types of bulk loading tmcks, (a) pneumatic delivery, (b, C,
and d) auger delivery.
Fig. 15.6. Placing the primer in the bottom o f a large diameter uphole
-hreI-m&mg.
Photo 15.3. Bulk loading truck with helicodial auger (Courtesy of Amennd-MacKissic, Inc).
---
-----
Bulk loading trucks. The types of tank irucks used for On the outside part of the deposit is a mechanism
charging granular ANFO-type explosives are: which regulates the height of the explosive on the feed
- Pneumatic delivery System auger, as well as a tachometer for the roller motor permit-
- Auger delivery, Fig. 15.7. timg variations in the speed, dosifying the supply of the
The first type of iruck is the most used in Spain at the rotary air-lock feeder which discharges the explosive by
moment, and it consists of a closed aluminum deposit air pressure through an antistatic hose to the inside of the
(AN hopper) with top and bottom V-shaped charge open- blasthole.
ings to aid in the descent of the explosive towards the The rotary air-lock feeder is composed of a drum wheel
conveyer or feed auger which conveys the ANFO for with plastic blades which also keeps the pressured air out
mixing and should be protected by an inverted V-trough of the ANFO bin.
which keeps the conveyer from holding the whole weight The engine of the vehicle is connected to the hydraulic
of the charge. pumps that activate the feed auger and the rotary air-lock
148 Drilling and blasting of rocks
On the other hand, bowl-type tmcks have the following which the products are continuously rnixed and are
disadvantages: pumped directly into the blastholes through a Aexible
- The truck must be positioned very close to the hose. This system is quite versatil, as it allows variation in
blasthole for loading, losing time in changing posi-ions. the cornpositions before charging begins. The vehicles
- Only one type of explosive can be charged each have a capacity of between 5 and 15 t and are designed to
time, eliminating the possibility of selective charg-ng. produce at least two types of explosives, one for bottom
- The quantity of explosive mixed must be exactly the charging and one for the column charge.
arnount required in order to avoid excess, which must be These mobile plants are very safe as the ingredients
removed. they carry are not explosive alone and they are mixed
- The capacity of these tmcks (approxirnately 1 1.5 t) only instants before charging. On the other hand, quality
is 25% less than conventional trucks. control is more difficult than with pump trucks.
DELIVERY
AUGER THAT
CAN BE REGVLATED
CONTROL PANNEL
ALWINUM FEEDER
MlXlNG HOPPER
when it enters into contact with the water. Drift driving. The motor-pump system used is custo-
The proportion of gassing agent should be adjusted to marily mounted on a small size vehicle that sometimes
give the sluny the required sensitivity and bulk strength. has a hydraulically powered man basket enabling the
If the gassing is insufficient, a density in the botton of the blaster to have access to the back holes, operating the
column will be produced, reducing the optimum yield of pump with remote control.
the explosive. On the other hand, excessive gassing can The most popular types of pumps are those of dia-
reduce the density of the explosive making it float in the phragm and those with auger which aspirates the explos-
water. The flow of gassing solution can be controlled and ive from the tanks which have a capacity of up to 500 kg
can give slumes with a wide range of densities. This and load it with a pressure of about 0.5 MPa, Photo 15.7.
possibility is the basis of the technique called Powerdeck- The loading hoses Ge semi-conductive to eliminate
ing. static electricity and are introduced into the blastholes up
to about 20 cm from the bottom, then pumping the
b) MLx-pump trucksfor charging emulsions und mixtures explosive which gradually pushes the hose out of the hole
of emulsion/dty phase until the desired charge height is reached. Initiation is
Inlhis type of trucks, a continuous mixture of a saturated usuaily achieved with a primer cartridge and an electric
solution of oxidizers is proquced, with an oil phase and blasting cap, previously placed in the bottom of the hole.
some other ingredients in smail amounts. The resulting The flow rates are comparable to those obtained with'
product is pumped into the blasthole. ANFO pneumatic chargers. Depending upon the pump
If a dry phase such as ANFO or ammonium nitrate speed, a 3 meter long blasthole with 41 rnm in diameter
prills are added to the mixture, it is important to ensure can be charged in 6 to 10 seconds.
that the emulsion produced does not lose its pumpable
qualities.
- & ~ s i ~ - l ~ ) x p r ~ i l i t ~ h e i r a r n p f
explosive from the surface as well as in the mines. The
exchangeable tanks of explosive are made of stainless
steel with capacities of close to 2.000 kg. The pump, hose
and the inclination hinge of the tank are hydraulically
powered.
b) Upholes. The charging of upholes with blasting
agents such a slumes and emulsions is even more
difficult than with ANFO, as it is first necessary to apply a
borehole plug to keep the explosive from falling out and,
secondly, the product must have an adequate consistency
for pumping. The latter seems to have been solved for
emulsions by cooling.
photo 15.8. Pneumatic pump (Bill Lane Inc.): As to plugs, there are various systems used. The first
ones used a wooden plug with an interior tube that had a
check valve with a brass anti-retum ball, Fig. 15.11.
Plastic tubes have also been used to make up the
explosive columns, and wooden plugs with holes that
V ALVES
017rrm HOSE
BROKEN MUCKPILE
ing.
DETONATHG CORD
L O A W G PiPE
DELAY LEADS
CHECK VALVE
Fig. 15.11. Wooden plug with anti-return check valve. Fig. 15.12. Tubed charging with wooden plug.
152 Drilling and blasting of rocks
stholes widens th
SLEEVE W L A l
SLEEVE
Photo. 15.9. Hydraulic dewatenng pump (Swanson Eng. Inc.) Fig. 15.15. Pneumatic pump.
Mechanized systernsfor charging and dewatering blastholes 153
Table 15.2.
Flow (Ilmin)
Total elevation height (m) a
Ipm, I I MPa Ipm, 13 MPa Ipm, 13 MPa
Table 15.3.
Blasthole diameters Nominal diameter of plastic liner
Imm) Imm)
16.1 INTRODUCTION increase the surface area by crushing, it has a slower rate
of stress decay than (A).
theconditionspresencharactenzedbytm-phaes-
2onsumes almost 30% of the energy transported by the
of action: strain wave, only contributing a very small volume to the
Ist. phase. A strong impact is produced by the shock actual rock fragmentation, around 0.1% of the total vo-
wave linked to the Strain Energy, during a short period of lume corresponding to the normal breakage per blasthole.
time. Therefore, there is no incentive to use high explosives
2nd. phase. The gases produced behind the detonation that generate high stresses on the blasthole walls: which
front come into action, at high temperature and pressure, would even make it advisable to decouple the charges and
carrying the Thermodynamicor Bubble Energy. increase EB in detriment of ET.
Since the decade of the fifties, many theories have been
developed to explain the behavior of rocks under the
effect of an explosion; even nowadays it still remains a 16.2.2 Radial fracturing
problem to be solved and defined in the technology of During propagation of the strain wave, the rock surround-
application of explosives to breakage. Without entering ing the blasthole is subjected to an intense radial com-
into detail, the different mechanisms of rock breakage pression which induces tensile components in the tangen-
that have been identified in blasting up to now are ex- tial planes of the wave front. When the tangential strains
posed in the following paragraphs. exceed the dynamic tensile strength of the rock, the
formation of a dense area of radial cracks around the
crushed Zone that surrounds the blasthole is initiated, Fig.
16.2 ROCK BREAKAGE MECHANISMS 16.2.
The number and length of these radial cracks increase
In the fragmentation of rocks with explosives at least with:
eight breakage mechanisms are involved, with more or 1. The intensity of the strain wave on the blasthole wall
less responsabiXty, but they an exert influence upon the or on the extenor Iimit ot the crushed z m d
results of the blastings. -, 2. The decrease in dynamic tensile strength of the rock
and the attenuation of the Strain Energy.
16.2.1 Crushing of rock Beyond this inner Zone of intense fractunng, some of
the cracks extend noticeably and are symmetrically distri-
In the first instants of detonation, the pressure in front of buted around the blasthole. The propagation velocity of
the strain wave, which expands in cylindrical form, the cracks is from 0.15 to 0.40 times that of the strain
reaches values that well exceed the dynamic compressive wave, although the first microcracks are developed in a
strength of the rock, provoking the destruction of its very short time, around 2 ms.
intercrystalline and internranular structure. When the rock has natural fractures, the extension of
The thickness of the so cailed crushed zone increases the cracks is closely related to these. If the explosive
with detonation pressure of the explosive and with the columns are intersected lengthwise by a pre-existing
coupling between the charge and the blasthole wall. crack, these will Open with the effect of the strain wave
According to Duvall and Atchison (1957), with high and the development of radial cracks in other directions
strength explosives in porous rocks it might reach a radius will be limited. The natural fractures that are parallel to
of up to 8 D, but it is normally between 2 and 4 D. the blastholes, but at some distance from them, will
In Fig. 16.1. the variations in compressive stresses interrupt the propagation of the radial cracks, Fig. 16.3.
generated by two fully-coupled charges are shown. The
crushing of the rock is produced at a pressure of 4 GPa, so
the curve of the explosive (A) which produces a tension 16.2.3 Rejlection breakage or spalling
of 7 GPa on the blasthole wall has a very sharp decrease in When the strain wave reaches a free surface two waves
peak stress due to the large increase in surface area during are generated, a tensile wave and a shear wave. This
the pulverization of the rock. As explosive (B) does not occurs when the radial cracks have not propagated farther
Mechanisms of rock breakage
Fig. 16.1. Variation of peak compressive stress with distance from strengths of the rock reach values that are between 5 and
OmsihotewatUHaga~~).
15% of the compressive strengths.
The front of the reflected wave is more convex than
that of the incident wave, which means that the dispersion
index of the tensile wave energy is much larger when the
surface is cylindncal, such as that of the central blasthole
of a cut instead of when there is a plane as in bench
blasting, Fig. 16.4.
This mechanism does not contribute much to the
global fragmentation process, estimating that eight times
more explosive charge would be necessary if rock were to
be fragmented solely by reflected waves. However, in the
inner discontinuities of the rock mass which are close to
UD COMPRESSION the charge, less than 15 D, and are not infilled with
TENSION rneteorized material, the effect of the reflected waves is
more important due to the difference in impedances.
Fig. 16.2. Radial fracturing. When excavating inclined ramps or shafts by blasting,
it must be checked that the empty blastholes are not be
filled with water in order to achieve the benefits of this
FRACTURES CAUSED
B Y INTERNAL SPALLIN X)(NT PLANE
mechanism of breakage.
- -
/
WATER FILLED
JOINT PLANE
concentrations at their tips. The number and length of the
opened and developed cracks strongly depend upon the
pressure of the gases, and a premature escape of these due
RADIAL CRACKS A R R E S T E D ~
PREMATURELY AT JOlNT to insufficient stemming or by the presence of a plane of
Fig. 16.3. Radial fracturing and breakage through reflection of the
weakness in the free face could lead to a lower perfor-
strain wave. mance of the explosive energy.
and with rock displacement. The stored Stress Energy is where n, is the relationship between the impedance of the
rapidly released, generating an initiation of tensile and explosive and that of the rock:
shear fractures in the rock mass. This affects a large
volume of rock, not only in front of the blastholes but
behind the line of the blast cut as well, having registered
damages in up to dozens of meters away, Fig. 16.5.
t h r o u L
rock mass (m/s), D. = Rock density (g/cm3).
16.2.6 Fracturing along boundaries ojmodülus contrast
This means that the explosive wave is better tran-
of shearfracturing
smitted to the rock when the impedance of the explosive
In sedimentary rock formations when the bedding planes, is close to that of the rock, given that n, will tend towards
joints etc., have different elasticity modulus or geo- 1, while PT will simultaneously tend towards PD. The
mechanic Parameters, breakage is produced in the separa- pressure of the wave inside the rock decreases with the
tion planes when the strain wave passes through because law of exponentials, so the radial stress generated at a
of the strain differential in these points, Fig. 16.6. determined distance will be:
.--_
esp~ialiyimportant in the breakage of the rock.
The abovementioned 1s valid for the wave pressures as
well as for the transmitted energies. If the ratio of charac-
tenstic impedances for the two materials is:
# Pri X 'CI
n, =
where: PD = Detonation pressure (kPa), p, = Explosive Pr2 X 2"
density (g/cm3),VD = Detonation velocity (mls).
The maximum Pressure Transmitted to the rock is the the following will be obtained:
equivalent of:
L
PT,,, = -PD
1 + n,
Mechanisms of rock breakage
I
BED X
EXPLOSIVE
CHARGE
where: PI = Pressure of the incident wave, PT= Pressure
of the transmitted wave, PR = Pressure of the reflected
I MSCONTINUITY
wave.
fare.ag.roupofelementalmmwh&pe Ita-
neously in a few miliseconds, associated with the effects
of the strain wave which transports the Stress Energy, and
with the effects of the explosion gases or Bubble Energy,
Fig. 16.8.
The total energy developed by the explosive and mea-
sured by the method proposed by Cole can thus be
expressed as the sum of these two components.
ETD = ET + EB
Fig. 16.7.Mechanism of breakage by flexion. where:
PO - U
.- p i e p e s l v . m bhmlho* w i l
R - ~slll p e s ~ of
a expindhp p i s s i rpon hipmonled r a *
nm -snmgm 01 aiifui w a t w wu Fig. 16.9. Distribution model of the explosive energy in ablast.
W '
a
3
V)
obtained by other investigators such as Mancini and pressed by the gas in ihe cracks with a strain energy
Occella. stored in ihe rock (Zone 4). This energy has little
P
Ic snouia no-~gorrerrnizittcter co o m n
- c ~ r i r ~ ~ e b ~ ~ t - i s R o ~ ~ n e c eThes energy s n ~ from Zones 2 and 3 is the most useful in
to fragment the rock but also to cause swelling and rock blasting and is called Fragmentation Energy.
displace it a dete&ned distance. For ihis reason, in ihe At ihe time of escape, some of the energy in the gases
latter stages the gases also play a decisive role. (Zone 5) moves ihe burden and represents heave energy.
Lowends' used a simplified model of explosivelrock The rest of this energy is lost as heat and noise in the
interaction to describe the partition of explosive energy in escaping gases.
the process of rock blasting. The energy is partitioned Alihough this model of energy partition over-
into different zones h a t are related to the pressurel simplifies the blasting process, it gives valuable insight
volume expansion of ihe gases during ihe different into where ihe energy goes during the various phases of
phases of blasting. An illustration of ihis partition of the process. It also provides approximate comparisons of
energy is given in Fig. 16.10. ihe magnitude of ihe energy fractions used in the various
The energies associated wiih the different zones given phases of the blasting process as the explosive gases
in the figure are, as follows: expand from the initial pressure in the blasthole to atrnos-
When ihe explosive detonates in the blasthole, the high pheric pressure. Not all of ihe availableenergy is useful in
pressure gases at the initial or explosion state P3 send a fragmentation and heave. It may be possible to improve
shock wave into the rock. The strains from this shock the efficiency of the blasting process by using explosives,
near the blasthole are greater than the dynamic compress- wheiher ideal or not, ihat are designed to keep energy
ive and shear strength of the rock. They cause v q i n g losses at a minimum.
amounts of rock compression and crushing in ihe sur:
rounding area of the blasthole depending upon ihe REFERENCES
strength and stiffness of the rock. With rock compression
and crushing ihe volume of the blasihole increases and Ash. R.L.: The Mechanics qf-e. Pit and Q u a q no. 56.
ihe pressure decreases until ihe strain in ihe rock balances 1963.
the pressure. This is shown as74 on ihe pressurelvolume Duvall, W. I. & T.C. Atchison: Rock Breakage by Explosives. U.S. B.M.
curve of Figure 16.10, and is called blasihole equilibrium RI 5356,1957.
Hagan, T.N.: Rock Breakage by Explosives. Proc. National Syrnpo-
state. During the expansion, the work being done by ihe sium on Rock Fragrnentation. Australian Geornechanics Society.
explosive is called bnssance energy and consists of the . Adelaide, Feb. 1973.
strain energy stored in the rock (Zone 2) and ihe kinetic Hagan, T.N. & G.D. Just: Rock Breakage by Explosives. T h e o q
energy of the shock wave (Zone 1). The kinetic shock Practice und Optimization. Proc. Congress International Society of
Rock Mechanics. Vol. 11, 1974
energy is essentially lost as useful work during ihe blast- Hagan, T.N.: Rock Breakage by Explosives. 6th Symposium on Gas
ing process and appears as crushed rock surrounding ihe Dynarnics of Explosives and Reactive Systems. Stockhlom, 1977,
b l a s t h n l e a n d aq s e i s m i c p a p a g a i e d h LL ~a n d J A L L R & E w r e a & a d e m a p p r a a I n p e a p i h l n ~ r
ground. design und anulysis. CIM Bulletin. June, 1972.
Lopez Jirneno, C.: Los Mecanismos de Fragmentacibn con Explosivos
The strains in the rock coming from ihe residual blast- y la Injluencia de las Propiedades de las Rocns en los Resultados
hole pressure P4 cause fracture. The explosion product de las Voladuras. I Serninario de Ingenieria de Arranque de Rocas
gases enter at least the cracks existing between the hole con Explosivos en Proyectos Subterriineos. Fundation Gornez-
and the free face, resulting in fragmentation and possibly Pardo, 1986.
contributing to the heave. When ihe gases reach the free Rascheef, N. & I? Goernans: Contribution 6 l'etude quantitative de
l'energie consommie dans la fragmentation pur explosif. 0ct.-
face through the burden, the process ends more or less Dec., 1977.
abruptly. The pressure of the gases at escape is shown at Thurn, W.: Quantite d'energie requisepour L'extraction et lafragmen-
P5 in Figure 16.10. During escape, the burden is com- tation des roches au moyen d'explosives. Explosifs, 1972.
CHAPTER 17
Rock and rock mass properties and their influence on the results of blasting
-
17.1 INTRODUCTION Persson et al., 1970) arriving at values that are between 5
and 13 times more than the static. . .
The matenals of which rock masses are maae possess m
W nen me m-
, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ h a t - ~ y ~
4 t w mn m &n r ip 9 ec i ~v p 't r r ~ n g t ~
origin and of the posterior geological processes which surrounding the blasthole wall is produced by collapse of
have affected them. The whole of these phenomena make the intercrystalline structure. However, this excessive
up a certain environment, a particular lithology with crushing does little to aid in fragmentation and gravely
heterogeneities caused by the added polycrystalline min- reduces the strain wave energy.
erals and by the discontinuities of the rock matrix (pores Therefore the following is recommended:
and fissures): and by a geological structure in a character- - Explosives that develop blasthole wall strain energy
istic state of Stress, with a large number of structural that is lower than or equal to RC must be chosen.
discontinuities such as bedding planes, fractures, dia- - Provoke a variation in the Pressure-Time curve (P -
bases, joints, etc. t) by decoupling the charge in the blasthole.
These points are of maximum importance in perimeter
or contour blastings.
17.2 ROCK PROPERTIES The powder factors required in bench blastings can be
correlated with the compressive strength, as indicated in
Table 17.1 (Kutuzov, 1979).
Table 17.1. Rock classificationaccording to their facility of fragmentatiin by explosives in Open pit mines.
Powder factor Mean distance between natural Uniaxial compressive rock Rock density (tlm3)
Class limit (kglm') Average value (kglm') fractures in rock mass (m) strength (MPa)
r .
iated ana protectea. l t 1s recommende
aI .-encqnnfiheblasr,eqecid&if loose- -~e&o~~beuse&
packed or pumpable explosives are used, Fig. 17.1. The failure of one of the detonators could considerably
If the boreholes do not intersect the cavities, the yield affect the results of the blast.
of the blast also descends because:
- The propagation of radial cracks is intermpted by
17.2.6 The cornposition of the rock and the secondary
the cavities.
dust explosions
- The rapid fall in pressure of the gases as the blast-
holes intercommunicate with the cavities, halting the The secondary dust explosions usually occur in coal
opening of the radial cracks, while the gases escape mines and in highly pyritic areas such as underground
towards the empty spaces. meta1 mines, and are more frequent each day due to the
use of large diameter blastholes.
The first charges'fired create, on one hand, a high
quantity of fines which are thrown into the atmosphere
As the rocks do not form an elastic media, part of the and, on the other, agitate the dust deposited on the side-
strain wave energy that propagates through them is con- walls and roof of the excavation with the airblast and
verted to heat by diverse mechanisms. These mechan- vibrations. If the energy of the gases from the last charges
isms are known as intemal friction or specijic darnping is sufficiently high, it could ignite the concenirated dust
c a p a c i ~SDC, which measure the ability of the rock to causing secondary explosions with devastating effects
attenuate sirain waves generated by the detonation of the upon the ventilation installations, doors, mobile equip-
explosive. SDC varies considerably with the type of rock ment, etc.
from values of 0.02-0.06 for granites (Windes, 1950; The probability of secondary explosions can be
Blair, 1956) up to 0.07-0.33 for sandstones. SDC reduced by taking some of the following steps:
increases with porosity, permeabillity, joints and water - Eliminate the use of aluminized explosives since the
content of the rock. It also increqses considerably with the particles of A1203at high temperatures in the detonation
meteorized levels in function with their thickness and products are potential ignition centers.
weathering. - Select an explosive and blasthole gqmetry for bum
The intensity of the fracturation by the strain wave cuts which produce coarse material.
increases as the SDC decreases. Therefore, watergel type - Stem all blastholes with sand, clay plugs or water.
explosives are more effective in hard and crystalline - Create a cloud of limestone or another inhibitor in
formations than in soft and decomposed materials (Cook, front of the face by exploding a bag of said material with a
1961;Lang, 1966). On the other hand, in the latter, ANFO detonator fired some miliseconds before the blast.
isb~sade~eventhoughitsstrainenergyis- - Waskth~~md-Boo~eex~a~tior
lower. quently to remove the deposited dust.
- Fire the blasts after evacuating all personnel from
the mine.
The leakageor shunting of electrical current can occur 17.3 PROPERTIES OF THE ROCK MASS
when the detonators are placed in blastholes that are in
rock of certain conductivity, such as complex sulfides,
magnetites, etc., especially when the rocks are abrasive 17.3.1 Lithology
and water is present near the round. The measures that The blasts in zones where an abrupt lithological change is
should be taken to avoid these problems are: produced, for example in waste and ore and, in conse-
- Check that the cables of the detonators are well quence, a variation in the strength of the rocks, the design
enclosed in plastic and, must be reconsidered. One of the two following methods
- That all the connections of the circuit are well insu- could be used:
162 Drilling and blasting of rocks
Fig. 17.1. Correct use of a bulk explosive charge in ground with large
cavities.
SOFT ROCK
---+- -
Fig. 17.2. Recommended change in blasthole pattem of V type blast at
contact between waste and ore.
. .
-a+Eq&a1~m**fOfre-~
in the unitary charges.
b) Different Patterns with equal charges per hole. This
placement is usually adopted maintaining equal burden,
Fig. 17.2, as the introduction of a different S X B pattern
for each Zone would entail a more complex dnlling and
the newly created face may be stepped.
The serni-horizontal stratiform beds presented by
some very resistant layers may lead to a peculiar type of
blastings in which the charges are placed in the blastholes
and completely confined at these levels. It is also recom-
Fig. 17.3. Typical cases of lithological changes with contact between mended that the pnmers of the explosive columns coin-
competent rocks and plastic matenals (Hagan). cide with the strongest levels in order to obtain maximum
effect from the strain energy.
Rock and rock muss properties 163
Table 17.2.
Absorption of strain wave Joint width (mm) Natureof joints
energy by joints
1. Small(< 20%) ('4) 0 (A) Tightly stacked
(B) 0-4.0 (B) Cemented with material of acoustic impedance close to that of the main rock
2. Slight (20-40%) (A) Up to 0.5 (A) Open joints filled with air or water
(B) Up to 4.0 (B) Cemented with material of acoustic impedance 1.5-2 times less than that of main rock
3. Medium (40-80%) 0.5-1 .O Open joints filled with air or water
4. Large (> 80%) (A)O.l-1.0 (A) Joints filled with loose and porous material
(B) 1.0 (B) Open joints filled with loose, porous material, air and water
When two matenals of very different strengths come Table 17.3. Possible combinations of spacing between blastholes (S),
into contact as, for example, a competent limestone with joints (J), and maximum adrnissable block size (M).
very plastic clays and, if the blastholes pass through these Case Js:S Js:M S:M Fragmentation % of
Iormations, a great 105s of energy associated with a drop sensitive to
specific charge
~ p r e ~ s e ; t p e o f g m w i t t a ap ~ ~ g
I J,>S Js>M S>M Yes Medium
rapid deformation of soft material and, as a consequence, 2 Js>S Js>M S<M Yes Low
poor fragmentation, Fig. 17.3. 3 J,>S Js<M S<M Yes Low
In order to increase the yield of the blasts in these 4 J,<S Js>M S>M No High
cases, the following is recomrnended: 5 J,<S Js<M S<M No Low
- Stem with adequate material the zones of the blast- 6 J , < S J < M S > M No Low
holes that are in contact with or near plastic material.
- Use explosive charges that are totally coupled to the
competent rock with a high detonation velocity and ET/ OVERBREAK ZONE
EB relationship. BACK-ROW BLASTHOLE
OF PREVIOUS BLAST JOINT
b
PLANES NEXT FACE
- Place the primers in the rniddle of the hard rock to \
increase the resulting strain wave that acts upon both
sides.
- Avoid premature escape of gases to the atrnosphere
insuring that both the sternming height (at least 20 D) and
the size of the burden are correct at the top of the
blastholes.
17.3.2 Pre-existingfractures
. - controlled
Fig. 17.4. Excessive toe burden caused bv stmcturally
All rocks in nature have some type of discontinuity, backbreak Zone and face angle.
microfissusandmacrofissiares, which deckkelyY
influence the physical and mechanical properties of the that might arise are indicated, taking into account the
rocks and, consequently, the bbting results, Photos 17.1 inclination of the discontinuititesand the relative angle of
and 17.2. the strike and dip.
The areas of discontinuity can be varied: bedding Special precautions should be taken when the disconti-
planes, planes of lamination and primary foliation, planes nuities are subvertical and the direction of the shot is
of schistose and slate, fractures and joints. normal (parallel) to theirs, because overbreak is frequent
The discontinuities can be tight, Open or filled and, for behind the last row of blastholes and inclined dnlling
this reason, can exhibit different degrees of explosive becomes necessary to maintain the burden dimension in
energy transmission. Table 17.2. The walls of these dis- the first row of the round. Fig. 17.4 and Photo 17.3.
~ ~ ~ i e ~ - ~ v e f t ~ w f a e s +entkie&&ni-m7he t t p e ~ t h ~ jöinrsystem~a-an-xnsie
n
waves may be reflected, suffering attenuation and disper- smaller than 30°, it is recommended that the blastholes be
sion. normal to said planes in order to increase the yield of the
The fragmentation is influenced by the spacing be- blasts.
tween blastholes S, the separation between joints J and "
In tunnel excavations, the structural characteristics
the maximum admissible block size M. In Table 17.3, largely condition the geometry of their profile, almost
various possible combinations are indicated, as well as rectangular if the rocks are massive and with a curved
their repercussion upon the percentage of forseen arch if the rock is more unstable. When the discontinui-
boulders. ties are normal to the tumel's axis, the blasts usually have
Another aspect of the design of the blastings is referred good results. Fig. 17.5a. If the bedding or the discontinui-
to as geostructural control of the rock mass, which refers ties are parallel to the axes of the tunnels, Fig. 17.5b,
to the relative orientation of the face and break direction frequently the advances are not satisfactory and the faces
of the round with respect to the strike and dip of the Strata. are uneven. When the bedding has an oblique direction
In Table 17.4, the forseen results for the different cases with respect to the axis of the tunnel, there will be one
164 Drilling and blasting oj'rocks
Inclination of the strata Angle between the direction of the Strata and the blast break
a =0° Indifferentbreak direction
face
3 = 45" = 135" = 225' Variable fngmentation. saw-
= 315" tooth face
ß = 90" = 270" Most favorable direction
Good
Unfavorable
Not very favorable
Acceptable
Very favorable
Good
Unfavorable
Not very favorable
ß =22S0 =31S0 Acceptable
(Sirnilar to the previous case Very favorable
= 2700
hardness is determining factor)
.
MAJOR. PHYSICAL SHAFT
DlSCONTlNUlTlES PERIMETER
-3
-- L
-/
NITIATION
SEOUENCE
\ 3
BLASTHOLE
DlRECTlON OF MAL~MuM
PRINCIPAL STRESS -
-7/
Fig. 17.7. Initiation sequence for burn cut in high horizontal Stress
field: (a) tobe avoided, (b) satisfactory.(Hagan, 1983).
- Only explosives that are unaltered by water can be which it is in contact and, because of this, great attention
used. must be paid to this phenomenon.
- Blastholes are lost due to caving, and A general recommendation when these problems are
- Inclined drilling is difficult. present is to limit the number of blastholes per blast, in
On the other hand, water affects the rock and the rock order to lower the time that passes between the charging
masses by the following: and the firing.
- Increase in propagation velocity of the elastic waves
in porous and fissured ground.
- Reduction of the compressive and tensile strength of REFERENCES
the rocks (Obert and Duvall, 1967) as the friction be-
tween particles is lower. Ash, R.I.: The design of blasting roundi. Ch. 7.3. Surface Mining, Ed.
- Reduction of the Stress wave attenuation and, E. F? Pfleider, AIME, 1968.
Atchison, TC.: Fragmentation principles. Ch. 7.2. Surface Mining,
because of this, the breakage effects are intensified by ET Ed. E.F?Pfleider, AIME, 1968.
(Ash, 1968). Belland, J.M.: Structure as a control in rock fragmentation. Carol
LaKe rron ore deposrts. L ~ u i i e r i nMarch
U .
,
% *- i%b.
w i t h n i i t i n t P . m ~ i n ~ R i i t e ~ e m a s s _ e n Bhandari,
i e r ~ i ~ S.: Blastinn in non-homogeneous rocks. Australian Mining,
tension, the water is mobilized, forming a wedge which May, 1974.
Blair, B.E.: Physical properties of mine rock. Part 111. USBM RI No.
could provoke a great overbreak. 5 130, 1955: Part IV USBM-RI, No. 5244,1956.
Grant, C. H.: How to muke explosives domore work. Mining- Magazine,
-
August, 1970.
17.3.5 Temperature of the rock muss Hagan, T.N.: The effects of some structural properties of rock on the
design und results of blasting. ICI Australia Operations PTY.Ltd.
The orebeds that contain pyrites usually have high rock Melboume, 1979.
temperature problems because of the effect of slow oxi- Hagan, T. N.: 'The influence of rock properties of blasts in underground
dation of this mineral, causing the explosive agents such construction. Proc. Int. Symp. on Engineering Geology and Under-
as ANFO to react exothermically with the pyrite, with ground Construction. Lisboa, Portugal, 1983.
Hanies, G.: Breakage of rock by explosives. Aus. I.M.M., London,
stimulation from 120°C f 10°C. 1978.
The latest investigations point to a first reaction be- Kutuzov, B.N. et al.: Classification des roches d'apres leur explosibi-
tween ANFO and hydrated ferrous sulphate, and even 1it.i pour les decouvertes. Gomyl, Zumal, Moscow, 1979.
more so between the latter and amrnonic nitrate, initiating Lopez Jimeno, E.: Inpuencia de Iaspropiedades de las rocas y Macizos
an exothermic reaction that is self-maintaining from 80°C Rocosos en el diseiio y resultado de las voladuras. Tecniterrae,
1982.
On. This ferrous sulphate is one of the products of decom- Memt, A. H.: Geological predictions for underground excavations.
position of the pyrites, apart from the femc sulphate and North American RETC Conference.
the sulfuric acid. Polak, E.J.: Seismic attenuation in engineering site investigations.
To avoid this problem, which has caused severe acci- Proc. Ist. Aust. N.Z. Conf. Geomechanics, Melboume, 1971.
dents on several occasions, diverse substances which Rinehart, J.S.: Fractures und strain generated in joints and layered
rock masses by explosions. Proc. Symp. Mechanism of Rock
inhibit ANFO have been added, such as urea, potassic Failure by Explosions. Fontainebleau, October. 1970.
oxalate, etc., arriving at the conclusion that by adding to Sassa, K. & I. Ito: On the relation berween the strength of a rock und
ANFO a 5% in weight of urea, the exothermic reaction of the panern of breakage by blasting. Proc. 3rd. Congress Intema-
the ternary mixture is avoided up to a temperature of tional Society of Rock Mechanics. Denver, 1974.
Sjogren, B. et al.: Seismic classification of rock muss qualities. Geo-
180°C (Miron et al., 1979). physical Prospecting, No, 27,1979.
The sensitivity of the water gel type explosives also Wild, H.W.: Geology und blasting in openpits. Erzmetall, 1976.
depends highly upon the temperature of the rock with
CHAFIER 18
18.2 DIAMOND DRILLING WITH CORE According to the orientation of the joints, the in-situ
RECOVERY AND GEOMECHANIC TESTING blocks will show different geometries that doubly affect
the fragmentation of the blast and the most useful break
With core recovery by diamond drilling, one of the most direction of the round.
extensive rock mass clasifications known can be applied, In Fig. 18.3, the approximate volume of the blocks
called RQD (Rock Quality Designation, Deere 1968) taken from J, and the relationship of the three character-
which is defined as the percentage of the core length istic intersections of the Same can be estimated.
recovered in pieces larger than 10 cm with respect to the An attempt to take into consideration the structural
length of the core run, Table 18.1. discontinuities when designing the rounds is owed to
Apart from this, the geomechanic testing of Point Load Ashby (1977), which relates the fracture frequency and
Strength I, can be canied out either in the diametral or their shear strength to the powder factors of the explosive,
axial position, to be able to estimate the Uniaxial Com- Fig. 18.4.
pressive Strength RC. Lilly (1986) defined a Blastability Index BI that is
168 Drilling und blasting of rocks
Table 18.1.
RQD Rock quality
0-25 Very poor
25-50 Poor
50-75 Fair Y = a + b l n X
75-90 GOO~
90-100 Excellent
m
Table 18.2.
Joint strength Correction factor 0.9 -
Strong 1O.
Medium 0.9 0.8
-
weak
Very weak
0.8
0.7
0.7
-
3.6
Table 18.3.
J Characteristicsof the mass
>I Massive blocks 0.3 1
1-3
3-10
10-30
> 30
Large blocks
Medium size blocks
Small blocks
Very small%locks
"'1
0.1
0.0 I
VERY
POOR
I I
DESCRlPTlON OF ROCK OUALITY
1
I
I I
POOR
I
i
I
:
I
FAIR
I I
I
I
I
GO09
1
p-~
I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
EOUIVALENT ROCK QUALITY DESIGNATION (%)
Table 18.4. €ROD = ROD X ALTERATION FACTOR
Geomechanic ~arameters Ratine Fig. 18.1. Blastability factor k vs equivalent rock quality designation,
1. Rock mass description (RMD) RQDE.
I. I Powderylfriable 10
1.2 Blocky 20
1.3 Totally massive 50
2. Joint Plane Spacing (JPS)
2.1 Close (< 0.1 m) 10
2.2 Intermediate (0. I to 1 m) 20
2.3 Wide (> 1 m) 50
-
3. Joint Plane Onentation (JPO)
3.1 Horizontal 10
3.2 Dip out of face 20
3.3 Strike normal to face 30
3.4 Dip into face
4. Specific Gravity Influence (SGI)
SGI = 25 SG - 50 (where SG is In Tonslcu metre)
5. Hardness (H) 1-10
Fig. 18.2. Calculation of the Powder Factor as a function of the
different geomechanicparameters of the rock mass.
POWDEA FACTOR ' The value obtained is adjusted to take into account the
BLASTING conditions under which the blast is carried out. In Table
18.6, the different values used are indicated.
From experiences carried out in 12 surface mines, the
-
POWDEA FACTOR ,KO A N F O ~ ~ J ' lag
?JFRACTURE
"*"
FRECUENCY correlation between the blastability indexes and the pow-
der factors were established, using a watergel as the
& =IN SlTU OENSITY OF
0 = ensic FRICTION ANGLE
ROCK FORMATION Pattern explosive with a detonation velocity of 3.800
i 'ABRASIVENESS ANGLE m/s.
-2-hi es
As can be observed, when the velocity increases, a
~=zstm/m'
FRACTURE FRECUENCY (FRACTURES/METAEJ
larger quantity of energy is required to obtain satisfactory
Fig. 18.4. Ernpirical relationship between powder factor, fracture fre-
fragmentation. It is well known that the criterium for
quency and joint shear strength. equality of impedances (Rock propogation veloc-
ity X rock density = Detonation velocity X explosive
density) with the purpose of maximizing the transfer of
the explosive energy to the rock.
This method has had great success in severai opera-
tions where drilling and blasting costs have been reduced
by up to 15 %.
Fig. 18.7. Typical geophysical logs and appropriatechargedistribution ROTARY SPEED (R.P.M.)
L,1
@. Fig. 18.8. Effect of pulldown forceand rotary velocity upon the cost of
dRLling.
Table 18.8.
Sonic veloc- Excavation characteristics
itv (mls)
< 1.500 Strata excavatable by scrapers, large draglines, shovels or bucket wheel excavators, without blasting.
1.500-2.000 Easy rippping. Slow difficult digging of unblasted strata by dragline, shovel or bucketwheel excavator.
2.000-2.500 Slow costly ripping. Light blasting (i.e. large blasthole patterns, long stemming columns, low powder factors) may be necessary for
large draglines, shovels or bucket wheel excavators.
2.500-3.000 Light blasting is required.
7 4.500 Heavy blasting is required (i.e., small blasthole patterns, short stemming columns, high powder factors).
beds of stronger more massive rocks in between can be - Rotary revolutions per minute.
observed. - instantaneous penetration rate.
At the present time, there is little available data to - Vibrations of the mast.
correlate the values obtained from the diagraphs with the - Retention force of the drill string.
excavation characteristics. However, Hagan and Gibson - Acceleration produced by reflected ground energy,
(1983) established, based upon their own experience, the and
classification given in Table 18.8. - Drilling time.
The recorded values give a complete image of the
ground's data. Some of the most used indexes at present
18.7 CHARACTERIZATTONOF THE ROCK MASS time are:
Fig. 18.9. Overburden consisting of adjacent beds with highly dissimi- - The exact depth of the top and wall of the coal
lar strengths (Hagan and Reid). searn.
When competent strata lies below a highly weathered
area of the sarne material or an unconsolidated sediment,
it will only be necessary to charge the part of the blashole
below contact, Fig. 18.10.
Where a thick layer of soft or highly deformable ma-
tenal, such as sand, lies between beds of competent rock
WEAK CLAY-RICH
SEDIMENTS and a continuous charge is placed along the length of the
blasthole, the following will occur:
- The gases will rapidly expand towards the deform-
able area, and
- The rapid fall of the gas pressure in the competent
bed will cause poor fragmentation, little swelling and
reduced displacement of the muckpile.
The placing of a stemming in the weak level will avoid
this and, above all, waste of explosion energy, Fig.
COMPETENT ROCK 18.11.
...
.: . .. .. .
. . .. ... . ... ... ... . ... ... . ..
'\ .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.. .. . . . ... ... . . .
WASTE . .. . .. .. .
. . . . .
MASSIVE
.. BOULDER ..
Fig. 18.12. Blast block in an Open pit containing highly variable strata
(Hagan and Reid).
4'
<+O
50+c+P5<c ++P
0
""L
%,
$4
C
+
:$
"\C
+c4'
5<0+O
PENETRATION RATE
DRlLLABlLlTY
OBSERVATIONS
B M D M O
OPERATORS SIGNATUR€.
the RQI, proposed a rock characterization index in which - There is sufficient flow of air to sweep away the drill
uleloiiowing driiiing~meterare~ombm~ct:-cuttings.
VP = Penetration rate (m/h), E = Pulldown weight on - The following times not be counted: changing drill
the tricone bit (thousands of pounds), N, = Rotary speed position, changing the rods, etc. Only the net penetration
(rpm), D = Drilling diameter (inches). rate should be taken.
The index responds to the equation: To compile all the data, a sheet like the one shown in
Fig. 18.17, is very useful.
VP As the penetration rate depends upon the compressive,
Ip = -
ExN, tensile and shearing strengths, the Ip index, which is
directly proportional to VP, will implicitly contain all
02 these geomechanic characteristics, which can then be
In order to calculate thi's index, it must be taken into correlated with the specific charge or energy factor used
consideration that: in blastings where adequate fragmentation has been ob-
- The type of tricone bit used is the most adequate for tained. Fig. 18.18.
the rock formation that is going to be drilled. The statistic analysis of regression of the data from
176 Drilling and blasting of rocks
- The creating of an optimization model for bench explosive charge per blasthole when the rock character-
blasting. istics are different than imagined during drilling. It is a
Other possibilities of the Ip index are: first step in powder factor optimization and selection of
- The geotechnical characterization of the Open pit the most adequate explosive agents for the work at hand.
materials. C) It is a reliable method, as it is based upon a stadistic
- Designing of the Open pit walls. analysis of a large number of samples in which a correla-
- The selection of the drilling diameter and the drill tion coefficient that is close to the unit has been obtained
characteristics as a function of: The required production, for the exact curve, taken from diverse rocks and opera-
rock strength, and the calculation of gnnding yield and tions.
costs. d) Combined with a system of continuous monitonng
The advantages that the use of the drilling index Ip of the drilling and a microprocessor, the range of possibi-
brings to a model of blasting calculation are the follow- lities for its use can be widened, as indicated before.
ing:
a) As a method for designing the blasting pattern it
includes the following data: 18.9 SYSTEM OF DRILLING DATA
m-rn-ma
Geometrie
- Bench height Recently, in the coal mine of Puertollano, a system of
- Drilling diameter recording operation data in the actual time of a rotary drill
- Subdrilling, fixed as a function of the diameter. has been perfectioned.
- Stemrning, as a function of Ip. The group of pararneters controlled is:
Parameters alllnothing:
Properties of the rock und of the rock muss - Motor of the drill running YES/NO
This is the most important point and the one that makes it - Mast down YESINO
different as a method from the rest of the classic formulas - Air in blasthole YESINO
in existance which only take into consideration certain - Pulldown weight in blasthole YESINO
properties of the rock. Analogical Parameters:
- Shifting of the machine
Explosive - Shifting of the drilling head
The selection of the specific charge with reference to a - Rotary speed
base explosive such as ANFO, gives a better application - Rotary torque
and use of these substances, which can be expressed in - Pulldown weight
~ g / orm in~cal/m3. In order to automatically obtain all the abovemen-
The planning of a blast pattern from drill perforrnance tioned parameters, sensors have been placed upon the
data can be done: drill as indicated in Fig. 18.23.
- By means of the values given by the manufacturers The final configuration of the management system is
of the t,tum&l * -km €mtd
during its design Stage, or by widening to an area without station is composed of a microcomputer which has a
previous data. -. color monitor, an expanded keyboard and printer, which
- By means of interpolation with data compiled from also has an interface for communication with the radio
a working operation. telemetric.
b) It is the only calculation system that determines the The mobile unit upon the machine contains the cap-
A
ROTARY HEAD IMPULSE GENERATOR (ROTATION SPEED)
ALL/NOTHING PICK UP
(PULLDOWN WEIGHT IN TEST DRILLING)
ANALOGICAL TRANSMITTERS
(ROTARY TORQUE AND PULLDOWN PRESSURE)
ALL/NOTHING PICK UP
(MOTOR RUNNING AND AIR TEST DRILLING)
-COMPRESSED
ROTATION AXEL AIR BOILER
ALL/NOTHING PICK UP
(TOWER UP AND TOWER
PULSE GENERATOR
(TRANSLATION) Fig. Location of the sensors on the drill.
Drilling und blasting of rocks
RADIO
RECEIVER
I
1 PRINTER I
Fig. 18.24. Block diagram of the
tators, the CPU and the radio transmitter-receiver. Part of Borquez, G.V.: Estimating drilling and blasting - An amlysis and
the information obtained is on the display during drilling, prediction model. EMJ, January, 1981.
to help the Operator. The data that appear are: Ghose, A. K.: Design of drilling and blasting subsystems -A rock mass
classifcation approach. Mine Planning and Equipment Selection,
- The depth of the blasthole at the moment (m) Balkema, 1988.
- Penetration rate (mls) Garcia-Sineriz, J.L. & M. Colomo: Sistema de Gestibn de Datos en
- Tricone distance from the bottom of the blasthole. Tiempo Real de la Operacibn de Mciquinas Mbviles en Minenä a
With the information received in the central station, Cielo Abierto. Canteras y Explosives, Octubre, 1989.
Hagan, T.N. & R.W. Reid: Performance monitoring of production
diverse reports are prepared: lists of work halts, reports of efficiency Second International Surface Mining And Quanying
weekly or monthly work shifts, etc. Apart from this, Symposium, Bristol, 1983.
analogical graphics of the blastholes are obtained in Hagan, T.N. & I.M.Gibson: Using geophysical logs in highwall blast
which the following Parameters are represented: design. Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering
- Rotary speed. Geology, Paris, 1983.
Leighton, J.C.: Development of a correlation between rotary drill
- Rotary torque. performance und controlled powder factor. CIM, Bulletin. Au-
- Pulldown weight. gust, 1982.
- Penetration rate. Lilly, PA.: An empirical method of assessing rock muss blastability
- Specific energy of pulldown weight and of rotation. Julius Knittschnitt Mineral Research Center, 1986.
Lopez Jimeno, E.: Caracterizacibndel Macizo Rocoso en Relacibn con
- Total specific energy.
el Disetio de Voladuras. Canteras y Explotaciones. Abril, 1985.
All the information is stored in the hard disk of the Lopez Jimeno, E.: Implantation de un Mktodo de Cilculo y Diseiio de
microcomputer, for later use in the blast design, once the Voladuras en Banco. Tesis Doctoral, E.T.S. de Ingenieros de
rlfillprltnrG-C!. 1%
Lopez Jimeno, E. & E. Mufiiz: A new method for the design of bench
blasting. Second International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation
\ by Blasting. Colorado, 1987.
REFERENCES Praillet, R.: A new approach to blasting. Drilltech Inc.
Pfister, D. & T! Hamelin: Digital recording of drilling parameters.
Broadbent, C.D.: Predictable blasting with in-situ seismic surveys. Soletanche Enterprise, 1984.
Mining Engineering, April, 1974.
CHAPTER 19
Al
-
H -
B -'
H;g
.
... .... . -- .-
,
-. ..., . . . - . -.
i,,. 6
/ E
-=m
//
L ' .
s W
1 .*I
2 I .m ß
*: //./ur<cat*LI. .iw
6
-+
-3..
- zm
-,
----W
--
.. .. -..
-. im
- .. --
3UAnniES
m
__.
m
- ,
-
a > ; w
--
w o
-
r
-
r
MEIGMT OF
r B ~ Nm
C H~ r n )
Fig. 19.6. Drilling diameter vs. bench height (Konya and Skidmore,
1981).
/' I
0 '/e- BOREHOLES LOW PRODUCTIVITY ZONE
16- BOREHOLES
,
' iow PRODUCTIVITY ZONE
Fig. 19.3. Low productivity Zone for shovels.
forces, requiring an increase in airfiow. height and achieve adequate fragmentation and displace-
- Problems in charging the explosive, especially in ment which will allow the loading equipment to reach the
blastholes with water. expected level of productivity.
If the subdrilling is small, the rock will not be com-
pletely sheared off at floor level, which will result in toe
19.5 STEMMING LENGTH appearance and a considerable increase in loading costs.
However, if the subdrilling is excessive, the following
Stemming is the portion of blasthole which has been will occur:
packed with inert material above the charge so as to - An increase in drilling and blasting costs.
confine and retain the gases produced by the explosion, - An increase in vibration level.
thus improving the fragmentation process. If stemming is - Excessive fragmentation in the top part of the under-
insufficient, there will be a premature escape of the gases lying bench, causing drilling problerns of the Same and
into the atmosphere which will produce airblast and affecting slope.stability in the end zones of the Open pit.
- in n
.
excessive, there will be a large quantity of boulderi vertical component of rock displacement is accentuated.
coming from the top part of the bench, poor swelling of The breakage in the bottom of the blasthole is pro-
the muck~ileand an elevated vibration level. duced in the shYape of inverted cones, whose angles to the
In ord& to determine stemming, the following must be horizontal depend upon the structure of the rock mass and
taken into consideration: on the residual Stresses. Normally they vary between 10
- The type and size of the material to be used, and and 30 degrees, Fig. 19.9.
- The length of the stemming column.
It is common practice to use drill cuttings, owing to
their availabitity near the collar of the blasthole.
However, recent studies have shown that coarse angular
material such as crushed rock is more effective and the
resistance to ejection of the stemming column increases
when the humidity content is lowered.
The most effective stemming is achieved with particle
sizes that range between 1/17 D and 1/25 D.
Investigations carried out by Otuonye indicate that by
using stemming material with a diameter of 1/25 D
proceeding from crushing, the stemming length can be
reduced by up to 419%.
In practice, the optimum lengths of stemming increase
as the quality and competence of the rock decrease,
varying between 20 D and 60 D. Whenever possible, . . a
sTanmimrn-
Fig. 19.9. Minimum necessary subdrilling.
in order to avoid problems of airblast, flyrock, cutoffs,
and overbreak. -,
In multiple row blasts, special care should be taken
Table 19.1.
when stemming front row blastholes, especially when
face irregularities are present, as they cause great differ- Different m k formations JIB
ences in burden dimensions from top to toe of the bench. Open bedding plane at toe
Horizontal stratification 0
When top priming is carried out, the negative effect of Easy toe. Soft rock 0.1-0.2
the detonation cord upon the stemming material must be Normal toe. Medium hard rock 0.3
taken into account, as its lateral pressure creates a prema- Difficult toe. Hardrock - -
0.4-0.5
ture escape route for the venting of gases into the atmos-
phere.
In underground blastings, with the long blasthole
method, the intermediate stemming between sequenced
deck charges must be calculated to avoid simultaneous -
sympathetic initiation and desensitivation by pre-
compression, in order to maintain a degree of fragmenta-
'
tion that will not interfere with the charge.
19.6 SUBDFULLING
I I I
WB 438 W B
SubdrillingJ is the length of the blasthole undemeath the SUBDRILLING
floor level which is needed to break the rock at bench Eig. 19.10. ~educingsubdrilling with inclined blastholes.
Controllable Parameters of blasting 183
for vertical blastholes and S = 1.15 B X cos U, where U 19.9 GEOMETRY OF THE FREE FACE
is the angle with respect to the veriicai in inclined holes.
In a square pattern of 4.5 m per side, Fig. 19.13 (a), the The most effective geornetry of the free face is that in
farthest point, equidistant from the four blastholes, is at which each point of its surface is equidistant from the
3.18 m. In a staggerd equilateral triangular pattern, Fig. center of the explosive charge. With smail spherical
19.13 (b), the equivaient pattem is 4.2 X 4.8 m and the charges, this Situation exists in secondary blasting where,
center of the triangle is at a distance of 2.79 rn from the with a small charge confined in a blasthole, breakage is
blastholes. achieved with a very low powder factor, around 80 to
As the fall of the Stresses produced by the shock wave 100g/m3. However, in production blastings with cylin-
is proportional to the square of the distance, in the point drical charges, the conditions are different and it is neces-
that is equidistant from the blastholes, with a square sary to use larger quantities of explosive.
pattem, there will be 23% less energy than in an equiva- The most effective face geometry is achieved by:
lent staggered pattern. - Placing the charges parallel to the free face or by
ole.W
V
b b
THEORETICAL
BREAKAGE PLANES
I1I11 InilI .! I. I ~ I IIIIj
Fig. 19.14.Geometry of the free face and initiation sequence (Hagan).
EQUlLATEflAL TRIANGLE PATTERN
. .
Photo 19.2. Drilling of a large diameter blast. Fig. 19.15.Raise boring (Hagan).
Controllableparameters of blasting
PRlNClPAL DlRECTlON
OF ROCK MOVEMENT
FACE
i ~ i t l 111~1
-tw
faces, without toe, should be carried out before blasting.
i l tew
-
the buffer of broken rock, resting on one of the free faces
.
A
IlIII I I I I I
- 1 -
D
B E
appear:
- More intense vibrations are generated, more over = *-- = = - +--+
break and danger of igstability. C F
- To achieve the Same degree of fragmentation and Fig. 19.17. Blast withone freeface.
swell as with a clean face, a more closed pattem will bea
necessary and the powder factor will increäse.
- Probable toe appearance which will increase load-
ing costs and require secondary blastings.
To overcome some of these inconveniences, the blast
should begin in an area that is far away from the covered
face and the initiation sequence should be designed with a
break direction that is parallel to the face, Fig. 19.16.
19.14 EXPLOSIVES
Fig. 19.23. Distribution of the explosive in a blasthole for rock frag-
When choosing an explosive for a given operation, care- mentation in bench blasting.
ful a t t e n t i o n m e p a i d t o T o p e r t i e s of the rocks to
be fragmented, as well as to the explosives available on
the market.
When massive rocks are broken, almost all of the
specific area of the material is created by the blast, and the
explosives used should be of maximum strength and
detonation velocity VD which produce high blasthole
pressure. On the other hand, in highly stratified or fis-
sured rocks, in which the total area of discontinuities is
relatively larger than that created by the blasting, explos-
ives of low density and detonation velocity are more
efficient.
Given that, apart from fragmentation, there rnust be
swelling and displacement of the material in order to get Photo 19.4. Preparation of the bottom charge.
188 Drilling und blasting of rocks
same.
T n m -
and 7 kg/m3 ,depending upon the type of rock, free area,
diameter of the blasthole and types of cuts.
the levels of vibrations produced along with a more 19.20 SPECIFIC DRILLING
effective breakage and control over rock displacement,
subdrilling, and flyrock. Later On, these design parame- Specific drilling is defined as the drilled hole volume or
ters will be analized in detail. drilled hole length drilled per volume unit of rock. As in
other design Parameters, specific drilling is in function
with the blastability of the rock.
19.19 INFLUENCE OF LOADING EQUIPMENT ON The equation used to calculate the specific drilling PS
THE DESIGN OF THE BLASTS in ml/m3 is:
(Hlcos ß + J)
The results of a blast affect the productivity of the differ- PS =
ent types of loading equipment, not only because of the B
-XSxH
size distribution of the material, but also because of its COS ß
swelling and the geometric profile of the muckpile. When
rape or hvdraulic shovels are used. the height of the bench
will be the deciding factor for efficiency of the machines
and the blasts should be designed so as to provide ade- de: U - B g R ~ h h e ~ ~ f i l l iR = n & ~
Burden (m), S = Spacing (m), ß = Blasthole inclination
quate fragmentation and a muckpile that is not too ex-
(degrees), and if PS is to be obtained in l/m3, the follow-
tended with few low productivity zones, Fig. 19.25.
ing is applied:
- too clean
- low productivity with shovel
- high productivity with front end loader
- very safe
- not very clean
- high productivity with shovel
- low productivity with front end loader where: D = Drilling diameter (m). In Fig. 19.26 the
- dangerous Specific Drilling is expressed as function of D and the
- not very clean blastability of the rock.
- acceptable productivity 1. Very easy to blast.
- safe 2. Easy to blast.
If front end loaders are used, the tendency will be 3. Not so easy to blast.
towards a type of blasting that produces maximum dis- 4. Difficult to blast.
placement and swelling of the rock, high fragmentation Blasthole diameter (rnm).
and reduced height of the muckpile, Fig. 19.25. Fig. 19.27, represents a nomograph from which the
In surface coal operations or with horizontal bedding volume of blasted rock per drilled lineal meter can be
planes where draglines are used, the present tendency is calculated from PS, according to the diameter of the
to use cast blasting which avoids use of a large boom, blastholes and reciprocally.
-lkgCiVJIJ-- &&&J$&&
rehandling.
- - I. VERY EASY T 0 BLAST
m
E - EASY T 0 BLAST
-' '6-2.4. DlFFlCULT
1 3.
NOT SO EASY T 0 BLAST
T 0 BLAST
-LARGE CLEAN UP AREA
-LOW PRODUCTlVlTY WlTH ROPE SHOVEL
2
J
a=!:
-HIGH PRODUCTlVlTY WlTH WHEEL LOADER
-VERY SAFE FOR EOUIPMENT OPERATORS 1.4-
Cl
G
'L 12-
-U-
W
a
U>
-MINIMAL CLEAN UP AREA
10-
-HIGH PRODUCTlVlTY WlTH ROPE SHOVEL
-LOW PRODUCTlVlTY WlTH WHEEL COADER
-DANGEROUS FOR EOUIPMENT OPERATORS
48-
46-
.-. -
m
19.21 BLASTHOLE DEVIATION
1,8-
REFERENCES
Ash, R.L.: The mechanic of rock breakage. Pit and Quarry, Aug.
1963.
Ash, R.L.: Design of blasting rounds. Surface Mining, AIME, 1972.
Ash, R.L.: Blasting characteristics of large diameter boreholes. 6th
Annual Drilling and Blasting Technology. Houston, 1977.
Dick, R.A. et al.: Explosives und Blasring Procedures Manual. US
Bureau of Mines. 1983.
Hagan, T. N.: The injluence of controllable blast parmeters on frag-
Fig. 19.28. Deviation of blastholes and drilling errors. mentation and mining costs. Ist, Symp. on Rock Fragmentation by
Blasting. Lülea, 1983.
Hagan, T N.: Blast design considerationsfor underground mining and
Table 19.3. construction operations. Design and Performance of Underground
System of alignment Alignment error (%) Excavations. ISRMIBGS. Cambridge, 1984.
mom
ag
m
p
I9-n
t-,r T N . Inrr-pihred Open pir blastinf.
Proc. 4th Joint Meeting MMU-AIME. Tokyo, 1980.
Manual 4-7 3-5 Hemphill, G.B.: Blasting Operations. Mc Graw-Hill, 1981.
With indicator ,OS-1.0 0.2-0.5 Konya; C. J. & D. R. Skidmore: Blasthole depth und stemming height
pressuring systems. USBM, 1981.
Konya, C.J. & E Otuonye: Airblast reduction from effective blasthole
stemming. SEE, 1982.
Langefors, U. & B. Kihlstrom: Voladura de Rocas. Edit. URMO,
1973.
Lopez Jimeno, E.: Parhmetros Crilicos en la Fragmentacibn de Rocas
con Explosivos. 111 Jornadas Minerometalhrgicas, Huelva, 1980.
Lopez Jimeno, C. &M. Abad: Estudio de la Injluencia del Seccionado
-M-a~gas-etturtMiSdac~a~Dfsmiauir~~-
Vibraciones. Canteras y Explotaciones, Noviembre, 1986.
Lopez Jimeno, E.: Implantaci6n de un Mktodo de Cilculo y Diseiio de
Voladurasen Banco. Tesis doctoral. ETS. Ing. de Minas de Madrid,
1986.
Melnikov, N.N.: The Soviet Union. Recent und future development in
surface coal mining. CIM Bulletin. October, 1972.
Pla, E et al.: Curso de Petforacibn y Voladuras. Fundaci6n G6mez
Pardo, 1978.
Bencli blasting
Table 20.1.
Blasthole diarneter Average production per hour (m3b/h)
(rnm) Medium-soft rock Hard-very hard rock
< 120MPa >I20 MPa
Table 20.2.
Bench height H Blasthole diameter D Recornmended load-
(m) (mrn) ing equipment
65-90 Front end loader
100-150 Hydraulic or rope.
20.3.4 Subdrilling
- Length of bottom charge lf = 40 X D = 3.6 m (It is The subdrilling is usually calculated from blasthole di-
considered h a t the weight of the column compresses the ameter, Table 20.8.
cartridges and their average diameter becomes 10% more When vertical blastholes are drilled, the subdrilling of
than the nominal value). the first row reaches values of 10 to 12 D.
- Concentration of the bottom charge qf = 6.4 kg/m Shorter subdrilling lengths than those indicated can be
- Bottom charge Qf = 23.0 kg used in the following cases:
- Length of the column charge 1, = 5.1 m - Horizontal bedding planes that coincide with the
- Concentration of the column charge q, = 5.0 kg bench toe.
- Column charge Q, = 25.5 kg
- Blasthole charge Qb = 48.5 kg
- Powder factor
Table 20.5.
Blasthole diameter Average production per hour (m3bm)--
(mm) Soft rock Medium hard Very hard rock
20.3.5 Inclination
In the range of diameters indicated it is quite frequent to
use rotary drilling. Owing to the inconveniences that the
angulation of the mast presents in this type of drills,
especially in hard rock, vertical drilling is systematically
used.
A typical example are the metal mining operations
with bench heights of 10 to 15 meters.
However, in soft rocks and with bench heights over 24
ANFO Burden-B 28 D 23 D 21 D
Spacing-S 33 D 27 D 24 D
Watergelsl Burden- B 38 D 32 D 30 D
emulsions S ~ a c i-
n S~ 45 D 37 D 34 D
Bench blasting 195
Fig. 20.2. Blasting Pattern for rip-rap production. requires a larger powder factor than hard rock. Also, the
structural properties of the rock mass should be taken into
consideration.
20.6 CAST BLASTING When analyzing the actual blast criteria, the most
important are:
- Burden. Varies directly with the type of rock and the
At the beginning of this decade, a blasting technique was
introduced that not only fragmented rock but also Cast a geology of the rock mass. The optimum displacement
large volume of it into spoil piles and pits, Fig. 20.3. results are obtained with reduced burdens between 0.9
The interest in this type of blasting is based on a and 1.35 m/(kg/m)1'2, using superior values when a
reduced investment in machinery, operation and mainte- limited casting is desired.
nance, as there is less manipulation of material due to the - Type of explosive. The explosive is important not
fact that a large volume of rock, from 40 to 60%, can be only for the energy it develops but for its actual yield. The
projected. ratio between burden and explosive energy governs the
This method is being applied with great success in coal ejection velocity of material from the face and, as a
mines in South Africa, United States, Austrdiaand Cana- consequence, the distance reached. Experimentally, this
da, but it can also be used in deposits of other ores with a velocity has been calculated using the following equa-
horizontal or moderately inclined configuration. tion:
According to Chironis (1982), Bauer et al. (1983),
C r k p ~ 8 4 ~ t t p s 8 ~ & +
of criteria must be observed in order to design this type of
blast; the operative an(l those pertaining to the actual
blast. where: Energy (kcallm) = 0.07853 X dZ X pc X PAP,
The following conditions should be undertaken for having: d = Charge diameter (cm),pc =Explosive density
operative criteria: (g/cm3), PAP = Absolute weight strength (callg).
- Bench height. A minimum height of 12 m is recom- The minimum recommended velocity is around 15
mended, although a lesser height can also be used for cast mls. The maximum horizontal reach can be calculated by
blasting. knowing the trajectory exit angle ß with the following
- Pit width. The width of the pit left by a former equations:
bzhng, w h i c h ~ ~ t ~ ~ ö f t h i , ~ o u l d a V: X sin 2ß
be between 1 and 1.25 times the height of the face. DM, = (floor level rock)
- Wall angle. In order to optimize the results of the
operations, the active face walls can be excavated ver-
tically with presplitting blast~fired before. With this, the D@ = V, X cos ß
burden remains constant throughout the front row, all the [V,, X sin ß + $V,, X sin ß), X 2gh]
blastholes can be drilled vertically, the rock mass can be
drained to allow use of explosives such as ANFO which
are less expensive, etc.
Presplitting has been canied out with blastholes of 251 where: D M ,= Distance travelled by a fragment along a
mm with 3 m spacing in soft rock and 5 to 6 m in hard horizontal line level with the height of the fragment
rock and without stemming. above the pit floor (m), DM, = Total distance travelled
- Type of rock f o m t i o n . The type of rock to be by a fragment ejected from the face, accounting for the
displaced affects the blasting, as soft rock generally height above the pit floor (m).
Bench blasting
WALL WITHOUT
OVERBURDEN PRESPLITTffi
OvERBuRDEN I8 ?i
Fig. 20.4. Comparison between front row burden with and without
- Spacing. The best results are obtained with rec- one face is involved, the initiation sequence is such that
tangular staggered Patterns and spacing between blast- all the blastholes in the Same row explode at the Same
holes of 1.3 to 1.6 times the burden. instant and the delay is only between the rows themselv-
- Stemming. Depends upon the type of rock and the es.
diameter of the blasthole. It is usually calculated to be If the blast has two free faces, the sequence is usually in
between 20 and 25 D. Vl, Fig. 20.5.
- Subdrilling. So as to not harm and dilute the ore, a The rninimum delay times between blastholes are cal-
negative subdrilling is used, filling the bottom of the culated with the practical rule of 20 to 35 ms/m of
blasthole above the contact to a length that oscilates burden.
between 4 and 6 D. - Powder factors. They generally oscilate between
- Initiation sequences und delay timing. When only 0.3 and 0.8 kg/m3 for an ANFO type explosive.
198 Drilling und blasfing of rocks
Table 20.11 .
Rock Rock group Compressive Strain energy Strain
blast- classifica- strength factor factor
ability tion (MPa) (FE,) (FV)
Tertiary I 27 2.9 2.5
I1 30 2.9 2.5
I11 66 3.3 2.8
Cretaceous 11 21 2.8 2.8
I11 49 3.1 2.7
Pennsyl- V1 87 3.5 2.6
vanian V11 122 3.9 2.4
PONY
TOE VIII 108 3.7 2.5
Fig. 20.5. Initiation sequence V1 for a staggered square pattem.
- Initiation. It should be such as to maximize the 6. Nomograph 11. Draw the straight line which unites
~ ~ ~ e k ~ ~ m ~ : ~ - u i e S f ä InK E1 3n3 . e9 mrwith g g,y= 15 kg/m to obtain the total charge per
order to better use the energy developed in rock displace- blasthole Q, = 68 kg.
ment. 7. Nomograph IV. Using this nomograph and the Table
A method of calculating the blasts that produce maxi- of Blastability Factors, the optimum burden can be calcu-
mum displacement has been developed by D' Appolonia lated with FE = 3, FV = 2.6 and B, = 3.9 m.
Consulting Engineers. At first glance it looks complex, 8. The values of B and B, are compared. If the values
but it is simple to apply as only four nomographs and five are approximately equal, no other information is necess-
equations are used. ary to calculate the rest of the blasting Parameters,
The types of rock are classified by what is known as because the stemming and spacing are deterrnined with:
Strain Energy Factor and Blastability factor. Some
examples are shown in Table 20.1 1.
For better comprehension,the method is applied to the
following example of blasting: 9. If B and B, are not equal, as in this case, K1 and K2
- Drilling diameter D = 152 mm are corrected by reducing them. D7Appoloniauses a rule
- Strain Enefgy Factor FE, = 3 of thumb which is K2 = K,: for another try. For this rea-
(This Same value can be used if the rock characteristics son, if K, is chosen as 0.8, then K2 = 0.51. These values
are unknown.) are then used in the equations of C, and C2.The process is
- Height of bench H = 7.5 m repeated until B and B, are equal.
- Desired throw distance of material DP = 1.8 m
- Density of Explosive p ,= 0.67 kg/m3
The steps for calculating are:
1. N o m o g r a p m i i n e t o u n i I e E E 7 = 3 - -
with DP = 18 and the powder factor is obiained,
CE = 0.592 kg/m3.
2. Nomograph II. ~ r a ; the straight line that joins
RANGE
Dp,lm, I WWDER
FACTOR
CE (Ko/m')
I
STRAIN
ENERGY
FACTOR FES
I
D = 152 mm and p ,= 0.87 kg, and the lineal concentra-
tion of explosive is detennined, g, = 15 kg/ml.
3. The values of C, and C2 are calculated considering
that K, and K2 are equal to 1, which implies that, for the
moment, the burden and spacing are equal:
1353-
OPTIMUM BLASTABILITY
HOLE LOADHG FACTOR FV
BURDEN Bo
FACTOR gi (Kglrn) - 2.76
900. -10.5 - - 2.70
'
125- .-IBO - 2 3
-.I7* 135- - 4 . v 2.0 1.90
--I35 9 /
2.2 2 .W
W
/'/,. 2.4 2.18 -220
100-
-7.5 672.- 2.6 2.32
2.8 2.46
. ..I,„ --Cl0
8 3 3.0 2.60
36 45.-
2.03
Table 20A. I. Matrix of the comparison of formulas to calculate burden value in bench blasting.
Parameters used
Diameterofblastholeor X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
of charge
Bench height X X X X
Length of blasthole X X
Stemming X
Subdrilling
-
Length of charge X
Inclination of blasthole
Rock density X X
Compressive rock X X X
strength or equivalent in-
dexes
Rock constants or factors X X
Seismic velocity of the
rock mass
Density of the explosive X X X X X X X X X X
Detonation velocity X X X X X X
Detonation pressure X X X
Binomial rock-explosive X
constant
Burdenlspacing ratio
Strength of explosive X X
Loading equipment X
which, in most cases, are not exact because the actual field character- B = Burden (feet), D' = Diameter (feet), L = Length of blasthole
-istics&hOlasts change frequently and a global study is not worth- (feet), K = Empirical constant.
while. 7 t s i n - ~ s g o & m & - w e F e - O b t a i n ~ g K
For this reason, the authors of this manual feel that in a near future, by taking the diameter in inches, the former equation when used in
all the classic equations are going to Qe used as guidelines for designing piactice,ended up as:
tentative blastings and that afterwards, once the characteristics of the
rocks have been determined through monitoring the blasthole drilling,
~=rn
the optimum Patterns or the explosive charges in each blasthole for an where: D = Blasthole diameter (inches).
established pattern, will be determined. This formula does not take into account the rock properties nor those
On the other hand, when explosives that differ in strength from those of the explosive.
used under given conditions with an established pattern, the new The burden value increases with the length of the blasthole but not
burden value will becalculated with the following equation: indefinitely as usually happens in practice.
- 113 2. Fraenkel(I952)
PFCPÖfthe new e x p l o s ? v e L0;Q0;3yD00;8
X Burden = New burden R,
PRP of the original explosive B=
50
Following this, the spacing will be determined keeping the same I
relationship S/B as in the original Pattern. where: B = Burden (m), L = Length of blasthole (m), 1 = Length of
As in the case of changing the drilling diameter, the new geometnc charge (m), D = Blasthole diameter (mm), RV = Resistance to blast-
pattern of the blast will be established from the new burden, obtained ing which oscillates between I and 6 in function with rock type. Rocks
with the following: with high compressive strength (1.5). Rocks with low compressive
strength (5).
The following simplified relationships are usually put into practice:
Diameter of the new blastholes - Bis reduced to 0.8 B < 0.67 L.
X Burden = New burden - 1 is taken as 0.75 L.
Diameter of the original holes
1. Andersen (1952)
- S should be less than 1.5 B.
3. Pearse ( 1955)
Using the concept of the deformation energy per unit of volume, Pearse
i
1
!
B=Kx~~E~T obtained the following equation:
Bench blas fing 20 1
Table 20A.2.
Type of explosive Rock group
Soft Medium Hard
Low density (0.8 to 0.9 glcm3)and low 30 25 20
where: B = Maximum burden (m), K,, = Constant that depends upon strength
the rock properties (0.7 to 1.0), D = Blasthole diameter (mm), Medium density (1.0 to 1.2 glcm3) and 35 30 25
PD = Detonation pressure of the explosive (kglcm2), RT = Tensile medium strength
strength of the rock (kglcm2). High density (I .3 to 1.6 g/cm3)and high 40 35 30
strength
4. Hin0 ( 1 959)
The calculation equation proposed by Hino is:
I In Table 20A.3.
Type of rock F (kg/m3) RC (MPa) RT (MPa)
I 0.24 21 0
w;.~I-c a- u" - \ 11 ~ 3 6 42 0.5
PD = W n a t i o n pressure $i/cm2),
i gn-R 0.47 105 3.5
(kglcmL), n = Charactenstic constant depending upon the par W - : 8-5 . 6
explosive-rock and calculated through the cratering test.
PD
log - where KB depends upon the rock group and the type of explosiveused,
RT' Table 20A.2.
n= - Blasthole depth L = KL X B (KLbetween 1.5 and 4)
D0 - Subdrilling J = KJ X B (KJ between 0.2 and 0.4)
log2-
d12 - Stemming T = KT X B (KT between 0.7 and 1)
- Spacing S = K, X B2 K, = 2.0 for simultaneous initiation.
K, = 1.0 for sequenced blastholes with long delay.
where: D. = Optimum depth of the Center of gravity of the charge (cm) K, = between 1.2 and 1.8 for sequenced blastholes with short delay.
determined graphically from the following equation values:
V3 7. Langefors ( I 963)
D, = ACV, Langefors and Kihlström propose the following equation to calculate
where: d = Diameterof theexplosivecharge,Dg = Depth of thecenter the Maximum Burden value B„.
of gravity of charge, A = Relationship of depths DglDcyD, = Critical
depth to center of gravity of charge, C = Volumetnc constant of
charge, V, = Volume of the charge used. Bmax
5. Allsman ( 1 960)
where: B„ = Maximum burden (m), D = Diameter in the bottom of
Impulse X g the blasthole, E = Rock constant (calculated from C), f = Degree of
fixation (vertical blastholes f = 1, inclined blastholes 3:l f = 0.9,
Bmax = inclined blastholes 2: 1 f = 0.85), S/B = Spacinglburden ratio, p, =
Irxprxu
Loading density (kgldm3). PRP = Relative weight strength of the
where: B„ = Maximum burden (m), PD = Mean adverse detona- "3w.
e ~ t e s ..
tion pressure (Nlm2), At = Duration of the average detonation (s), The constant C is the quantity of explosive necessary to fragment I
~r = 3.1416, pr = Specific rock weight (Nlm3), u = Minimum veloc- m3 of rock, normally in surface blasts and with hard rock C = 0.4 is
ity which must be imparted to the rock (mls), D = Blasthole diameter taken. This value is modified in accordance with:
(m), g = Gravity acceleration (9.8 m/s2). B = 1 . 4 - 15m,E = c + 0 . 7 5
B C 1.4 m, E = 0.071B + C
6. Ash (1963)
The practical burden is determined from:
KB X D(in)
B(ft) = B=B„-e'-dbxH
12
where: H = Bench height (m), e' = Collaring error (mlm), d, = Blast-
hole deviation (m).
8. Hansen (1967)
Hansen modified the original equation proposed by Langefors and
Kihlström, amving at the following:
9. Ucar ( 1 972)
The equation developed by Ucar is:
~ . ~ X B ~ H + ~ B X= O~ , - ~ H X ~ ~
where: B = Burden (m),
. .-H = Bench heirrht (m).
V .,= Charge concen-
. - - a,
Photo 20.5. Results of a single-row blast in a 20 m high bench. tration (kglm).
Drilling und blasting of rocks
8
P, X VD
]
f e = [ 1.3 ~ 3 6 6 0 ~
LP, 1
where: B = Burden (feet), p 3 e c i f i c gravity of explosive, p, =
-P
where: B = Burden (m), D = Blasthole diameter (mm), p, = Specific Specific gravity of m k , d = Eiarneter of explosqEiii%s).--
densith of the explosive in the blasthole\(kg/m3), CE = Powder factor Other design parameters detemined from the Burden are:
(kglm3).
- Spacing (feet)
- Instantaneous initiation single-row blastholes
0.693 H + 2B
m = 1+
Low benches: H < 4B. S = -
In(p, X V D ~-) In RC - 1.39 3
where: VD = Detonation velocity of explosive (mls), RC = Com-
High benches: H 2 = 4B, S = 2B
pressive rock strength (MPa).
In instantaneous initiation take 2.2 < m < 2.8, and for sequences - Delayed initiation single-row blastholes
with delay initiations take 1. I < m < 1.4. H + 7B
Other Parameters are: Lowbenchesrft<-4By-S -
8
Spacing S = m X B
Distance between rows Bf = 1.2 X B High benches: H 1 = 4B, S = 1.4B
B X VD
Stemming T = 1.265 X - - Stemming (feet) T = 0.7 B
VC - Subdnlling(feet) J = 0.3.B
n1 =
(P, X VD - pr
( p e X VD + pr
X
X
vo2
vo2
R3 = 1.16 - 0.16 -
3
where: HI = Actual bench height, H2 = Bench height = 2B„
and
(H2 > H1).
1 To calculate the practical burden, the Same formula as in Langefors
'" = p l d - (e - l, method is applied.
REFERENCES
having: p, = Density of explosive, VD = Detonation velocity of
explosive (feetls). Anonymous: Casting overburden: An explosive idea. Coal Age, July
- Characteristic powder factor 1982.
Ash, R.L.: The design of blasting rounds. Chapter 7.3. Surface Min-
Zr
CEC = - ing, AIME, 1968.
PD Berta, G.: L'Explosivo Strumento Di Lavoro. Italexplosivi, 1985.
Bauer, A. et al.: Principles und applications of displacing overburden
rn strrp mrnes Dy explosive castrng. 3-CtUbZ-j.
Chernigouskii,A.A.: Application of directional blasting in mining und
civil engineering. United States Deparhnent of the Interior and the
National Science Foundation, 1985.
CEC Chironis, N. F:! Casting overburden by blasting. Coal Age, May, 1980.
Chironis, N.F!: Mines take on explosive casting. Coal Age. October,
where: d = Charge diameter (inches). 1981.
- Burden B = S X 0.833 Chironis, N. F:! Blast-casting pays off at Avety Coal Age. November,
- Stemming T = B 1982.
- SubdrillingJ = (0.3-0.5) X S Chironis, N.F!: Angled drilling aids casting. Coal Age, January, 1984.
Chironis, N. P: Spiced-upANFO mixed Leads to super blastfor casting.
17. S 0.Olofsson (1990) Coal Age. May, 1984.
OTofSson o t t ~ e f o I l ~ s i m p i T f i ~ t i ~ b on
a sLangefors'
ed C~~~~'IS,NIPTB-SZ~~ succeeds at multiGeam Western mrne.
formula: Coal Age. November, 1985.
Gregory, C. E.: Explosives for No& American engineers. Trans Tech
Publications. Third Edition. 1983,
where: K = Constant that depends upon the type of explosive;Gelatin- Grippo, A.E: How to get more castperblast. EIMJ. December, 1984.
likeexplosives 1.47; Emulsions 1.45; ANFO 1.36. q - Concentration Hagan, TN.: Optimum design features of controlled trajectoty SEE,
of the bottom charge of the chosen explosive d g ~ m ) RI , = Side 1979.
inclination correction factor, R2 = Rock type correction factor, Hempfill, G. B.: Blasting Operations. Mc Graw-Hill, 1981
R3 = Bench height correction factor. Konya, C.J.: Blasting Design. Surface Mining EnvironmentalMonitor-
The comction factors RI and R2 are detennined for the different ing and Reclamation Handbook. 1983.
work conditions with the following tables: Langefors, U. &B. Kihlstrom: Voladurade Rocas. Edit. Urmo, 1973.
Lopez Jimeno, E.: Parhmetros Cnlicos en La Fragmentacibn de Rocas
con Explosives. V1 Jornadas Minerometalfirgicas, Huelva, 1980.
Table 20A.4. Lopez Jimeno, E. & C. Lopez Jimeno: Las Voladuras en Crhter y su
Inclination -:I 1O:l 5:l 3:l 2:l 1:l Aplicacibn a La Mineria. V1 Congreso International de Mineria y
0.95 0.96 0.98 1.00 1.03 1.10 Metalurgia, Barcelona, 1984.
Rl
Drilling and blasting of r o c h
Lopez Jimeno, E.: Implantacibn de un Mktodode Cilculo y Diseiio de PraiIlet, R.: A New Approach to Blasting.
Voladuras en Banco. Tesis Doctoral. E.T. S. de Ingenierosde Minas Pugliese, J. M.: Designing blast patterns using empiricalfonnulas. US
de Madrid, 1986. Bureau of Mines. I.C. 8550,1972.
Grönfors, T. & L. Vajda: Modem equipment und calculation methods Rustan, PA.: Burden, spacing and borehole diameter at rock blasting.
for stone winning aßd rock breaking. Surface Mining and Equip- The Third International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by
ment, IMM. 1983. Blasting. 1990
Ludwiczak, J.T.: The Blasting Primer. B.M.C., 1984. Speath: Formula for the proper blasthole spacing. Engineering News.
McDonald, K. L. et al.: Productivity improvementsfor dragline opera- Record, 2 18, 1960.
tions uring controlled blasting in a single aßd multiple seam Thomson, C. D.: Correcting the burden formula for heave blasting.
opencast v w l operation, Rietspmit, South Africa. March, 1982. Mining Engineering.
Olofsson, S.O.: Applied explosives technology for construction und Tamrock: Handbook on Surface Drilling und Blasting. 1984.
mining. Applex, 1990. Ucar, R.: Importancia del Retiro en el Diseiio de Voladurasy Park-
Paveto, C.S.: Surface Mine Blasting, 1986. metros a Considerar.GEOS, 24-3- 10, Caracas, Enero, 1978.
Petmnyak, J. & C. Postupack: Explosive energy is challenging me- Viera, M.: Sensitivity analysis, a key optimum blasting tunnels. 18th
chanical energy for overburden removal. Coal Mining and Pro- APCOM, 1984.
cessing. July, 1983.
CHAPTER 21
-L
-.
InTstypeofblaS~~lectilueee~plö~Sive-cofn~e~
used. The bottom charges are gelatin dynamites or slur-
2 1.2.1 Drilling diameters ries, and ANFO is used in the colurnn charges.
Table 21.2 shows the recornmended lengths for bottom
Normally, small diameter blastholes are used because of charges and sternming in different types of rock. The
the following advantages: heights of the column charges are calculated by the
- Better Pattern adaptation to irregular ground difference between the length of the blastholes and the
profiles. sum of the bottom charges and sternmings.
- Good rock fragmentation due to better distribution
of the explosives. This enables the loading to be
canied out with less equipment. 21.2.4 Drilling pattems
- Lower vibration and airblast levels.
- Possibility of contracting drilling and blasting Trench cuts
teams, and These are always carried out with vertical blastholes and,
206 Drilling und blasting of rocks
Table21.1. 11-1 -
Design Parameter Uniaxial compressive strength (MPa)
Table 2 1.2.
Design Parameter Uniaxial compressive strength (MPa)
Low Medium High Very high
<70 70-120 120-180 >I80
Bottom charge length - lf 30 D 35 D 40 D 46 D
Stemming -T 35D 34D 32D 30D
Throughcuts MILLSECOND
RELAY
The usual patterns are rectangular, Fig. 21.4, or in equila-
teral triangle, Figs 21.5 and 21.6.
The recommended triangular patterns are those found
in Fig. 21.6, because the one shown in Fig. 21.5 gives an
irregular slope profile.
MILLISECOND
RELAY
i
Fig. 21.4. Rectangular Pattern with initiation sequence in V 1.
tation in phases, taking away the broken rock from the
first round before firing the next. If, because of opera-
tional necessities, blasting is one time, the initiation se-
quence should be as indicated in Fig. 21.8.
208 Drilling und blasting of rocks
Table 21.5.
INITIATION Sizes of the trenches Drilling diarneters (mrn)
POINT
C Width- AZ< 1
Depth - H > 1.5 32 - 45
Fig. 21.7. Initiation sequence in V with break parallel to line design of Depth - H > 1.5 50 - 65
highway.
Table 2 1.6.
Design Parameter Drilling diarneter
P
Burden - B 26 D 24 D
Table 21.7.
Design parameter W i d t h O f rench - AZ
<0.75m 0.75-1.5m 1.5-3m
Number of rows 2 3 4
Spacing - S AZ M12 AZ12.6*
*In contour blastholes the spacing is reduced by 20%.
b.
8 e* 4. 6 8 io* &
Fig. 21.13. Schematic diagram of a ramp cross section.
The former equations can be applied to the calculations of Table 21.9. Design for ramp blasting. lasth hole diameter (mm) = 250;
Bench height (m) = 12; Design B = S (m) = 7; Subdrilling (m) = 61.8;
the designs of each of the rows in a ramp blasting. Grade of ramp (%) = 8.
As the calculations are repetitive, it is comrnon to use
Row Distance Height Burden Subdrilling
Computers, as indicated in the adjoining listing, Table
I 143.00 11.44 6.73 1.73
21.9. 2 136.26 10.90 6.48 1.66
Nomographs are also used as the one in Fig. 21.14, 3 129.78 10.38 6.23 1.60
made up for initial data that has already been established. 4 123.54 9.88 6.00 1.54
InthiscasewithD = 223rnm,H= 1 2 m , J = 1.8m,Pr= 5 117.53 9.40 5.77 1.48
8%. 6 1 11.75 8.94 5.56 1.43
7 106.19 8.49 5.35 1.37
8 100.84 8.06 5.15 1.32
9 95.69 7.65 4.95 1.27
HORIZONTAL 10 90.73 7.25 4.77 1.22
DISTANCE (LD)
11 85.96 6.87 4.59 1.18
12 8 1.37 6.50 4.4 1 1.13
CUT DEPTH !l+J 12
1J
7' n< L IC d ?C
?.La
I nn
I
14 72.70 5.81 4.09 1.05
15 68.60 5.48 3.93 1.01
16 64.67 5.17 3.79 0.97
17 60.88 4.87 3.64 0.93
EXPLOSIVES 18 57.23 4.57 3.5 1 0.90
LOADING CHART 19 53.72 4.29 3.37 0.86
I
20 50.34 4.02 3.25 0.83
3\ SUBDRILLING (J) 21 47.09 3.76 3.12 0.80
BURDEN (B) 22 43.96 3.5 1 3.01 0.77
50 23 40.95 3.27 2.89 0.74
60 24 38.05 3.04 2.78 0.7 1
25 35.26 2.82 2.68 0.69
70 26 32.58 2.60 2.58 0.66
9.3 391 27 29.99 2.39 2.48 0.63
80 28 27.5 1 2.20 2.39 0.6 1
- 1.1 5.0 210 29 25.1 1 2.00 2.30 0.59
90 - 1.2 30 22.8 1 1.82 2.2 1 0.56
100 31 20.60 1.64 2.13 0.54
- 1.5 -' L 32 18.46 1.47 2.05 0.52
110 - 1.6 33 16.41 1.31 I.97 0.50
- 1.7 34 14.44 1.15 1.90 0.48
120 . - 1.8 35 12.53 1 .OO 1.82 0.47
10 .' 1.9 2
130 .:' I2.0 36
37
10.71
8.94
0.85
0.7 1
I.76
1.69
0.45
0.43
- 2.1
38 7.25 0.58 1.63 0.4 1
39 5.62 0.44 1.56 0.40
40 4.05 0.32 1.51 0.38
41 2.54 0.20 1.45 0.51
42 1.09 0.08 1.39 0.35
INITIATION
DISTANCE FROM HEAD OF RAMP (m) Fig. 21.15. Initiation sequence with milise-
XI 00 m 00 BO 100 110 120 130 140 iio cond relays in a ramp blasting.
Blasting in other surjace operations 213
Table21.12.
Design Parameter Uniaxial compressive strength (MPa)
Low Medium High Ve1-Y high
<70 70-120 120-180 > 180
Ratio Spacingl Burden 1.25 1.20 1.15 1.15
- SIB
- The broken rock must be removed before drilling the - The breakage of the rock should adapt itself to the
next module. profile established in the project without producing over-
- The fragments are lGger and the appearance of break.
boulders is more probable. - There are limits for the vibrations and projections
- The charging of blastholes is more difficult. when the work is carried out in urban areas.
The drilling diameters must be small to achieve good
results. Therefore, supposing that the heights of the cuts
are under 1.5 m, for 38 mm blasthole diameters the 21.6.1 Drilling diameters and lengths
spacing between them is calculated, at first, with the The drilling diameter and blasthole length are selected as
Gllowing equation: t:xplainectinf ourrdation-Mastnigv---
-P
S = 0.7 X H-~.'
where: S = Spacing (m), H = Excavation height (m), 21.6.2 Charge and stemming distribution
under 1.5 m, Fig. 21.17. The powder factors and the stemming lengths are decided
Depending upon the capacity of the drilling equip- from the compressive rock strength, Table 21.13.
ment, the angle of the blastholes will be between 0" and If the stemming lengths are reduced, some additional
10". safety precautions must be taken against flyrock.
As to the charges, the blasts are fired to an ample free The explosives used are generally of high strength and
face, with a single row, and rarely need a bottom charge, density.
only the column charge.
The stemmings should have a minimum length of 10D
to 20 D, according to the profile of the terrain and work 2 1.6.3 Drilling Patterns
conditions. Apply the equation and the relationship between spacing
Drilling and blasting of rocks
- L i
\
and burden as suggested beforehand for foundation blast- 21.7 MINI-HOLE BLASTING
ing.
As there is no free face, part of the blastholes should be In certain environments, owing to the proximity of build-
angled in a wedge form to create the cut and the rest are ings and other structures, which must be protected, large
drilled with the chosen -inclination, which is usually quantitiesof explosives cannot be used and drilling diam-
around 60°, Fig. 21.18. In the cut blastholes, the charge eters must be reduced.
concentration should be at least 30% more. For some years now, a new type of high strength and
In some cases, the e x c a v a t i ~ e e V e n c a m e d 0 ~ ~~~lOSlveisSon~e~ketwhidrpe~ts-~n
phases, opening lateral ditches or trenches so as to form hole blasting with hole diameters of 22 rnm.
slopes which act as free faces in the bench blasts which The explosive is a gelatin of nitroglycerin/nitroglycol
are fired later. and nitrocelulose to which PETN and amonium nitrate
have been added. The principal characteristics are:
- Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.55g/cm3
2 1.6.4 Initiation sequences
- Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5MJlkg
The initiation sequences can be similar to those shown in - Relative weight strength incomparison to ANFO
Fig. 21.18, but they actually will be established from the 127
vibrographic studies, as quite often there are limitations - Detonation velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . 6000 mls
in the charge weight per hole and even in the delay - Water resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excellent
timings. The charges, of about 80 g, are prepared in small
plastic wrappings of 17 X 275 mrn with an inner space
for the detonator.
Blasting in other sulface operations 215
L = H + 0.2
B = 0.018 D DIAMETER O.6m
T=B 13
Q, = 0.2 X H ,--
where: H = Depth of trench (m), D = Diameter of blast-
hole (mm), B = Burden (m), T = Stemrning (m), Q, =
Charge of high explosive per blasthole (kg). I
21.7.2 Trenchesforpipelines
13 da- 8cm
FIRST BLOCK
OF BLASTHOLES 21'16.
Excavation equipment Seismic velocity Powder factor
(m/s) (g. A N F O / ~ ~ ~ )
Crawler tractor
(575 kW) 3000 230
(343 kW) 2500 130
2000 130
1 200 80
1800 180
Hydraulic shovel 2000 190
1500 220
1 excavator 1200 110
Fig. 21.22. Preblasting fired with detonatingcord of low core load and
milisecond relays.
In some cases, although the excavation may be the rigs are rotary, between 15" and the vertical.
possible, the yield may be so low as to render the opera- The priming should be done with detonating cord, and
tion anti-economical in comparison to other alternative if detonators are used, place them at the top.
methods. The size of the blasts should be as large as possible in
Preblasting is a technique that consists in increasing order to acheive maximum efficiency from the loading
the natural fracturation of the massive rock with very and haulage equipment.
little displacement, by using explosives. This improves In general, there should be no problem of flyrock if the
the production rates of the operation with a relatively low stemming is done correctly with a minimum length of 35
cost. D, and the only limitation could be the vibrations. It
The dnlling diameters and bench heights depend should not be forgotten that in this type of blasts the
basically upon the machines used p-af - A m r g e m r e - n t e r e e o ~ m ~ ~ ~ ~ h - a
Table 21.15. In many cases, the height of the levels is also conventional round, the vibrations are greater.
limited by the length of the drill steel because these To reduce this problem, it is possible to use milisecond
operations should be one-time, eliminating unnecessary relays as indicated in Fig. 21.22, but with a timing that is
work. not too long as the main direction of rock movement is
The powder factors in each case depend upon the towards the surface and there is a certain risk of cut-offs.
equipment for breakage and loading, and the compressive
rock strength.
In Table 21.16, the approximate relationships between REFERENCES
thc?-powder factors,
such as ANFO, are indicated, to be able to properly carry Chung, C.S.: Computeriied sinking cut design in Open pit mining. 14th
out the preblastings. It is important to take into account Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium, Vancouver, 1982.
that as the velocities are reduced, the explosive charges Gustaffson, R.: Swedish Blasring Technique. SPI, 1973.
should do the Same. Langefors, U. & B. Kihlstrom: Voladura de Rocas. Edit. URMO,
1973.
The drilling pattkrns may be square or staggered with Hagan, T.N.: Initiation sequence, delay timings and cut-offs. AMI,
B = S. 1982.
As to the blasthole inclination, with small diameters Lopez Jimeno, E. & C. Lopez Jimeno: Las Vo uras en Crbrer y su
and distances, and the only free face which is usually the "$
Aplicacibn a la Mineria. V11 Congreso Intern ional de Mineria y
work platform itself, it is recommended that the angles be Metalurgia. 1984
Musil, E: Effect of blasting on output increase of bucket wheel ex-
close to 45", which requires a subdrilling between 15 and cavators. Bulk Solids Handling, December, 198 1.
20 D. In large diameters with higher benches, if the Petersson, S-A.: A shorfer guide ro trench blasring. Nitio Nobel AB,
drilling rigs are rotary percussive, the drilling can be 1985
carried out with inclinations between 1.5" and 30°, and if Tamrock: Handbook on Surface Drilling and Blasting. 1983.
CHAPTER 22
----
LOOK OUT
reamer bits which are adapted to the Same drill steel
which is used to drill the rest of the holes.
All the blastholes in the cut are placed with little
spacing, in line and parallel, which explains the frequent
use of jumbos which come with automatic parallelism.
The type of cylindricai cut most used is the four
..... section, as it is the easiest one to mark out and execute.
The calculation method for patterns and charges of this
Fig. 22.4. Onentation of the contour blastholes to maintain the
tunnel profile. cut and for the rest of the tunnel zones, uses the Swedish
theories recently up dated by Holmberg (1982), and
simplified by Olofsson (1990), which will be studied
below. Finaily, other types of cylindricai cuts have been
22.4 TYPES OF CUTS AND CALCLaATION OF used with success and have been well experimented.
m 4
1
W 03 where: q, = Lineal charge concentration (kglm), D, =
. .
DIAMETER O F EMPTY HOLE D2 fml Drilling diameter (m), D, = Diameter of the relief blast-
Fig. 22.6. Results of the blastings for different distances between
hole (i), B = ~ a x i m u mdistance between holes and
charged and empty blastholes, and their diameters (Holmberg). burden (m), c = Rock constant, PMANFO= Relative
weight strength of the explosive with respect to ANFO.
Fkquentli the possible values of the lineal charge
LARGE HOLE DIAMETER (mm) concentrations are quite limited as there is not an ample
variety of cartridged explosives. This means that for a
pre-fixed lineal concentration, the burden size can be
determined from the former equation, although the calcu-
lation is a bit more complex, Fig. 27.7.
To calculate the rest of the sections, it is considered that
some rectanglar openings of A, width already exist and
that the lineal charge concentrations q, are known. The
burden value will be calculated from:
B = 8.8 X 10-2
Fz- h X 41 X P ~ A N F O
B , = 1.7D2-E,= 1.7D2-(axL+e') Fig. 22.8. Relationship between the lineal concentration of the
charge and the maximum burden for different widths of the open-
where: E, = Drilling error (m), a = Angular deviation ing (Larsson and Clark).
Blastingfor tunnels and drifts 221
B, > 0.5 Ah Fig. 22.10. Modified burn-cut to eliminate sympathetic detonation and
dynamic pressure desensitization (Hagan).
Gusiafsson (1973) suggests that the burden for each
section be calculated with B, = 0.7 B'.
A mle of thumb to deterrnine the number of sections is
that the side length of the last section B should not be less
I /c-------
hBL 3 1 \ ASTHOLE
%-\P-- /-\-P
kL//($-J
than the Square root ofptheadvance. The calculation /
--
method for the rest of the sections is the same as for the 1 '\ 1
,I \\
second section. \\
The stemming lengths are estimated with: \\
T = IOD, \\
\
-- ----
RELIEF
\
b) Coromant cut
Consists in drilling two secant blastholes of equal diame-
ter (57 mm), which constitute the free opening, in slit
shape, for the first charges. A special drilling template is
used to bore the first two holes as well as those of the rest
of the cut, Fig. 22.13.
C) Fagersta cut
A central blasthole is drilled with a diameter of 64 or 76
mm and the rest of the charged blastholes, which are
--
Lifters
I The burden for lifter holes placed in a row is calculated,
@'L- basically, with the Same equation that is used in bench
Fig. 22.12. Double spiral cut. blastings, taking into consideration that the height of the
latter is equal to the advance of the round:
I I \ E
I
I where: f = Fixation factor. Generally 1.45 is taken to
I
I consider the gravitational effect and the delay tirning
I between blastholes, S/B = Relationship between spacing
and burden. It is usually considered equal to 1, C =
Corrected rock constant.
\
\
\ E =C + 0.05forB 2 1.4m
I
1 % E =C + 0.071BforB < 1.4m
I
drilling rig to carry out the collaring for the next round.
For an advance of 3 m, an angle of 3", which has an
equivalent of 6 cmlm, is enough, however it will logical-
ly depend upon the characteristics of the equipment,
Fig. 22.13. Coromant cut. Fig. 22.15.
The number of blastholes will be given by
I I I
I AT+ 2L X siny
I NB = Integer of
I [ B +lI
II where: AT = Tunnel width (m).
I The practical spacing for the Corner blastholes will be:
I
-.. 13
i
1
2;
0'
I
I
.-
a=100mrn
b
C
-15omm
=210rnm
l6I
I
I
I
' d =250rnm
I
I
I
I
1
I
I I
I
I
I I Fig. 22.14. Fagersta cut. Fig. 22.15. Geometry of the lifters.
Blastingfor tunnels and drijts 223
i;
PP
tion with the dn?ling diameter. With blastholes of a =3.";7 + 0.3512) = 0.77 m
caliber lower than 155 mm, ehe following equation is Qb = 3.67 kg
used:
Fourth section
A, = fi(0.37 + 0.3512 - 0.05) = 0.70m
where: D, is expressed in m. B = 0.67 m
B, = 0.62 m
Example of application T = 0.45 m
I f i ~ m i n e d i i f f h i obe exavated in rock (C= 0.4) by Afh = fi(0.62 + 0.7712) = 1.42 m, which is compar-
means of blasts with parallel blastholes and four section a6iFEEwe root o f t h i v ~ h i c h -
cut, knowing that the geometric dimensions and dnlling means that no more sections are needed.
data are: Q, = 3.67 kg.
- Tunnel width AT = 4.5 m,
- Abutment height 4.0 m, C) Lifters
- Height of arch 0.5 m, With d = 38 mm q, = 1.36 kglm
- Relief hole diameter D, = 102 m, B = 1.36m
- Drilling diameter D, = 45 mm, NB = 5 blastholes
S, = 1.21 m
Breaking direction of the Fixation factorf S/B relationship
5= 1.04m
B, = 1.14m
stoping holes
Upwards and horizontally 1.45 1.25
Downwards 1.20 1.25
224 Drilling und blasting of rocks
kn
Qb = 3.2 kg.
Fig. 22.16. Geomehic pattem of the calculated blast.
P 3Bmm
for contour blasts, vibration limitations, etc. which can
n.
cause slight variations in the design parameters. U> 50mm
Y B*
The final verification of the calculations will be made
after the blast. The introduction of the necessary 8 60-
modifications after an analysis of the results in the first
W-
trials should be gradual and systematic, even to the point
of not drilling the holes to their full length in the first M-
rounds and increasing the advance little by little in each
cycle. I O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O W ~ B ~ ~ O
TUNNEL AREA [mz)
I , ,
i o 2 0 3 b 4 0 5 0 & ? b 8 0 9 0 I &
TUNNEL AREA (m2)
Fig. 22.19. Specific drilling in function with the tunnel area and
drilling diameter.
I , ,
10 20 3b 40 50 60 X) 80 90 100 110 120
TUNNEL AREA (m2)
Fig. 22.17. Powder factor in function with the tunnel area (i2)
and the
F a i a m e r e n . -- -
P
Table 22.2.
Section of the cut Burden value Side of the section
First B, = 1.5D, B, fi
Table 22.3.
Part of round Burden (m) Spacing (m) Length bottom Charge concentration Stemming (m)
charge (m) Bottom (kglm) Column (kglm)
Floor B 1.1 B LI3 0.2 B
qr
Wall 0.9 B 1.1 B LI6 0.5 B
qr
Roof 0.9 B 1.1 B LI6 0.5 B
qr
Stoping
Upwards
Horizontal
Downwards
226 Drilling und blasting of rocks
DRILLING PATTERN 2e d ee
FOR HARD ROCK 0
2e 0
e'
ee
ee 3 ee
Fig. 22.23. Double crater cut using central 'blastholes of 200 mm
Fig. 22.22. Swedish Cut (Hagan, 198 1).
Blastingfor tunnels and drifs 227
As the advance per round is not very large, it has been with the drilling diameter D, are the following:
suggested that the cratering be canied out with double - Total height of the cut H, = 46 D.
depih blastholes, decking and stemming the charges, Fig. - Burden B = 34 D.
22.23. - Bottom charge concentration qf = 990 (D in m).
5
- Length of bottom charge = 0.3 L.
- Column charge concentration q, = 0.5 qf
22.4.4 Angled cuts - Length of stemming T = 12 D.
This group of cuts is used less each day because of the - Number of wedges in the vertical sense 3.
difficulty in drilling the holes. The advantage is a lower The cut-spreader blastholes, which are also drilled
consumption of explosives because there is better utiliza- inclined with respect to the tunnel axis, Fig. 22.24, are
tion of the free face surface and the possiblity of orienta- placed according to the following equations:
tion towards the visible discontinuities in the section. - Burden B = 24 D.
The following explains the most common angled cuts. - Bottom charge concentration q[ = 990 D ~ .
- Length of bottom charge 1, = 0.3 L.
V Cut - Column charge concentraiion qf = 0.4 qf
In these cuts in wedges or V, the advances are a r o u n e-miiiihjghgth T = i2 fi
to 50%of the tunnel width. In wide tunnels, the advances The burden value should fulfill the following condition
are affected by the deviations of the blastholes, which is B I 0.5 L - 0.2 m, which suggests that in shallow blasts
usually near 5%.Therefore, in a 5 m long blasthole, the the burden should be reduced.
deep end could have up to a 25 cm deviation, which might The cut holes, or even the nearest cut-spreader holes
cause sympathetic detonation of the adjacent charge. should be fired with milisecond delay detonators and the
The bottom angle should not be less than 60°, because rest with delay detonators.
the charges would be too confined and more explosive The drilling patterns for the stoping, lifter and contour
would be necessary to achieve adequate fragmentation. areas are calculated in the same manner as indicated for
The mean Parameters in the cut design, in function parallel blasthole cuts.
Fan cut
BC This type of cut was widely used several years ago, but it
is not favored nowadays because of its complicated dril-
ling.
The blasthole pattems and charges for the cut are
calculated as in the 'V' cut, Fig. 22.25.
The cut-spreader blastholes are measured by the fol-
lowing equations:
- Burden (it should fulfill B < L - 0.4) B = 23 D.
P P P P t
OB OB
- Height of cut H, = 42 D.
- - - t h w -
Qf= 990 D ~ .
- Length of bottom charge If = 0.3 L
- Concentration of bottom charge qc = 0.4 qf
The initiation sequences of the cut and cut-spreader
should be canied out with milisecond delay detonators.
The fans can be horizontal, as the former, or driiled
upwards or downwards, Fig. 22.26.
CONDmONS um^ I
I Wrn!
M O ~ ~ T E P
HOLF. IN GRAMS
DETONATOB
M m m
DLMiiON
OF B i
OBSERVATIONS
+ 1. - Tb.lIkfuedmmigo<aaigbDD.l
- ThaIkholsaomcpthmi~~
Z.
2
-In bmrmtila+&ibriüthmp
beimdero.5.i
- UIku~LMicdanwRtb~bmiMherLabarth.i~iütQlpit~60
anocmn<lmxUlhcheiuciadLnIWrn
-
C!
V.%
@
2"
28
-
1%;
OYC.
hvpvvdLhasthemuniuunarrrnirilion~nevs&ovnO.5%
!5 3
Z
DELA'i
OR MILUSECOND
DELAY
2 - hIk~3(imihcrcdbcu1y~uLUaiofrml~~~~&~a
z:
X L rmihui.pc&.
--
7 - Tbumlhckr130mlhcbysrofinmveredmilbc&IO~oflhcheloW~of
ihc~inlh.uaitd~IbcLnhverbeitl&it3m
- 2. -iMihcf.ono~go<houghmal SAFETY. 9
--- - Tb.libcm<ofhDls~pthmi@rmlbeundnIAofibrlail. S m . 9 bis 2.000
DELAY
OR
5r
BiASiHOILS THAT
I
MROUGH W A L
Z
- M i x r d l i b o r r o f r m l u d m c L ~ w h i r h U i e t o U I ~ o f r m l d D s ~ ~ l O t c o Sf A F E N . 12 MULISECUND
DELA'i
CAhTiOT BE
CHARGED
f: taild.ocalhouinwhirhmC~ofhoIswhirhg~~ghrml&DaMcd
115 0 f l d
- TMlhcheo~~lsLhiiwrii~@~bcov~1I5oflail
SAFEiY, 9 bis
S m . I2
- Mn
M-
DELAY
7n'oflOmc
I i k
5 n' of 30 mr
4. - ~ o v e r ~ c h u r ~ b y t h e m a m i i r I v i a SAFEN. 9 MILLISECUND
SAFEN. 9 bir 500 DELAY I15 M
SAFEN. 12 7n'of2Omc
5'n of3O mc
-
J
5
-
5
z
SAFETY. 20 SR
SAFEN 18 SR
S A F E N 3 0 SR 1 1.0011
l.5W
MAXlMUhI
DELAY
MUJJSECOND
DEUY
__ I 5r WllAIR
v E m m
V 2 0.5 a's
-AIR
VELOCm
V C 0,s m4
.
6 -M e of m i d u n v u d i h d SAFEiY 20 SR 1.500 MUJJSECOh'D DELAY I15 mr
S A n n 18 SR ~A~
S A F R Y 30 SR 1.000 7n'oflOm
? n'of30 mc I25 mr
Fig. 22.29. Drilling Pattern with spiral cut composed of two large
diameter blastholes.
22.5 EQUPMENT FOR MARKING OUT DRILLING Godoy, S.G. & M.D. Viera: Computerized model for design optimiza-
tion of blasting patterns in tunnels. Tunnelling '82, 1982.
PATTERNS Gustafsson, R.: Swedish Blasting Technique. SPI, 1973.
Hagan, T.N.: Larger diameter blastholes - A proposed means of
Amongst the auxiliary equipment for marking out the increasing advance rates. Fourth Australian Tunnelling Confer-
collars of the blastholes in underground labors, the dril- ence Melboume, 1981.
ling pattern projectors are avai'lable. These units are Hemnann, K: Precis de Forage des Roches. Dunod, 1971.
Hernpfill, G. B.: Blasting Operations, MacGraw-Hill, 1981.
battery run and can be placed on a tnpod on the ground or Holmberg. R.: Charge calculationsfor tunnelling. Underground Min-
upon a vehicle. Once the direction of the tunnel or shaft ing Methods Handbook, AIME, 1982.
has been marked, two reference points are indicated on Larsson, B. & D.A. Clark: Cost savings and improved stability through
the face and, following this, the hole pattern of the round optimized rock blasting. VME-Nitro Consult, 1982.
Langefors, U. & B. Kihlstrorn: Voladura de Rocas. Edit. URMO,
is projected on the rock. The obtained image is focused 1973.
and the collaring points of the blastholes are marked with Lopez Jirneno, C.: Cblculo y Diseiio de Voladuras en Tiineles con
paint, Fig. 22.31. Microordenador - Programa DISVOLTUN. I Seminario de In-
genieria de Arranque con Explosivos en Proyectos Subtedneos.
Fundation Gornez-Pardo, Marzo, 1986.
Olofsson, S.O.: Applied explosives technology for construction und
REFERENCES mining. APPLEX, 1990.
Prinz, J.: Perspectives D'Avenir de Creusement a I'Explosif: Industrie
Berta, G.: L'Explosivo Strumento Di Lavoro. Italexplosiv, 1985. Minerale - Les Techniques. Aout-Septernbre, 1983.
Cil.: Manuel del Explosifs. Montreal, 1971. Rockset Int. Salej A.B.: Informacibn Tkcnica.
Du Pont: Blaster Handbook, 16th edition, 1980. Rustan, A. et al.: Controlled blasting in hard intense jointed rock in
EXSA: Manual Prbctico de Voladura, Perii, 1986 tunnels. CIM Bulletin, Decernber, 1985.
Gregory: Explosivesfor Norrh American Engineers. Trans Tech Publi- Tamrock: Handbook of Undergroung Drilling. 1983.
cations, 1983. \ Wild, H: W.: Sprengtechnik. Verlag Glükauf. 1984.
CHAPTER 23
23.1 INTRODUCTION method, other interesting aspects are that the length of the
Tn-d-tkaurofits from the underground such as the drilling Dattems and blasting Systems are simple and
ore recovery or the opening of large chambers, an essen- the drilling personnel does not have to be very expe-
tial part of the development work is the driving of shafts rienced. Lastly, as the broken rock always remains in the
and raises. These can be either vertical or inclined, and deepest part, the loading equipment works with a high
are characterized by their lineal design and drilling productivity.
difficulties.
During the last decades numerous methods have been
developed, mechanizing the work by means of special 23.2.3 Thefull-bottom method
techniques and drilling aparatus, increasing advances and The full-bottom method is used frequently in shaft sink-
production and improving safety conditions. ing, as it suits either rectangular or round sections shafts.
There are various techniques for blasthole placement
because, as happens in dnfting and tunnelling, it is
23.2 SHAFT SINKING necessary to create a free surface with a few blastholes
unless there is a large diameter pilot hole available or
The methods for shaft sinking can be divided in three expansion raises. The face is opened with plough cuts,
groups: V-cuts or cone cuts and with relief blastholes, Fig. 23.3.
- The benching method (half-bottom method). V-cuts are used in rectangular section shafts. The
- The spiral method. planes of the dihedrals formed by the blastholes that are
- The full-bottom method. inclined between 50 and 75" should be parallel to the
discontinuities, in order to use them to advantage during
23.2.1 The benching method breakage.
Fig. 23.10.
CI^ ~
ceniral hole with the largest diarneter as cut hole, blasting ventilated by injecting compressed air and water. Later
3 to 4 m per round, Fig. 23.12. the platform is lifted and the roof is scaled, reinitiating the
The central blasthole, apart from serving as cut hole in work cycle again.
the blast, also provides ventilation.
23.3.2 Methods with downward drilling
Alimak platfom method
This consists in a work platform that slides along a rack The previous methods have the following inconve-
and pinion rail that is attached to the raise wall by niences:
expansion shell bolts. - The complete cycles are very long, dnlling, blast-
Parallel blastholes are drilled with heavy hammers and ing, ventilation and scaling, which means low productiv-
pushers, getting advances per round of up to 3 m. In Fig. ity due to lost time.
23.13 a typical finng Pattern is indicated. - The need for an elevated number of highly qualified
Once the round is fired, the bottom of the raise is personnel.
Drilling und blasting of rocks
i
Table 23.1.
Blasthole Diameter (mm)
I ld
L . .
165
..-
and, taking the average value of p, = 1.3 g/cm3, it is - Raise driving all in one phase which means less
proven that the optimum depth in function with the drilling, and
blasthole diameter is approximately: - The possibility of using down the hole hammer
drilling rigs.
Fig. 23.19 shows the drilling pattern used in the
D,is the distance between the free face and the Center of Rubiales Mine for raise driving, with 165 mrn (6%")
gravity of the charge in the central blasthole. In the rest of blastholes. The pattern is composed of two hexagonals
the holes, the depth increases in intervals of some 10to 20 and an inner triangle. These raises are used for exploita-
Cm. The blastholes should not be too close together in tion of the chambers, shooting the production blasts
order to avoid rock sinterization. towards the face opened by them.
The advantages of the crater cut system in comparison In Table 23.2, the most interesting data of these blasts
with the plough cut are the following: has been compiled.
- Lower drilling costs as there are fewer blastholes
and the central hole need not be widened by rearning, Full-facemethod
and This consists in opening a pilot hole of 1 to 2 m in
- Drilling does not have to be as precise. diameter with a raise borer and using it as an expansion
hole.
'
The method is canied out in large underground civil
At the Same time that the Vertical Crater Retreat method engineering projects and in shaft sinking or for driving
became popular, in metal deposit operations a 'VCR' large section raises.
system of driving raises was developed, based on the Its pnncipal advantages are:
Same principles as the crater cut method, Fig. 23.18. - Wide drilling Patterns which lowers cost.
In this case the blastholes, with diameters sirnilar to - Relatively small explosive charges which means
those used in production blasting, are placed in Square less damage to the remaining rock.
sections with the all charges at the Same height. Table - Possiblilty of driving the raise in one shot.
23.1 shows two real examples given by Lang (1981), In Fig. 23.19, the pattern and initiation sequence of a
using high density watergels. blast with this method are shown. The distance of the first
P e a d v a n t a g e s - d i a t - t f r i s method-hasove~Ehep~eced-- - b ~ a ~ t h d e ~ ~ e ~ ~ o l e s h o u I d _ b e s
ing one are: free face is concave and the rock is in good condition after
- Lower drilling costs and fewer blastholes. being opened mechanically.
- Easier charging of explosive.
REFERENCES
Table 23.2.
Atlas Copco: E1 Cuele Crbter en la Perforacibn de Ckimeneas.
Drilling diameter 165 mm Castaiion, C. & E. Castells: Mktodos de Perforacibn y Voladuras
Distance fmm charge to chamber roof Im Empleados en la Mina de Rubiales. IV Seminario de Ingenieria de
Charge height lm Arranque de Rocas con Explosivos en Proyectos Subterrhneos.
Charge height1Diameter relationship 6 Fundaci6n G6mez-Pardo, 1990.
Total explosive charge 21 kg Espley-Jones, R.C. & J.C. B. Wilson: South African blasting practice
Type of explosive used Cartridged watergel inshaftsinking. SEE, 1979.
Number of cartridges 3 (7 kg) Gustafsson, R.: Ticnica Sueca de Voladuras. SPI, 1977.
Advance per round 3m Lang, L.C.: Driving underground raises with VCR SEE, Sept. 1981.
23 8 Drilling und blasting of roch
Lopez Jimeno, E. & C. Lopez Jimeno: Las Voladuras en Crbter y su Metalilrgica, Barcelona, 1984.
Aplicacibn a la Mineria. V11 Congreso International de Mineria y Wild, H.W.: Sprengtechnik, Verlag Glükauf GmbH, 1984.
C H A m R 24
Table 24.1
with the same explosive that is to be used in the produc- emulsions and gelatin dynamite, and in medium and soft
tion blasts. rocks the lower density and velocity watergels. ANFO
- The blasthole diameters will be as large as possible, has a very limited range of application and is only used in
for example 115 mm. soft rocks.
- The &es of pilot hoie lengths will be as ample as
possible to 'Iow an ample of burial depths' for 24.2.2 Mining method with vertical crater retreat 'VCR'
example 15 blastholes between 0.75 and 4 m with
stoping
increases of 0.25 m.
- The blastholes will be placed perpendicularly to the This method consists basically in delimiting the ore stope
free face. that is to be exploited by a system of shafts directed to a
- The explosive charges will have a length of 6 D and different level, by dnlling from the charging level the
will be adequately stemmed. whole series of blastholes that Cover the room and finng
After each test, the volume of the crater will be mea- them in successive upward rounds with elongated spe-
-
sured, and afterwards, with all information in hand, the
v o l u m e - u e p , t . p .J. h
rical charges L < 6 D, placed in the optimum depth in
l
In order to better describe the rock breakage procedure regular a roof as possible, Fig. 24.6.
and the importance of cbarge shape, Livingston also The broken ore is hauled away through cross cuts
proposed the following empirical equation: excavated from the extraction level to the draw point of
VlQ = E: X Ar X B' X C the stope. The extraction is usually done in a controlled
(Equation of the Fragmentation Process) manner, evacuating only the quantity of ore necessary to
allow sufficient space between it and the stope ceiling for
where: Ar = Coefficient of the use of explosive energy, the next round, avoiding detachments from the side walls
B' = Coefficient of the behavior of the material, C = which would dilute the ore.
Coefficient that takes into account the effects of the
--P
Once the deviations of the drills are under control, as
geometry of the charge.
--P
welmas~cightofthe-cutirreaehf+he-eraerf
If the charges used are sphencal and the depth is excavated in each round, procede to charge the explosive,
optimum, the value of B' can be determined by the after plugging the lower part of the blastholes by one of
preceding equations because A' = C = 1, V = V,, and the Systems shown in Fig. 24.7.
therefore: Once the explosive charge has been placed at the
adequate depth with its initiator andlor multiplicator, it
will be stemmed to improve the confinement with a
As in this type of blastings it is necessary to maxirnize the length of inert material 12 times the diameter of the
efective energy developed per unity of charge length, the blasthole, using fine sand or water to avoid the risk of
explosives used will comply with the following charac- obstruction,Fig. 24.8.
teristics: high detonation velocity, high density and the In this type of work a determined initiation sequence is
possibility of completely filling the cross section of the not necessary, as in bench blasting, owing to the charac-
blasthole. teristics of the breakage mechanism in crater blasts.
The ideal explosives for hard rock are the watergels, However, when there are charges under the mean level of
Underground production blasting 24 1
-
CHARDE T 0 0
SHALLOW e Cn*RQE T 0 0 DEEP
/ a 0
AP?AABCT C
RAm
--' .,
-
3
4 c
C. MOUNDING DEPTH
. .
- O,lm/Kgm
CROSS SECTKm C-C
:BROKEN ZONE
I
- Optimum safety for personnel and equipment (ex-
cluding the last blast in which the crown is broken).
- With warehouse chambers, the protection needed
for the orebody side walls is reduced as the broken and
swollen ore acts as support. I
i
- As the charge weights per hole or delay are small,
the vibration levels are not very high.
- The fragmentation is usually good. I
- Muck loading, without remote control, can reach
70%and, if there is lateral access, it can be up to 80%.
- 2 t
i
in . s-.
\arith . . that are not very
elevated, and
- No need to drill raises.
e 9
right underneath the charging level or topsill, requires the < 1.5 X Single blast. Single syrnrnetncallyplaced
charge
use of special blasts which can be designed knowing the 1.6-2.0X Single blast. Decked charges fired sirnulta-
mean vertical advance in each round and the dimensions neously
of the crown. As a general guide, the criteria in Table 24.2 > 2.0 X Two separate blasts
can be followed. *Function of the rnean vertical advance per round X.
Undergroundproduction blasting
TOP ff CAOW
TOP ff C A O W
Do - WTUN DEPM ff B l R U L
On the other hand, the problems are: 24.3.2 Blasting in the longhole method 'LBH'
- . .
~ ~ i whiie o lmding
n the ore, requiring To calculate the drilling pattern in the long blasthole
s e c o n d q ventilation.
zone, Langefors equation is usually applied:
- The damage to hanging walls is extensive with risk,
on occasions, of caving.
- Grade control is difficult because in each round the
muck piles up on that of the preceding blast and mixes
during its descent, and
- After the extraction, rock can fall off the side walls
and increase dilution. where: B„ = Maximum burden (m), D = Blasthole di-
ameter (mm), C = Rock constant (Taking generally: C =
24.3 LONGHOLE METHOD 0.3 + 0.75 Medium hard rocks; C = 0.4 + 0.75 Hard
rocks), f = Fixation factor (Vertical blastholes; f = 1,
24.3.1 Long blasthole mining method 'LBH' Inclined blastholes; 3: 1f = 0.9; Inclined blastholes 2: 1
f = 0.85), S/B = Relationship between spacing and bur-
The longhole method, 'LBH - Large Blasthole', is an den, p, = Charge density (kg/dm3), PRP = Relative
application of the principals of open pit bench blasting to weight strength of the explosive.
underground mining. The method affects primarily the The value of the practical burden is established from
breakage operation and, in a certain way, the preparation the maximum value, applying a correction for the devia-
of stopes as, in general, the work is canied out on two tion of the blastholes and collaring errors:
sublevels, one for drilling and another for extracting.
However, the operational methods are the same as in the
0
&W.
In the 'LBH' method, each stope is divided into three The spacing S is determined with the equation:
clearly differentiated sectors:
- The undercut, which canies out the mission of re-
ceiving the fragmented ore and creating a free face in the The drilling pattern influences the sizing of the drifts or
bottom of the blastholes. cuts of the top level of drilling.
- The longhole sector, where the large diameter pilot The bench blasting in this method does not require toe
holes are drilled and represent between 85 to 90% of the breakage, therefore it is only n e c e s s q to use the colurnn
chamber tonnage. charge. The most used explosives are: ANFO for hard
- The slot raise, which is used as the first vertical free and medium hard rock, and ALANFO for very hard rock.
fafaceceo~he~~t~f~rtIieün~ercutttas wen as f ö r t h r- 1 f - t h i e r presentinthFbiasthoies~theech-argizizcCm
longhole zone, Fig. 24.12. be placed in a plastic covering or use watergels and low
The slot raise, or beginning of the sector, is constructed density emulsions.
from a raise with dimensions that oscillate between 1.8 The main problem in this type of blastings is the level
and 3.5 m, depending upon the case, and which can be of vibrations generated by the large quantity of explosive
excavated with a raise borer or by the 'VCR' method that can be accomodated in the blastholes.
using the available drilling equipment. These vibrations produce dynamic Stresses that can
From the raise, the undercut is created with vertical fan cause damage in the underground labors or the nearby
shaped holes, usually of 65 mm, on a pattern of 1.5 X 2 m installations.
in the bottom of the blastholes. The powder factor is This problem is solved by decking the charges with
around 800 g/t. intermediate stemming or wooden Separators. After stu-
Afterwards, with the production drilling equipment, dying the vibrations, the maximum quantity of explosives
large diameter blastholes are opened (165 mrn) on a needed to form an elemental charge should be determined
triangular pattern, Fig. 24.13. by observing the following:
244 Drilling und blasting of roch
Table 24.3.
Explosive Intermediate stemming
ANFO 12 to 15D
Watergels 16 to 18 D
decked charges.
- The possibility of loading up to 80% of the broken
rock without remote conirol.
- Lower powder factor than with the 'VCR' method.
- Use of less expensive explosives such as ANFO
instead of watergels or emulsions.
- Lower drilling and blasting costs, and
- Good grade conirol and low ore dilution.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it causes a Fig. 24.16. Sublevel stoping with fan holes.
246 Drilling and blasting of rocks
BLASTHOLES IN FAN
%+, B-TUZBWIOWD1BTANCEFOA~L
-TERM. TRWYQULAR PATTERN
I I
Fig. 24.20. Parallel fan holes drilled in a conventional pattem and with . -nce. . . . between cnarges tor ditferent dnlling
pattems and values of r (Hagan).
the S/Brelationship value equal to 1.155 at collaring points (Hagan).
r
Fig. 24.21. Values of 8and r for different S/Brelationshipsat collaring
points (Hagan).
FREE FACE
energy lost in vibrations and fly rock, and a poorer
distribution of the useful energy.
By rotating the equilateral triangles 30' with respect to
the face line, the drilling pattern shown in Fig. 24.22 is
achieved.
Fig. 24.22. Drilling blastholes in a fan pattem with reonentatedequila-
With these patterns, S/B values that are equal to 3.464
teral triangle designs (Hagan). can be reached, giving the following advantages:
- For any value of r the minimum distance between
charges is larger, for an S/B relationship at the collaring
- As the distance between charges in a fan pattern point of 3.464, Fig. 24.23. For this reason, the probability
decreases, the probability of a charge initiating, desensi- of the detonation of a charge initiating or harming another
tizing or 'robbing. the burden of other adjacent charges adjacent one with a later break time is smaller. For the
increases. reorientated pattems, the minimum distance between
In Fig. 24.20, it can be seen how the parallel fans are charges refers to between adjacent fans if R > r > 0.3 or
dephased from one another with a pattern of equilateral within the same fan, as happens in the conventional
triangles, obtaining a S/B relationship value that is equal patterns, if r C 0.3R. When S/B is under 1.0, the capacity
to 1.155 at the collars. of a charge to initiate or harm an adjacent charge rapidly
In Fig. 24.21, one can observe how the values of S/B increases.
and 0 d i i n i s h as r decreases from R to 0. This decrease - When the S/B relationship at the collaring point is
signifies a smaller amount of energy freed, an increase over 2.4, part of the ore is fragmented by sections of
between the predicted and actual detonation times, more charges near the collar that break towards balanced con-
248 Drilling und blasting of roch
cave biplanar faces. As S/B increases from 2.4 to 4.0. the areas is carried out with harnmers installed upon pushers.
percentage of fragmented ore increases from 0% up to Mechanization is not wide spread in this method, which
64%. This only happens in reorientated patterns. means abundant manual labor and low productivity.
- As r diminishes, the blastholes deviate from their A variation of the room and pillar method in inclined
initial reorientated pattern, but they go through a conven- orebeds is composed of sloping drifts which serve as
tional equilateral triangle pattern upon a cylindricd sur- access to the operation zones and can be climbed by the
face that has a radius of r = 0.3 R. jumbos. From these access drifts, other horizontal dnfts
Therefore, it can be deduced that the reorientated pat- are excavated at intervals, following the ore boundary as
terns with collar S/B relationships close to 3.5 allow a closely as possible.
better use of the explosive energy, with the consequent In thick deposits, the excavations cannot be carried out
reduction in drilling and blasting costs, avoiding the with the jumbos in one phase, which means that the ore is
potential problems of unstability, and producing lower divided vertically, and the lower part is recovered by
vibration levels. bench blasting. The benching is carried out with conven-
uonal rigs and vertical 'Dlasthoies, rig. 24.24.
. .
&
-Ig
ls-e~-
24.5 ROOM AND PILLAR MINING that is applied extensively to improve stability which,
apart from production drilling, should be taken into con-
Used in horizontal or flat dip bedded deposits of salts, sideration as a corresponding part of the work.
limestone, potash, iron, etc, with maximum inclination of
30" and rocks with stable geomechanic charactexistics,
ore that can be extracted by excavating large chambers 24.6 CUT AND FILL MINING
and leaving pillars to support the side walls.
The pillars are placed in regular patterns, usually squa- This method was originally developed in Canada in the
re, circular and sometimes rectangular. Their sizing is one later fifties. It consists in excavating the ore by ascending
of the most important aspects because it conditions the horizontal sublevels, filling the holes produced by ore
ore recovery and the stability of the operation. extraction from the deepest sublevels with waste ma-
In horizontal deposits, or with little inclination, the terial, which serves as support for the hanging walls and
process consists in opening drifts for the extraction and as a work platform for the drilling, charging and haulage
haulage of the ore. This is often done by connecting these equipment. Hydraulic filling is a usual practice because
labors with the previous drifts. The dimensions of the of easy uansportation and the possibility of mixing it with
excavations correspond with the height and width of the a small percentage of cement, Fig. 24.25.
drifts, and the machinery used is composed of jumbos This method has the folbwing advantages:
with several booms and drilling rigs which gives a high - High ore recovery.
degree of mechanization. - Grade and dilution control.
The inclined orebodies are divided verticallv into - Mechanization of the operations.
levels, from which the haulage drifts are estakshed - Fewer problems of side wall stability and surface
along the foot walls. These drifts serve as access ways to caving, and
the production areas where the operation continues up- - Easy and effective ventilation.
wards to the next level. The drilling for the blasts in these Two Systems can be used for drilling arid blasting:
Photo 24.3. Hydroelectric Power Station of Saucelle (Iberduero, Photo 24.4. Side walls with presplitting in the Hydroelectric Power
S.A.). Station of Saucelle (Iberduero, S.A.).
(MEASUREMENTS IN m) 1 1
Fig. 24.28. Excavation phases in,Aldeadavila I1 (Courtesy of Iberduero, S.A.).
Undergroundproduction blasting 25 1
Table 31.2.
'1fiickness of wall Hm(cm) Mttem - I5 X S (cm)-mber or rows
The explosive charges are prepared by uniting pieces Depending upon the quality of the material, consisten-
of about 50 g to a detonating cord and with a spacing that cy and risk of flyrock, the specific charge oscillates
is in function with the density of the calculated charge. between 0.5 and 1.0 kg/m3.
In Table 3 1.1, the specific charges and patterns recom- Drilling lengths depend upon the thickness of the wall
mended by Gustafsson in function with the material of H,. Under normal conditions, the holes are drilled with
the foundation are indicated. L = %H, leaving a sternrning of T = %H, and a charging
In order to obtain a good fragmentation which faci- Zone of the Same dimensions, Fig. 31.1.
'litates loading, at the Same time that the flyrock is con- The placing of the blastholes can be done on a stag-
trolled, an initiation sequence with rnillisecond delay gered square Pattern which allows better distribution of
d e t o n a t o r s is recommended.
Concrete walls
31.3.2 Walls In the case of reinforced concrete walls that form part of
The following types of walls are Seen: the retaining structure, the patterns used are detailed in
- Brick walls that are part of the reinforcing elements Table 31.3.
of the structure. As in the previous case, the hole lengths will be % the
- Concrete walls that pertain to the sustaining struc- thickness of the wall, but the powder factors will increase
ture. up to 0.9-1.5 kg/m3,Fig. 31.2.
- Concrete walls, cast into the ground but not subject
to Stress. Concrete walls Cast into the ground
In these instances, where the walls are usually high,
Brick walls narrow and cast into the ground, the blastholes are drilled
In order to save drilling time, this should be carried out at vertically to achieve fragrnentation of the concrete and
3 14 Drilling und blasting of rocks
facilitate its digging and haulage, Fig. 31.3. It is not
recornmended that the holes be longer than 1.5 m, to
avoid deviations which could cause flyrock problems due
to the existance of high charge concentrations.
In Table 3 1.4, the design Parameters of the blastings in
function with the sizes and construction materials of the
walls are indicated.
The initiation should be carried out with rnillisecond
delay detonators and the surfaces that are to be blasted
should be carefully covered.
In this type of blastings, small experimental tests
should be made on part of the wall to detennine the ideal
Fig. 31.1. Transversal section of a wall and the geometry of the Table 31.4.
charges. Type of wall Thickness Spacing S Rows Powder factor
H,,,(cm) (cm) CE (kgtm3)
Non-reinforced 20 30 1 0.2-0.3
concrete walls 30 30 1 0.2-0.3
40 30 1 0.2-0.3
50 40 1 0.2-0.3
Reinforced con- 20 30 1 0.3-0.5
crete walls 30 30 1 0.3-0.5
40 30 1 0.3-0.5
50 40 I 0.3-0.5
60 40 2 0.3-0.5
70 40 2 0.3-0.5
Fig. 31.3. Volume of a high and narrow wall. Photo 3 1.2. Partial demolition of a breakwater wall.
Structure and building demolition
31.3.3 Pillars the cleft is opened, the steel bands can be cut with a
blowpipe, 31.5.
Pillars are usually of reinforced concrete with Square,
In Table 31.5, the Patterns, drilling lengths and blast-
rectangular or circular sections. hole charges recornrnended are indicated.
The blasthole drilling should be directed parallel to
When cleft blastings are to be carried out, at least two
lar~estface of the pillar.
. . . .
. . . . .
Fig. 31.5. Drilling Patterns for slabs.
d - -
Gt G2 LEVEL ARM OF
T M BEMHNG MOMENT
T E W G T 0 MAKE THE
CHMNEY TWIN
3 1.4.1 Chimneys
The industrial chimneys, or stacks, usually are annexed to
other installations, and have circular, Square or polygonal
sections, constructed of brick or reinforced concrete. Photo 3 1.3. Fall of a brick chimney.
Structure und' building demolition 317
Collapse blasting
As in the case before, the collapse blastings can only be
done in brick chimneys. The rounds consist in the instan-
taneous firing of a group of charges located in the whole
base in an homogeneous manner.
ph- 21d a . A.. . eA3-u-d Generally, the number of blasthole rows is two or three,
concrete chimney of reduced thickness. (Courtesy of CAVOSA) as showninFig. 3 1 . i l .
This procedure is the most risky and should only be
used as an alternative to the aforementioned in an ex-
Owing to their slenderness,they are the ideal structures treme case. The study of the blasting should include
to be demolished by explosives. The fall of the chimney is meticulous inspection of the condition of the stmcture to
eliminated by blasting part of the sustaining base in such avoid falls in any other radial direction than planned.
a way that the vertical of the Center of gravity moves out
of the remaining base, producing a lack of balance of the 3 1.4.2 Towers
constmction and a turning of the same in a deterrnined
direction, as happens during the felling of a tree, Fig. Towers are those constructionsthat have a height of more '
31.7. than 10 m and abase of less than 1/3 of H*, Figs 31.12 and
The techniques of chimney demolition can be classi- 31.13.
fied as: For the demolition of these structures, the Same criteria
- Directional blasting with complete fall. as for chimneys is followed. In directional blastings with
- Directional blasting with reduced fall. complete fall, the height of the wedge cut will depend
- Collapse blasting. upon the thickness of the construction and the width of
the base, oscillating between 3 and 20 tirnes the wall
Directional Blasting with completefall thickness.
This is the safest method and the study of its application In towers built upon concrete pillars, the pillars will be
should be done with priority over the other two methods. blasted following the same procedure and using an initia-
Besides, it has the advantage of using less quantity of tion sequence with milisecond delay detonators.
expiosive and.s-
To obtain optimum results, the chimney stacks should
be in good condition. If they ak made of brick, the Zone 3 1.4.3 Bridges
to be undermined should occupy half of the horizontal The types of bridges that are apt to be demolished with
base on the side of the direction of the fall, which will explosives are:
coincide with the radius that is perpendicular to the - Brick or masonry bridges.
diameter and acts as a hinge. The number of blasthole - Steel bridges upon masonry supports.
rows necessary is usually three, along the length of !4 of - Concrete bridges.
the perimeter, and two in the rest of the semi-perimeter, In general, these labors are characterized by the fact
~ i ~ .1.8.
-3 -~&gdebRs~l~~kem~~ed~ckly,astherear
In the chimneys made of reinforced concrete, the Zone usually roads or rivers underneath, and because there are
to be blasted will occupy % of the base, coinciding the usually other nearby structures such as buildings, new
direction of the fall with the bisector of the central angle bridges, etc.
of the remaining base, which is 120".The number of rows Below, for each of the types of bridges, general out-
in the high part of the wedge cut is limited by a height lines for blasting are given.
equivalent to '/3 of the chimney diameter, ending in the
lateral parts of the blasted area which occupies 2/3 of the Masonry bridges
perimeter, in a height equivalent to 3 rows. To achieve This is the oldest type of construction and it usually has,
better breakage of the material, it is convenient to Open pillars, abutments and arches of masonry of quite large
some spaces similar to windows with a width that is size, along with materials like mass concrete injected
double the thickness of the chimney and a height slightly with gravel, Fig. 34.14.
above the third row of blastholes. Owing to the robust nature of the sustaining elements,
the number of necessary blastholes is elevated.
Drilling und blasting of rocks
C, I I P I I
LHE OF
FALL
U I P I
LHE OF
FALL
LHE OF
FALL
I
I
1 .
Fig. 31.16. Blasting zones for the demolition of a arch beam bridge
(Berta, 1985).
Fig. 31.12. Types of towers.
7 I
1;
Fig. 3 1.13. Demolition of square or cirkular section towers. charging goes, as brick walls, while in the arches, accord-
ing to their width, the blasting can be global or in sections
as indicated in Fig. 31.15.
The minimum width of the Zone to be fragmented
should be of three rows of blastholes, and if ihe bridge is
built with severai arches it is recommended that the
demolition be carried out simultaneously because wha-
tever is left after each blast might be damaged or cracked
-bythe-~me-and~-~nst~te~a~hIgti~~~~apse~sk.
two types are Seen: the arch beam and of prefabricated 3 1.5 DEMOLJTION OF BUILDINGS
beams, or spans.
For the first, the demolition will be carried out by In the demolition of buildings with explosives, only basic
making cuts with confined explosive charges at strategic principles can be given, as each case requires a complete
points of the structure, as indicated in Fig. 3 1.16. project for the blast using general criteria and the applica-
As for Span bridges, constructed with pretensed con- tion of specific criteria.
crete beams, demolition is carried out in two different The types of structures that are usually demolished
phases: first by blasting the beams, according to indica- with explosives are basically constructed of brick, con-
tions, in three zones of the span, Fig. 3 1.17, and followed crete or a mixture of both.
by the pillars using steel cables, if necessary, to achieve The work should commence with a detailed study of
their collapse. The blast should have at least two rows of the building plans, if available, in order to detennine:
holes and a powder factor of around 1.5 kg/m3. - The existance of expansion joints.
- Areas that could affect the results of the demolition
such as stairways, elevators, pipelines, basements, etc.-.
This phase should be complemented Dy a study 01the
- e a ~ i I 3 ~ = ^ 1
their identification,especialiy in the critical anddoubtful
areas. This work is equally or more important than the
actual designing of the blasts, because there have been
many cases in which, after only contemplating the build-
ing plans, the results have not been satisfactory because
the real structures were not exactly the Same. After the
studies, the preparatory work must be carried out by:
- Separating the structural elements by mechanical
means.
- Cutting the re-bars inside the reinforced concrete.
- Constraint of the elements with cables, bolts, etc.
- Elimination of the interior pannels, walls, door and
window frames, etc.
Photo 31.5. Demolition of a twwstorey building of masonry. - Elimination of metal bearns and their substitution by
I
props or supports, etc.
4 1 L I
17
I0
n
a s Fig. 31.19. Initiation sequence in a building
of masonry.
Structure und building demolition
Example:
Fig. 3 1.23. Dimensions of the detal profile.
A double T steel beam with the dimensions that are
indicated in Fig. 3 1.23, is to be cut.
Wing area = 2 X 1.2 X 12.5 = 30.0 cm2
Area of the web = (30 - 2.4) X 1 = 27.6 cm2
If the demolition is carried out with collapse upon the Total areaAvg= 30.0 X 27.6 = 57.6 cm2
Same occupied area, the initiation sequence and the blast Explosive charge Q = 34 X 57.6 = 1858.4 g = 2kg.
Pattern will be as indicated in Fig. 3 1.22. The plaster charges will be placed along the web of the
If isolated stnictural elements exist which should exert beam and in contact with the wings. On occasions, ply-
s o ~ l i t : o ~ f f o r c e - o ~ ~ w ho o ~b t ~s p ~k e db o -n -~b o h I d e s ~ e a r i ~ +
held or anchored by different mechanical means, cables,
bolts, etc.
On the other hand, when it is necessary to isolate some
parts of the buildings, the uniting elements should be cut
REFERENCES
and, above all, the re-bars of the reinforced concrete.
It is easy to understand that in this type of blastings the
Abad, M. et al.: Voladuras Controladas en ZQMS Urbanas. IGME,
1985.
Berta, G.:L'Explosivo Strumento Di Lavoro. Italexplosive, 1985.
3 1.6 DEMOLITION OF STEEL STRUCTURES Gonzalez, E.: Dernolicion de Chirneneas con Explosives. Rocas Y
Minerales.
The demolition of steel structures with explosives is not Guftafsson, R. Swedish Blasting Technique. SPI, 1973.
ICI: Blasting Practice. 1972.
as e-y as those of concrete or masonry because the Lopez Jimeno, E.: Voladuras de Chirneneas y Torres (unpublished).
charges are not usually confined, and there is not such an 1978.
CHAPTER 32
U
(L
..
POOR DRILLABILITYIPOOR BLASTABILITY
/
I ,
TS d~ I& 140 1$6 2b0 e
DRILLING DIAMETER (mm)
Fig. 32.2. Drilling costs per meter of blasthole.
I
GOOD DRILLABILITY/GOOD BLASTABILITY
I I I i
rs KX) 1;5 m 17s ees ebo e h 300
DRILLING DIAMETER (mm)
Fig. 32.5. Evolution of the total costs of drilling and blasting
function with the drilling diameter.
Surnrning up, one can say that the large drilling diame-
ters are interesting when the following conditions exist:
i"'I an ar-r
Yield
DRILLING ETC.
I DESIGN OF DRlLLNG
AM) CHARGiNG PATTERNS
I I
I SMULATION OF TUE
L O A W G , HAiJLM A M I
CRUSHHG OPERATIONS I
G-
s
SENSITMTY ANALYSIS
BLAST
a i o ~ ~ d O O 0 ; 5 0 0 ; 6 0
BLOCK SlZE COEFFIUENT KSO
Fig. 32.8. Curves for the theoretical block size of blasted rock for
dW*es.-----
Fig. 32.9. Determination of the coefficient of the Block Size KS0of the
fragmented material.
328 Drilling und blasting of r o c h
,
where: T = Average fragment size (cm), Fr = Rock
factor (Very soft rocks Fr = 3 (f= 3 to 5); Soft rocks
Fr = 5 (f= 5 to 8); Medium rocks Fr = 7 (f= 8 to 10);
Hard fissured rocks F, = 10 (10 to 14); Hard homoge-
neous rocks Fr = 13 (12 to 16); (f = Protodyakonov
Factor)), VR, = Rock volume broken per blasthole, taken
as burden X spacing X height (m3), Q = Mass of TNT
which is equivalent in energy to that of the explosive
cnarge in each .
P = ~ e ~ a iWv i e i g s of
this explosive, (ANFO = 100,TNT = 115).
L
W n
P,
g
I
7on
Sol
Sol
40%
The equation of Kuznetsov is converted into: .-
80%
10%
On
6 1 2 4 8 B 8 2 64t282666I2
cm
Table 32.2.
Parameter U increases as varameter
Decreases
Increases
S/B Increases I I
proach to Breaking R 0 c k ~ 1 ~ )
S = Spacing (m), 1 = Total charge length (m), L = Length The method is based upon creating a model in which
of bottom charge (m), 1, = Length of column c6arge (m), the geometty of the blastholes and the radial cracks
H = Bench height, E, = Typical deviation due to drilling formed around each one are represented upon a hori-
error. zontal plane which perpendicularly intersects the explos-
If the blasts are designed with a staggered pattern, the ive columns.
calculated value for u should be increased by 10%. The algorithm used to calculate the number of radial
cracks around each charge and at a determined distance
d) Limitations of the Kuz-Rum Model from these is that of Harries (1973):
Certain precautions should be taken with this model such
as:
- The S/B relationship applies to the drilling pattern
and not to the initiation sequence. It should be no larger
than 2. where: No = Number of cracks around the charge,
t-
d
330 Drilling und blasting of rocks L
ob = Strain in the blasthole wall, R T = Dynamic tensile The geomechanic Parameters of the rock which are
strength of the rock. used in the modelization are:
At a distance DS from the axis of the blasthole, the - Density
number of cracks will be N: - Young's Modulus
DS/b b
where: b = Radius of the blasthole, a = Coefficient of
absorption which usually varies between 0.002 and
0.008.
-----
Fig. 32.13. Determination of the block size between radial cracks. Fig. 34.14. Modelization of the discontinuities in the rock mass.
Fig. 32.15. Gnphic representationof the cracks originated around each blasthole for a determined pattem and initiation sequence.
Optimizing costs of fragmentation with drilling and blasting 33 1
I G E O M E T
ROCK PARAMETERS
I PFIFF I By repeating this process a determined number of
times, the size distribution curve can be determined.
Some interesting applications of this fragmentation
DESIGN OF BLAST:
PATTERN CALCULATION
CHARGE CALCULATION
I simulation model are based upon the following studies:
- Effects of different explosives for the Same drilling
pattern.
EVALUATION OF MWNG AREAS
DENTIFICATION OF SlGNFlCANT PARAMETERS - Influence of the initiation sequence upon fragmenta-
ESTMATION C+ BASIC VALUES
ESTYAATION OF NTERVALS OF VARIATION tion.
- Incidence of collaring errors in blastholes.
FUYCTIONS OF DISTRIBUTION OF SlGNlFlCATlVE PARAMETERS - Repercussion of misfires.
I
I I
- Influence of pattem variation with the Same charge.
- Effect of the rock mass stnicture upon the results of
the blast. . .
I I
Tn 1 with a startsodeli-
zation of the discontinuitiesof the rock mass, as shown in
B W N VALUE IBI Fig. 32.14.
If the drilling pattem is large with respect to the spac-
ing of the natural joints, the size distribution of the muck
will be affected by large blocks previously formed by
I ESTOCASTlC SMVLATKX4
said discontinuities. The influence of these fissured beds
of the rock can be evaluated by considering the different
aZ
types of fillings of the joints and consequently the differ-
ent coefficients of absorption of the strain waves when
X OF MATERIAL TH4T PASSES they Cross these planes.
T M O U G H A GNEN UESH S I E
In Fig. 32.15, an example of modelization for a deter-
CRüSif!NG CAPAUTY NECESSARY -Cm-
mined pattem and initiation sequence can be Seen.
FOR A GNEN SlZE
Fig. 32.16. Probabilistic fragmentation model for the selection of the The model mentioned before is based upon the supposi-
primary cmsher size (Borquez, 198 1). tion that all Parameters intervening in the calculation of
the burden and prediction of the fragmentationare consi-
dered known or with the most probable values.
- Poisson's Ratio However, those parameters are usually subject to some
r
-Tensile strength on the indicated calculations and estimations. This is by
-Porosity. \ means of a probabilistic (risk) analysis method applied to
The basic data of the explosive is the strain induced on test the fragrnentationmodel.
the blasthole wall that is a function of the density of the The risk analysis combines the variabilities of all
explosive, the detonation velocity and the coupling of the significant parameters that enter into consideration in
charge order to obtain the probability of the estimated values and
The orientation of the cracks is camied out in a random the relative risk that the predicted value will not be
manner from each hole and their propagation by the reached.
opening action of the gases is thought to stop when they On the whole, these models begin with the iden-
reachäfZFface or a maximumength equal to the size o f tification of the most significantparameters, the assigning
the burden. of a distribution of probabilities to each one, and the
In multiple sequenced blastings, the propagation of simulation by Computer of a large number of cases,
cracks in adjacent holes is paralyzed at the moment the selecting a value randomly from the probability dishibu-
cracks intersect. This way, the effect that the Same blast tion in order to obtain the function of probabilities of
pattem has with different initiation sequences can be fragmentation .or any other design Parameter. The most
studied. cornmon procedure for simulation is the Monte Carlo
After having generated the pattern of cracks from each technique, Fig. 32.16.
blasthole, the evaluation of the fragmentation is camied
out by the Monte Carlo method which consists in taking
at random different points of the plane. From each one of
these points the size of the block, shaped by radial cracks,
included in that point is determined, as shown in Fig.
32.13.
Drilling und blasting of rocks
I :
Photo 33.1. Alterations produced by blasts: vibrations, air blast, fly
rnckanbdust. 30-
//-
----Y
P-/- - \-
'.
C WW DlRECTlON
cTm
-'/
C ,
--- W AR B L A S ~ FRECUENCY
AwLFlCATlON RANGE FOR
RESlMNTlAL STRUCTURES
, , , , , ( , , , , ,
COAL MiNE BLASTHG
Note: These values are only for frequencies over 20 Hz.
~~~~h~~interesting arid sometimes confusing aspect is Fig. 33.5. Powder factor influence on vibration intensity.
the powder factor.
When confronted with vibration problems, some en- kiat. position oy
gi eers propose to reduce the powder factor of the blast,
I
but nothing is farther from the minimum level situation.
Blasts have been recorded in which the powder factor
hst. p&tiQn !360
I hst. position 600
#-I@
was reduced 20% from the optimum and the vibration \
\
I
IW
levels measured were two or three times higher as a \\
I
-
a. EFFECT OF DISTANCE those of low density and detonation velocity such as
ANFO. If thb Same amount of ANFO is compared with a
common slu;ky, or with an aluminized watergel, the in-
tensity of vibrations generated by the first is 2 and 2.4
times lower respectively. This finding has been supported
by va* engineers such as Hagan and Kennedy (1981),
detonation fired with consecutive periods. In the simple blastholes that are detonated in sequence, as the signals
case of a single row of holes, these Parameters are interre- are absorbed. Wiss and Linehan (1978) suggest a nominal
lated by the following equation: delay time between successive delay internals of 17 ms,
S X cos Q, to eliminate the summing effect of the vibrations. In
te = tn - another study done by Nobel's Explosives Co. of Great
VC Britain, on secuenced blasts with delay times between
charge weights per hole of under 25 ms, the existance of
where: te = Effective delay time, tn = Nominal delay constructive interferences in the maximum vibration
time, S = Spacing between holes, VC = Propagation level is confirmed, Fig. 33.8.
velocity of the seismic waves, Q, = Angle between
successiveiy aetonated R v i
.. i -
sor or recording instmment. 33.2.7 Geometricparameters oj the biasts
In Fig. 33.6, the case of a single row of blastholes with The majority of the geometric design parameters have a
different relative positions of the recording instruments. considerable influence on vibrations generated by blast-
The critical angle of the relative position where the ing. Some comments on the subject are:
seismic waves anive at the sarne time and, therefore, a - Drilling diameter. The increase in drilling diameter
collaboration can occur between them, will be that where is negative as the arnount of explosive per hole is propor-
t, = 0, and can be determined from: tional to the square of the diameter, which would give
VC X t, very high charge weights per hole on occasions.
Q,, = arc cos -- - Bench height. The relationship H/B > 2 should be
7 maintained,whenever p o s ~ - o ~ C i e r t o - o b t a i ~ r g + -
fragmentation and eliminate toe problems, as well as
In Fig. 33.7, a multiple blast is represented and the reducing vibration levels because the charges are less
directions where there is a more probable interaction of confined.
the waves according to the theoretical break direction of - Burden und spacing. If the burden is excessive, the
the holes. explosion gases find resistance to fragmentation and rock
When refening to the minimum delay time that eli- displacement, and palt of the explosive energy is trans-
minates constructive interferences or has summing or formed into seismic energy which increases vibration
interacting effects, in the first studies carried out by intensity, Fig. 33.9. This phenomenon is most noticeable
Duvail et ai. (1963), internals of 8 and 9 ms were sug- in presplitting blasts, where total confinement exists and
gested, calculated from the testing done in limestone vibrations of around five times those of a conventional
quanies. Langefors (1963) points out that with internals bench blast can be registered.
of more than 3 times the vibration period it can be If burden size is small, the gases escape and expand
assumed that there is no interaction between adjacent towards the free face at a very high speed, giving impulse
Land vibrations, air blast und their control 337
,, , ,, ,, , , ,, \
disturbance phenomena.
PARTUE
MOTION
33.3.2 Waveparameters
Fig. 33.12. Different wave types. Fig. 33.13. Hamonic wave rnotion.
Land vibrations, air blast und their control 339
tions consists of considering these as harmonic motion Where DS is the distance from the seismic source
type waves, Fig. 33.13. (Richart et al. 1970).
The basic Parameters for analysis are:
- Amplitude (A).Maximum displacement of a particle
33.3.4 Non-elastic absorption
from its rest position.
- Particle velociv (V). Velocity at which a particle In nature, the rock masses do not constitute an elastic,
moves. isotropic and homogeneous medium for vibration propa-
- Acceleration (U). Velocity per unit time, i.e., gation. To the contrary, numerous non-elastic or non-
a = v/t. dispersive effects appear which provoke a loss of energy
- Frequency Cf). Complete number of oscillations or during wave propagation, which is added to that caused
cycles per second. The frequency is the inverse of the by geometric attenuation. There are numerous reasons for
perid T,. the non-elastic attenuations, and each has different de-
The displacement y at any instant is worth: grees
- of influence:
- Dissipation in a nonelastic matrix owing to the
relative movement in the intercwstaline surfaces and
pianes of aiscontinuity.
- Attenuation in-saturatedrocks owing to fluid move-
ment with respect to the matrix.
- Flow inside the cracks.
- Dispersion of Stresses induced by absorbed vola-
The length of the wave h for a propagation velocity of VC tiles.
is: - Reflection in porous rock or with large cavities.
- Energy absorption in Systems that have phase
changes, etc.
Table 33.2.
Parameter Range
Displacement l ~ to -10 mm ~
Particle velocity 1 0 - ~ to 103 mmls
Particle acceleration 10 to l d mmls
through expansion of the hpt gases, causing depression in Length of pulse 0.5 to 2 s
those points. Wave length 30 to 1500 m
Air blast characteristics are not easy to predict. Factors Frequencv 0.5 to 100 Hz
such as clirnate, topography, etc. intervene which, along
with the actual blast design, can give different results in
each case.
As mentioned before, air blast contains a considerable
amount of low frequency energy which can eventually
produce duect damage on structures; however,
quency vibrations are more common and are felt in
windows, dishes, doors, etc.
mobile coil within the field of a stationary magnet, Fig. Fig. 33.16. Velocity gauge.
esting for low frequencies, direct recording for high Leconte (1967), when revising the vibration control
frequencies, and multiplexed recording when a large techniques suggested substituting the maximum particle
number of signals come in. amplitude of the Moms equation for the vector sum of the
The seismograph system is usually composed of ana- particle velocity, as follows:
7
log or digital instruments to reproduce and visualize the
signals.
When the signals are recorded on magnetic tape, these
can be reproduced for a complete analysis, including the
calculation of the Rapid Transform of Fourier in order to Amongst the most rigorous posterior investigations,
obtain the density of impulse frequency received or the those of Blair and Duvall(1954) and Duvall and Petkof
energy destribution of seismic movement as function of (1959) are worthy of mention as they also try to correlate
the frequency. Apart from this, with the graphics obtained the intensity of generated seismic movement with the
as function of the time, the maximum vibration level and explosive charge weight and the distance to the source. In
its corresponding period can be predicted, as well as the the supposition that the explosive column is a symme-
length
- of the disturbance, etc. tncai spnere, the c o n p -
xx
- g g --eiS the explos-
or denved, in order to eliminate certain components or ive charge. Similar results were obtained by Ambraseys I
calculate other Parameters from the primitive recording; and Hendron (1968) and Dowding (197 1).
for example if acceleration has been measured, integrate In a general sense and taking particle velocity as the
one or two times to obtain particle velocity or displace- most characteristic vibration Parameter, it was found h a t
ment, respectively. the intensity of the seismic waves and the scaled distance
Lastly, it should be indicated that the Sensors, although (cocient between the distance and the charge elevated to
treated with care, should be checked periodically for an exponent) followed the law below:
sensitivity, and possible variation with use.
A u blast is usually measured with a Sonometer, which
is easy to transport and install. It should be placed away
from reflecting surfaces, in front of shielding objects and
making certain that there is no background noise or wind where: V = Particle velocity, DS = Distance, Q = Max-
to modify the recording. imum charge per delay, K, n = Empirical constant.
Special attention should be paid in selecting the scale If cylindncal charges are used, it has been observed by
of consideration, according to the measurements re- dimensional analysis that the distances should be cor-
quired. rected by dividing them by the Square root of the charge,
Devine (1962), Devine and Duvall (1963), then being I
DIGITAL SIGNAL
9 163.6 mm/s
-
/'
A~L<I--
I
I
/
/
&B
V(Ws) - 323 (D/QM)-L=
I
XI
I
Fig. 33.20. Integration over charge length to calculate particle velocity
at an arbitrary observation point (Holmsberg and Person).
[Io'
/
,'Se~g Q
t5 v=kxqlax
MAX~AUMCHARGE PER DELAY ( ~ g ) DS; + (DS, X tag 8 - x12
Fig. 33.19. Tndimensional representation of a vibration propagation
Iaw. For competent rocks, such as Swedish granites, there are
i
344 Drilling and blasting of rocks
v=KX
(, -Y2
0 1
o
I I
1
I I
e
I
i
WTANCE DS (m)
I
.D,!+_ Fig. 33.21. Blastholes of small diameter and length charged with
i
ANFO (Holmberg and Persson).
1
-
I
US Bureau of Mining (Nicholls et al, 1971) found a law
S 000
V = f(DS,Q), and proposed the following equation: 0)
\
v a -=
1
(DR)
E]- 1
,therefore
D = Blasthole diameter (mrn), d = Charge diarneter
(mm).
~ r b mthe previous equations the following is ob-
tained:
v a -=
DS
(DR)O.~
E] '/z
,therefore
be five times the period:
-
When instrumentation and eqdipment to carry out a study
of vibrations are available, the intensity of the distur- n, X nl X n2 X ETX 106
bances originated by blasting can be predicted with a 5 X kfx 1 0 g D S x . n ~p r x VC
theoretical model, G. Berta (1985), taking into account
that the seismic energy transmitted to the rock by the The previous formula is only valid when DS is over 1
explosive can be evaluated with the two following equa- meter.
tions:
Emmple
F, - 2.rC2Azf2-$? X Dr X V(' X T X ~ n s i d e r a c y b-oH@kgIn-agr&e-Irenck
f
~o-~(MJ) with one free face.
The data of the explosive is:
where: A = Displacement (m),f = Frequency (Hz), DS =
Distance from the explosion point (m), p, = Density of
the rock (kg/m3), VC = Seismic velocity (mls), T, =
Duration of the vibration (s), n, = Breaking factor (Char-
ges laid on the ground n, < 0.4; Charges without a free Table 33.3.
face n, > 0.4), n , = Impedance factor = Type of ground kf value
Water logged sands and gravel 0.11-0.13
Cornpact alluviurns 0.06-0.09
Hard and compact rock 0.01-0.03
346 Drilling and blasting of rocks
The characteristicrock parameters are: 33.6.3 Air blast estimators
p, = 2700 kg/m3 The law of air blast propagation is accepted to be of the
VC = 5000 m/s following type:
kf = 0.01
Zr = 13.50 X 106kg . m-2 . s-'.
and the relationship blasthole diameterlcharge diameter'
is D/d = 1.M.
What is the probable vibration intensity at a distance The audible component, which is the part of the spectnim
150 m? comprehended be 20 Hz and 20 kHz, also called noise, is
commonlv measured in dB. The decibel is defined in
Jio terms of overpressure with the equation:
V = -X
150 SP
NR = 20 log -
r\ U --L
X 4.32 X lU" 3Y0
I -
V5 X 0.01 X log 150 X IZ X 2700 X 5000 where: NR = Noise level, SP = Overpressure ( ~ / m ~ ) , 6
SP, = Pressure of the lowest audible sound (20 - 104 k
0.0 12 m/s = 12 mm/s N/m2), Figs 33.25 and 33.26.
If experimental data for air blast is not available, a first
I
estimation can be found from the nomograph given by
Ladegaard-Pedersen and Daily (1975), Fig. 33.27, ob-
tained for bench blasting with a stemming height of 300.
Knowing the scaled distance and burden, the most proba-
ble air blast level can be determined.
6900
S i R U C N R E S DAMAGED
MOST WIM)OWS BREAK
I
SOME WlNOOWS BREAK
W O D A M A W LEVEL AIR BLAST
FROM
EXPLOCIONS
-
==
I-
(MSHES AND -WS RATTLE)
10-'
L..,...„.., ,, ,, , , , ,-,,
50 70 9 0 110 130 150
NOISE LEVEL (da)
, , , , j10..
170
t
40 2.14' HOSPITAL ROOM
Ref. 20 p N / d
Fig. 33.25. Nomograph for overpressure conversion at noise level
(Sisking et al. 1980). Fig. 33.26. Human and structural response to sound pressure level.
Land vibrations, air blast und their control 347
the rock mass to be excavated, thus permitting the most protected. In function with the findings, a scaied down
effective initiation sequence to be established. blast can be designed, either individual or multiple, in
To carry this out requires a previous geological anaiy- which the charge weight per hole or distances can be
sis of the area between the blasts and the structures to be varied, in order to Cover a wide range of scaled dis-
tances.
Once the results of the first blasts have been given, it
can be decided which of the components is the most
interesting to measure if the recording stations are not
triaxiai and, above all, when a large number of sensors are
not available.
The minimum number of blasts recornrnended is be-
tween 8 and 10, and the execution conditions as to
confinement,priming, - etc. should be sirnilar to those used
conservative
postures are adopted, firing practicaily without a free
face.
The spatial situation is also important, because a study
camied out at a determined level and within a geologicai-
structurai context may not be, on occasions, extrapolated
-
to other areas. All vibration studies have a limited value
where space and time are concemed.
Once the records have been reproduced and analyzed
in the laboratory, Fig. 33.29, they can be compared stad-
isticaily to ascertain the law of propagation.
Previously, all data will have been sumrned up in a
Table, giving, for example, the maximum vibration
levels, V if it is particle velocity, and the Scaled Distances
SCALED DISTANCE D v (m/Kgm) DR, if the law to be obtained is of the following type:
Fig. 33.27. Prediction of air overpressure from the geometry and
charge of the blasts.
where: y = Particle velocity V,x = Scaled distance DR.
Logarithms can be taken and a straight line can be
adjusted by squared minimurns, Fig. 33.30.
+ bxlogx
EU
- BLAST DESOU
logy=loga
I YBRATW RECORDER 1
where:
(C log X)'
C. (log X)' -
n
and
I
-
- -
-
-
-T
YUOLYC00ssl*TfficnwM
PRODVCTI(*( BLAST
D E W W E R OF
BLASTHOLES. DELAV
SECUEWWELAV
DlSTlHCE FRCU BLAST
AREA T 0 S T R K T W E
a = Exponential
@logy
-- b- Zlogx]
[C (log X) X (log Y) -
(C log X) X (C. log Y)
1'
L V 500 HZ
POWDER DISTRIBUTION
r
L V 5 0 0 HZ t
-1
MULTIPLE BLAST K 1
+ 8 5 8 .8 m E U 9 6 . L mS
Date : JAN. 30. 1986
Place : METRAMA
Sile : E-2
Channel : 6
Recetver : PCB-690
Flllers :
Observal~ons:
1 V 500 HZ 1 1
90 . O I 2 1 5 .8 H Z
--
There are numerous equations (laws) that can be ad- and V is not to be over 30 mmls, Fig. 33.30. The Table
justed and, amongst ali of them, the one which best suits of Charges-Distances will correspond to DR = 11.04
the occasion should be chosen. This is now carried out m/kg112and therefore, the following values will exist,
with small Computer programs which have been specially Table 33.4.
prepared. The method to be applied
-~€eik&&*-Baft-*f-
. . .for air blast is very similar.
+%t
I
m -
l
damages decided, the value of the scaled distance can be duration of seismic excitement increases and frequency
ascertained from the equation, enabling the preparation diminishes in relationship with distance to the point of
of the table of maximum CO-operatingcharges for differ- blast, adjusting laws of the following type:
ent distances.
For example, if the law obtained for a determined AHz) = K , X DS - K2,and
percentage of probability or safety level is:
V = 1400 X D R - ' . ~
Table 33.4.
where Distance to the blast (m) Max. CO-operating
charge (kg)
100 82
300 738
500 2050
700 4017
Land vibrations, air blast and their control 349
fulfiiled, with K taking on values of 3,4 or even more at FootIngr,concrete . block , brick
brlck . thickners
33-7.2 Inspections previous to blasting Are the Four Corners I.evel. h a s u r e
templates that any inhabitant having property at less than Crnded , or f l l l e d arei
800 meters from a blasting area can ask the Adrninistra- 1 s i r e a properIr dralned
tion for a previous study. P r w l s l o n s for hsndllng uater f r a roof
The first advantage of this documentation is that it In ~ b r o l dralnrge
l c a r r l e d away frm v e l l
makes the residents of areas close to the blast aware of the Are there large t r e e s nearby
are originated by other than seismic causes, such as Any aettlement of n e i r b r atructures
BY
(Type 1. name)
IIOUSE NUHBER AND STRBET PRBSENT WRIHC INSPECTIOH
W .
filll
Nu.ber of r-s. up
or p a r t i a l
. dovn
I
llgpsvm board
Walls, p l a a t e r ,
.
p l a s t e r and l a t h e
-
. or ggpam board
I
t
E- C ~ n s t r u c t l o ~frame
, , brlck Paper pilnt
cley t l l e
North
Corners of
vindws
Cornera
of doora
Othars. 1.c.
rlndwa
I -
\
ae- - Buildings with framework structure of reinforced
46-
concrete:
0.4 -
0.2 -
I T, = 0.09 X Hv
-
L,
0.1 I
I 2 4 6810
t
20 4 0 6 0 ~ 1 0 0 200
,
400
- Buildings with metal structure:
SCALED DISTANCE ( r n / ~ g ~ ~ )
Fig. 33.30. Adjusted law of propagation. T, = 0.10 X -Hv
LP
is that the documentation can be used, if the occasion In all the previous equations: ts = Penod (s), H , = Height
arises, to verify or contest the damage clairns attributed to of building (m), Lp = Floor dimension, taken in the direc-
vibrations. tion of the vibratton whose effect is desired to be indi-
On many occasions, the initial cost of drawing up these cated (m), hv = Height of each floor (m).
documents is greatly compensated by the lower number The typical frequency values are found between 5 and
of claims and conflictive situations with lawsuits between 15 Hz, being lower as the number of floors increase.
e -
.. independently from the
person can inspect 7 or 8 homes in one day. superstructure and usually have natural frequencies be-
The procedure used for describing the condition of a tween 12 and 20 Hz.
structure should be as systematic and detailed as possible, Another parameter that is as important as the natural
writing down all visible defects and even taking photo- frequency is absorption. The cornrnon values of these
graphs, if necessary. Each document should contemplate, coefficients in residential type stmctures (Dowding et al.
h s t of all, the identity of the owners, address and situa- 1980) vary around 5%.
tion of the residence, and the date of inspection, Fig. The vibrations in buildings can be magnified due to the
33.3 lshows the System used by Vibra-Tech for a study of response of the structural elements of which they are
the inside of a home. Other aspects to take into account composed, Fig. 33.33. Therefore, more attention should
are those w i i i c k f e f e ~ e V m t u r c , ~ ~ e e e ~ M ~
--P
garages, foundations, etc. When lowering charge weights per hole and increasing
blasting times, dangerous vibration frequencies may be
33.8 DAMAGE PREVENTION CIUTERIA generated if they are close to those of resonance. For
FOR BULDINGS example, using milisecond delay detonators of 30 ms,
and leaving a number unused, a vibration of 1000/
60 = 16.7 Hz is being caused, which is within the range
33.8.1 Building response of potential damages. This phenomenon has been proved
Damages that appear in structures from vibration type by the authors in recorders near the blast areas. (Lopez
effects depend upon the dynamic response of the building Jimeno and Abad, 1986).
which itself, at the Same time, is conditioned by various A simple method to predict the structural response of a
factors such as: building to vibrations is the Fast Fourier Transform,
- Type and characteristics of the vibrations, duration, (FFT) application. FFT informs in practice about what
frequency, transmitted energy, etc. frequency band, and responsible wave length is needed to
be ornitted for avoiding damage and disturbances. FFT
LQnd vibrations, air blast und their control
ENTRY
) BACX T0 WALL H I
AREA 'C
I
GREAT WAVE LENGTH
I X - - J
I
Fig. 33.32. Magnification effects when the building's natural frequen-
cy is close to the dominating frequency in the earth (Clark et al.). SMALL WAVE LENGTH
analysis is the less costly and sirnplest way today and can
TE EFFECT OF C-WAVE P be utilized for practically every blast design, solving
successfully resonance and magnification problems.
tures near the excavation must be estimated in order to relays or other sensitive equipment which must be pro-
prevent damage. tected from even lower vibration levels than those for the
The decision of which criteria or levels of vibration building itself.
prevention should be adopted is usually a delicate issue. Lastly, the O.S.M. (Office of Surface Mining) in the
This requires expert knowledge of the mechanisms which United States, in 1983, acknowledging the dependence
intervene in the phenomena of blasting and the responses that exists between the dominating vibration frequency
of structures. A risky criterium can cause damages and and the distances to the blast area, published the follow-
imperfections, whereas a conservative posture could up- ing recommendations for protecting buildings near the
set or even paralize the development of mining or civil mines, Table 33.5.
engineering activity with explosives. The criteria shown are not only useful as damage
The prevention criteria for vibrations produced by thresholds, but also as a starting point when recording
blasting has been subjected to study since the beginning equipment is not available. Thus, for example, when
of the century. Worthy of mention are: the investigations there is a house at 1000 m distance from the blast, the
nf RnckweU in 1977; 74-hT who maximum CO-operatingcharge recommended is:
used particle acceleration as the most characteristic pa-
rameter; Crandell in 1949, who used the energy ratio,
Morris in 1950, who established a new damage criterium
based on the amplitude of vibration, and Langefors and
Kihlström in 1958, who adopted particle velocity as the
most important Parameter, proposing different levels,
depending upon the intensity of potential damages. After-
wards, in 1963, these authors took into consideration the
type of ground upon which the structures had their foun-
dations, proposing criteria with wider outlooks. During 33.8.3 Damage prevention criteriafor air blast
the decade of the sixties and seventies, numerous inve- Air blast usually produces fewer problems than ground
stigators such as Northwood, Crawford, Edwards, Du- vibrations. Window panes usually break before structural
vall, Fogelson, Nicholls, etc., exposed different safety damage occurs; cracks in the plaster, for example.
limits, all based on particle velocity, already forseeing the The criteria proposed by Siskind and Summers (1974),
necessity of adjusting those prevention levels to the dif- to avoid window pane breakage are shown in Table 33.6..
ferent types of constructions, as done by Ashley in 1976, The probability of window pane breakage for a deter-
Chae in 1978, Wiss in 1981, etc. mined overpressure can be estimated with the equation
In another step towards developing and perfecting the proposed by Redpath:
criteria, apart from the type of rock under the founda- PR, (%) = 2.043 X 10- X ~ iX AP2.78 . ~ ~
tions, the type of structure to be protected was introduced
as another variable as important as vibration frequency, where: A, = Area of the window pane (m2),A P = Over-
publishing the French Regulation AFTES (1976), the pressure (mbar).
(1983), etc. All mentioned criteria is summed up gra- levels, as the dB(L) refer to a logarithmic scale. An
phically in Fig. 33.38. 5 overpressureof 120dB(L) is 78.6% more than one of 115
Afterwards, several investigators such as Dowding dB(L). See Table 33.7, with the values in kPa.
(1977), Medearis (1977), Maik (1979), Walker, Young
and Davey (1981), Sisking, Stagg, Kopp and Dowding
(1981), etc. directed their efforts towards the correlation Table 33.5.
of structure response with damages produced by different Distance to Max. particle Recommended scaled distance
vibration intensities, through analysis of the seismic blast area velocity (mmls) when instrymentationis not avail-
able (mlkg 12)
spectrums. One fact that has become more noticeable day
~ 9 Q m3.7 7k3
by day in biese investigations is u i e e e & i i m p o r -
90to 1500m 25 24.50
tance of the low frequencies. > 1500111 19 29.00
However, even though the criteria and application of
techniques known in seismic engineering have evolved,
the discrepancies between engineers and organisms are
still quite noticeable, especially when the studies are of a Table 33.6.
local nature. It must also be noted that rarely are clear and Limit noise level
concise recommendations or calculations given by Cineal peak* C-peak A-peak
~ B ( L-) dgc) ~B(A)
operators who do not have a profound knowledge of the
phenomenology of vibrations. Safety level 128 120 95
Precaution level 128-136 120-130 95-1 15
Another aspect worihy of mention is that in the major- Limit level 1336 130 115
ity of cases, the damage threshold is adopted for struc-
tures and buildings, without taking into account their
contents. Sometimes there might be Computers, electric
Drilling und blasting of rocks
26 6 10 16 20 26 200
THOPlEN Arm
MRClTVM
EDWARDS ANü
~ ~ (1880) O W
OF AUSTRALIA
6 10 16 20 26 W
TYPE OF VBRATKm
NOT SPECFED (20 k)
DAMAQES
DAMAGES
DAMAQES
ASHLEY
(1076)
DAMAGES
ESTEVE
(1078)
DAMAQES
DAMAGES
DAMAGES
I I I I I I
DAMAQES
1 1 1 I I 1 1 1 I
WlSS
DAMAQES (1981)
I 1 1 1 1 I
DAMAGES
DAMAGES
PIPE1: ~ O R i a n , T A U L ~
PIPEn: APARTYerrBIllOHOORBLUR~YllTHSTUCCOORPUSTW
PIPE I: CCSTOWCM-ARrnmAL 81191105 OR DUE T 0 T1W cawwJc)E( ARE
SEHSmYETOugUTD(BL+ODONOTPWT*WTO~IüQI
Pd 8 X) 0 a S 60 ffl 200 m0
Fig. 33.38. Damage cntena (cont.)
,264 2M 264
E l0lS
DANGER
0f.8
DANQER
0l8
DINGER
- ...
Z ANNOYMG
4i
B ' - -
f 26- 26
NDTWBLE
26
t6
NOTICUBLE
0.8
0.6
0.26 026
VBRATIONS ON YBRATlONS ON BLAST CAUSED
A PERMANENT A TRANSlTORV VWRATDNS
BASS BASIS WlTHOüT ACCWAMED
NOISE UielASED BY NOlSE BUSED
-VER OBSERVER
Photo 33.5. Sonometer installed to measure air blast. Fig. 33.40. Human response to vibrat'ions, according to whether they
are accompanied by noise or not (Oriard).
358 Drilling und blasting of rocks
FRECUENCY (Hz)
Fig. 33.41. Human response to vibration according to Goldrnan
(19418).
maximum charge weight per unit of delay and the dis- 'WEAK' ROCK Q(0.1
MRW<PO
tance from the Center of gravity of the blast to the record-
ing point.
Fig. 33.43, shows a procedure to estimate the damages
to rock masses from blast vibrations.
When refemng to wall stability, this can be determined
VERY 'POOR' ROCK
------------
SAFETY FACTOR WiTH BLASTS
F
where: Ch = Cohesion, Sp = Contact area of the block,
W, = Weight of the block, ß = Slope angle, $ = Friction
angle, 8, = Angle caused by longitudinal component of
vibrations.
In the particular case of Zero cohesion and with the
following vaiues: ß = 32' and = 37", the Safety Factor
is 1.2, but if the vibrations act with a longitudinal compo-
+-- Al SAFETY FACTOR
WlTHOUT BLASTS
N
-
: I-
33.11 EFFECT OF VlBRATIONS ON FRESHLY X
\
m
e-
POURED CONCRETE E
5'4 -
In actuai practice, numerous occasions arise when it is
0
necessary to build concrete siructures at the Same time
when excavations by blasting are being carried out. For LAW OF
example, linings during turne1 driving, foundations for 0 6 PROPAGATION
0 60-
the primary crushing buildings near Open pits, etc.
Fig. 33.46, shows prevention criteria given by Oriard
depending upon curing or hardening time of the con- V , , ,, , , , ,,
GI W ww I e 4 6 e m m 4060 m emuoaiorwio
cretes, aithough such recommendations cannot be made
extensive to all types of concrete. Fig. 33.45. Variation of the Safety Factor for a block with a wedge cut
As can be observed, during the hardening period of 0 to in function with scaled distahce.
4 hours, the concrete is still not hard and the adrnissible
levels are relatively high. From 4 to 24 hours, it begins to
harden slowly, and after 7 days it reaches a strength that is
approximately ?4of the find product (28 days), allowing
a progressive intensification of the vibrations.
can he usi=d for an
orientative caiculation of the maximum CO-operative
charges, according to age of concrete and distances to
blast are:
.
t? .S ! I
i 6
t t0
a.
33.12 RECOMMENDATIONSFOR REDUCING 1i111 FACE 1,111
FACE
a. STAGGERED IN LlNE
FACE
6UDQlliDD11 Q U U 6 '
\3ee
the corresponding part about ground vibrations).
- Choose delay times so that the blast Progresses
ORKUNAL
FACE along the face at a velocity lower than that of sound in the
air (< 340 mls), Fig. 33.51.
wm - Increase confinement of the explosive charges with
long sternming heights > 250, but not excessive, and use
adequate inert material.
+<vs - Avoid using detonating cord, and when it is neces-
s q , Cover it with fine sand of a minimum thickness of 7
11 NTERBLASTHOLE DELAY
Vs SPEED OF SOUND H AR
to 10 cm.
- Never fire blasts when the direction of the wind is
Fig. 33.5 1. Blast progression along a face and simulation of air blast. critical.
- Select patterns and sequences that avoid cooperative
SWELD VALUE : zp - (A+B) - (R+D) wave interaction.
- Inspect the state of the faces before blasting in order
to correct the charges with in the blastholes with burdens
that are under the nominal.
- Control the explosive charge in ground with solu-
tion cavities to eliminate pocket concentrations.
- Place earth or other types of shields between blast
FREQUENCY (Hz)
Fig. 33.52. Interposing shields between the blasts and receiving Photo 33.8. Face displacement in a one-hole blast for a vibration
points. study.
Land vibrations, air blast und their control
HYBRID MODELLING OF BLAST VIBRATIONS
I V
Fig. 33.54. Seismograph resulting from the superposition of two wave Photo 33.9. Field tests to measure the effectiveness of noise and air
trains that are 40 ms apart. blast reduction in a detonating cwd covered with sand.
Fig. 33.55. Results of the superpositionof two signals on the peak vibration value when varying delay times.
364 Drilling und blasting of r o c h
Fig. 33.56. Frequency pattems vs delay time. (a) Row with4 blastholes wiih 2 ms increases between charges, (b) Two rows of 4 blastholes, with 72 ms
delay between holes in row, and 3 ms increase between rows.
charges is a phenomenon which has drawn much atten- signals. As can be observed, the delay of 15 ms gives the
tion lately. Supposing that each hole of a blast produces lowest maximum vibration velocity.
the same vibration, but delayed in time by sequenced In the same manner, the spectral analysis of Fourier can
initiation, it is possible to simulate the recording that be canied out in order to determine the dominating
would be obtained - with its maximum particle velocity frequencies that would be generated. Fig. 33.56 shows
and dominating frequencies - by combining the vibra- two simulations that correspond to a single row blast and
tions of a group of blastholes with a given geometry and to another multiple blast where two different delay in-
initiation sequence. tervals, multiples of 2 and 3 ms respectively, are studied.
In Fig. 33.53, a simulation pmcedure is given for the Each row of the graph represents the spectra of frequen-
vibrations of a blast, having on hand the actual recording cies with which the theoretical optimum sequence can be
of the signal produced by only one hole. deterrnined to avoid low frequencies, proven to be the
Ac c w s rous, in ablast of prefixed neometry.
the result of the superposition of two equal wave trains
between which exists a time gifference of 40 ms.
In practice, the milisecond detonators give a dispersion REFERENCES
(cap scatter) in initiation times, increasing with the higher
series numbers. For this reason, the computer simulators Abad, M: Puesta a Punto de un Equipo de Registro y Andlisis de
should be more probabilistic than detenninistic, and the Voladuras. Resultados Obtenidos en Rocas Igneas. Simpbsium
Monte Carlo method can be applied to establish the sobre el Uso Industrial del Subsuelo. 1981
Allard, E? et al.: Etude des VibrationsEngendrekspar les Tirs de Mines.
initiation times of each charge by creating aleatory Scetaroute, Fkvrier, 1986.
numbers and by using the functions of density of the Anderson, D.A. et al.: A methodforsite-specific prediction andcontrol
S. "9
Recently, with the development of high precision de- Anderson, D.A.: The 8 Minisecond Criterion Have we delayed too
long in questioning it? S. E.E., 1989.
tonators, the old idea of achieving the superposition or Andrews, A. B.: Design criteriafor sequential biasting. E. I. Dupont de
destructive interferences of vibrations so that that the Nemours Co., 1980.
peaks and valleys of two waves would be nullified, thus Andrews, A.B.: Control of ground vibration from surface biasting
reducing vibrations, has taken on importance and consti- using computer simulations to evaluate the effects of cap scatter.
tutes a field of investigation that is reaping benefits. S.E.E., 1990.
Ashley, C.: Blasting in urban areas. Tunnels & nnneling, Vol. 8, Sept
The use of these electronic accessories, along with 1976.
sequential blasting machines, gives an infinite number of Barkley, R.C. et al.: Ground and air vibratiom caused by surface
combinations. The simulation of the results obtained blasting. N.T.I.S., 1983.
simplifies making the most appropiate choice to reduce Birch, W.J. et al.: Predictions of ground vibrations from blasting on
opencast sites. NCB Opencast Executive, 1982.
vibration levels and control frequency. Bollinger, G.A.: Blast VibrationAnalysis. 197 1
Fig. 33.55 gives the results of variation in delay timing, Clark, D. et al.: Vibration: Its effect & measurement techniques at or
with increases of 1 ms, in the superposition of two near dwellings. Technical Report, Nitro Consult. 1982.
Land vibrations,air blast und their control 365
Chae, Y.S.: Design of excavation blasts to prevent damage. Civil Lopez Jimeno, C. & E.: Principales Parbmetros de Diseiio en las
Engineering, ASCE, vol. 48, April, 1978. Voiaduras a Cielo Abierto y su Conexibn con los Fekmenos
Dowding, C. H.: Blast vibration monitoring andcontrol. Prentice-Hall, Vibratorios. Tecniterrae, Septiembre, 1985.
Inc., 1985. Lopez Jimeno, E.: La Voladura de Rocas y las Alteraciones Am-
Edwards, A. J. & T. D. Northwood: Experimental studies of the effects bientales. Canteras y Explotaciones, Septiembre, 1985.
of blasting on structures. The Engineer, vol. 210, Sept. 1960. Medearis, K.: Rational damage criteria for low-rise structures sub-
Esteves, J. M.: Control of vibrations caused by blasting, Memona 498, jected to blasting vibrations. Proceeding Institution of Civil En-
Laboratono National de Engenharia civil, Lisboa, 1978. gineers, Sept. 1982.
Fogelson, D.E.: US Bureau of Mines Research on vibrations from Mein-Ban Lo:Prediction of ground vibration induced by pile driving.
blasting. L'Industrie Minerale, 1971. 15th Conference on Stmctural Engineering. Filipinas, 1981.
Gennan Institute of Standards: Vibrationof building. Effects on struc- Onard, L. L. et al.: Short-delay blasting at A~conda'sBerkeley Open
tures. Pastfach 1107,DIN 4 150. Pit Mine, Montuna. AIME, Annual Meeting. Nevada, 1980.
Ghosh, A. & J.K. Daemen: A simple new blast vibration predictor- Oriard, L.: Notesfrom blast darnage orientation 1984.
based on wave propogation laws. 24th, US Symposium on Rock Persson, PA.: Underground blasting in a city Subsurface Space,
Mechanics, 1983. 1980.
Hagan, T. N.: The design of blasting procedures to ensure acceptable Phang. M.K. et al.: Investi~ationsof biast-underground vibrations
noise air blast and ground vibrations in surface coal mining. from sutjace mining. ~ h e ~ n i v e r &of ~labama.1983.
Environmental Control in Coal Mining, 1980. Preston. D.J.: New methodr in ~roductionblast monitorinn andoptimi-
n t - n u n > n , A. J. ~ c i j k a t ) s ) ~ ~ - ~ n t r o t t e . rT ,t t ;b, ~~, - ~ - ~ i o n 3
civil engineering projects. Proceedings North American Rapid Shoop, S.A. et al.: Site-specifc predictions of ground vibrations in-
Excavation and Tunneling Conference, MME, 1972. duced by blasting. Annual Meeting of SMEIMME, 1983.
Hidalgo, E. et al.: La Medida de la Onda de Baja Frequencia Produ- Siskind, D.E. et al.: Structure response and damage produced by
cida por las Voladuras. VIIi Simposio Nacional sobre Reconoci- airblast from surface mining. US Bureau of Mines, RI, 8485.
miento de Macizos Rocosos, 1984. 1980-
Hinzen, K.G. et al.: A new approach to predict and reduce blast Siskind, D.E. et al.: Structure response und damage produced by
vibration by modelling of seismogrm und using a new electronic ground vibrationfrom sutface mine blasting. US Bureau of Mines,
initiation system S E E , 1987. RI 8507,1980.
Holmberg, R. & PA. Persson: Design of twuiel perimeter blasthole Skipp, B.O.: Blasting vibrations - Ground and structure response.
patterns to prevent rock damage. Proc. ninnelling '79. Dynamic Waves in Civil Engineering, 1970.
Lande, G. et al.: Controlled Tunnel Blasting. ninnels & Tunnelling, Skipp, B.O.: Ground vibration instnunentation A general review
1982. Instrumentation for Ground Vibration and Earthquake, 1978.
La Orden, L.: Acciones Sismicas en la Edificacibn. Instituto Eduardo Smith, N. S.: Contributionof sub-gmde explosivechargeas a source of
Tomja. 1973. ground vibrationsin bench blasting. University of Missouri, Rolla,
Leet, L.D.: Vibrationsfrom construction blasting. The Explosives 1979.
Engineer. 1960. Smith, N. S.: An investigationof the effect of explosiveprimer location
Linehan, I!&J. E Wiss: Vibrationandair blast noisefrom surface coal on rock fragmentation und ground vibrations. University ~f
mine blasting. SME-AIME Fall Meeting, 1980. Missouri, Rolla. 1983.
Lopez Jimeno, C.: Las Voladuras Submarinas y sus Efectos Am- Stachura, V.J. et al.: Airblast und ground vibration generation und
bientales. I Curso sobre Control de Vibraciones Producidas por propagationfrom contour mine blasting. US Bureau of Mines, RI,
Voladuras. Fundaci6n G6mez-Pardo, 1982. 8892,1984.
Lopez Jimeno, C.: Criteriosde Prevencibn de Daiiospara Vibraciones Stagg, M.S. et al.,: Measurement of blast induced ground vibrations
Generadas por Voiaduras y Transmitidas a Travis del Terreno. und seismograph cuiibration US Bureau of Mines, RI, 8506,
E.EM., 1982. 1980.
Lopez Jimeno, C.: Efectos Desestabilizadores en TaludesRocosos por Stagg, S. et al.: Effectsof repeated blastings on a wood-frame house.
m- 1W4
Control de Vibraciones Producidas por Voladuras. Fundation Walker, S.: Development of response spectra techniquesforprediction
G6mez-Pardo, 1983. -, of structural dnmagefrom open-pitblasting vibrations. University
Lopez Jimeno, C.: Ajuste Estadistico de Leyes de Propagacibn de las ofleedys 1981.
Vibraciones Terrestres. I Seminario de Ingenieria de Arranque de Walter, E.J.: Decay of seismic pulses near the source.' Earthquake
Rocas con Explosivos en Proyectos Subterrheos. Fundaci6n Notes, 1960.
G6mez-Pardo, 1986. Winzer, S.R.: Initiatorfiring times and their relationship to blasting
Lopez Jimeno, C. & M. Abad: EI Seccionado de Cargas: UM Tecnica performance. 20th US Sumposium on Rock Mechanics, 1979.
Eficapara Disminuir el Nivel de Vibraciones.Canteras y Explota-
ciones, Noviembre, 1986.
CHAPTER 34
34.1 INTRODUCTION and Persson and the American Roth are tools that vredict
the maximum throw of flyrock.
Hyrock, also c d e d rock throw, is the uncontrolled pro- Below, the most irnportant points of these models are
~ ~ ~ f ~ r n n t s p ~ r rciteci.g ~ o n -
stitutes one of the main sources of material damage and
harm to people.
The conditions which favor flyrock are as follows: 34.2.1 Swedish model
The Swedish Detonic Research Foundation (1975) devel-
Geology oped a theoretic model that permits the estimation of the
Intensely fissured and jointed rocks faciliiate the appear- maximum distance reached by a fragment under opti-
ance of flyr&ks more than massive and homogeneous mum conditions.
rocks. However, as the latter require large quantities of From scaled tests, with high speed photography and
energy to obtain a good fragmeniation, this type of rock theoretical calculations, the following equations are pro-
usually causes more problems. posed to determine the initial velocity of throw in the
Very careful control should be be observed when blast- blastings where crater effect was produced:
ing in karstied ground with a large number of voids and 10Dx2600
vugs. V. =
Tb X Pr
Explosives und their distribution
The explosives which have a high Bubble Energy (AN- where: vo = Initial velocity (rnls), D = Diameter of the
FO, for ex.) produce more rock throw than others which blasthole (Inches), Tb = Size of the rock fragments (m),
have a more elevated Strain Energy, such as gelatin pr = Rock density (kg/m3).
explosives. By using the standard equations of ballistic trajectory
As to distribution, it has to be. made
. certain that the and taking into account that the product vo X Tb X pr
wcmebc vambles of the b h t couicde with those of the
W
-
design, especially in the following cases: mum throw length was calculated.
- When the top part of (he bench is broken due to The results obtained are shown in Fig. 34.2, or they can
excessive subdrilling from the benches above or un- be found analytically from:
sufficient stemrning to avoid the risk of crater effect, Fig.
34.2 1.
- When the face is very irregular, with areas along the
length of the explosive column which have very little
burden. In practice of bench blastings, it has been proven that the
throw lengths are much smaller than when crater effects
s e * * ~ r o d u c e d Therefore,
. in well designed blasts, the
As-indicatedin other chapters, flyrock control starts with throw lengths can be calculated from Fig. 34.3. For
a conect blast design. example, for a specific charge of 0.5 kg/m3, the maxi-
In multiple blastings, apart from inspecting the state of mum throw range would be given by:
the face of the round and conectly size the stemrning, it is L„=4OxD
fundamental to choose the timing of the stemrning be-
tween rows, so as not to have too much confinement in and if the blastholes were drilled to 102rnm (4"), it would
the last blastholes which can produce flyrock. be:
Granite
V: = 3,487 X 106(q,/ml) - 584
\
n
..
Fig. 34.4. Maximum range of vertical face flyrock from ANFO loaded
shots in limestone.
Fig. 34.6. Maximum range for bench top flyrock for ANFO loaded
shots in granite and sandstone.
be used with thicknesses equal to the stemrning height, Another system consists in overlaping Conveyer belts
maintaining a rninimum of 0.8 to 1 m, Fig. 34.7. and pinning them down to the ground with sandbags, for
Owing to the weight of the sand, the explosive charges example. At the same time metal s c r e e ~ n gor mesh,
should be slightly larger than in unprotected blastings. nylon nets, or rubber tires that overlap, etc., can be used.
In lot excavations with explosives, the most cornmon
system is that of the conveyor belts. These should Cover
the horizontal surface of the round as well as the free
bench face, Fig. 34.8.
In all instances it is necessary to male certain that the
connection cucuits are all right before and after the
coverings have been placed.
D E S W CQlADE
Fig. 34.7. Protection of a ditch blast by means of a sand covering. 34.3.2 Secondary blastings
Secondary blastings are a cornmon source of flyrock. In
Fig. 34.9. Areas around the blasts in function with rock throw.
REFERENCES
35.1 INTRODUCTION fire extinguisher and a first aid kit, which the operators
W how to use.
In order to carry out drilling and blasting under safe If the work conditions are poor or dangerous, the
conditions, the following aspects must be observed: equipment should not be used.
1. Comply with the Rules and Regulations that are in Place warnings on the control pannel to advise of these
effect. conditions.
2. Proper technical instmction for the operators, There should be signs that are well visible advocating
blasters and personnel who handle explosives. the necessity of personal protection, Fig. 35.2.
3. Machinery, explosives, accessories and initiation
systems must be used under safety conditions.
The drilling superintendent should supervise these 35.2.2 Safety precautions before stariing equipment
three conditions as, if not, the risk of accident will The Crew members should be prepared to assume
increase owing to over confidence, distractions, lack of possible risks and have the means to confront them, as
knowledge and non-compliance with the safety mles, well as knowing where to look for help.
etc. The driller should check the whole rig, even if every-
In this chapter, a generai guide of basic recommenda- thing was working correctly in the previous shift.
tions is given which obviously should be complemented The drill Crew should inspect the prernises where they
with the existing legislation. are going to work, its potential lirnitations, as well as the
accesses to the area.
The pressurized hoses will be securely anchored,
35.2 BLASTHOLE DRILLING especiaily the main hose, which should have an addi-
tional safety cable at the connection point.
35.2.1 General safety measuresfor blasthole drilling The threads and connection elements must be correctly
tightened.
f
fi
safety measures in order to rninimize potential hazards to the machine according to the manufacturer's instructions,
people as well as to material objects. and make certain that all tools and equipment are in
Drilling will be carried out according to the existing proper places and in good condition.
mles or policies, either officiai or those set by the compa- Possible fuel and other fluid losses must be watched,
nY. and the deposits will be purged according to the service
The operators should have received proper training instructions.
and have studied the instruction book for the machine or
machines which they are to handle, Fig. 35.1.
The members of the drill Crew should be given gar- 35.2.3 Safety measures during stariing
ments which provide adequate protection (helmets, When starting the machine, the fonowing p r e c a u t i o n ~
boots, gloves, glasses, masks, etc.), and use clothing and should be observed:
accessories that are not loose so as to avoid their catching - Make certain that unnecessary personnel are not on
on the moving parts of the machine. the rig or in the surroundings.
The personal protection objects and those for the - Check to see that all controls are in the correct
machine should be in good condition; if not, do not position.
commence drilling. - Inspect any possible warning signs or instructions
The protection systems for the machine should not be on the rig.
disconnected, in order to avoid darnage to itself or to - Start ihe drill by authorized Operator, from the pro-
people. per position and in ihe Open air or with good ventilation.
The starting and manuevering controls should be pro- - Never leave the rig when it is mnning.
tected so as to avoid manipulation by other people, which
could constitute a risk.
The compressor on the rig should be equipped with a
Drilling und blasting of rocks
Do not Open any deposit, water or oil hose when the rig Make certain that the magazine is clean, dry, well
is working, or if they are pressurized. ventilated, reasonably cool, of solid construction, fire
Check the state of the safety valves at least once a resistant, and securely locked.
week. They should be in perfect working condition. Always use or give out the oldest products first or,
Never repair safety valves of the pressurized circuits. which is the Same, in the order that they entered the
Always replace with new ones. magazine.
Never go above the pressure recommended by the Store the products of the Same type and class in such a
manufacturer for any pressurized equipment. manner that their identification is simple. This entails
Do not use air hoses with pressures over 0.2 MPa for their revision and age control.
cleaning filters, work clothes, dust, etc. When necessary, Take special precautions with defective boxes or bro-
use protective glasses, Fig. 35.12. ken wrappings. Place them in a separate area of the
Refuelling must be carried out with the motors off and magazine.
in perfectly ventilated areas. Place the magazines in isolated and strategic locations,
Avoid spilling fuel on surfaces that are at higher than in accordance with the distances Set by the regulations in
environmentaltemperatures. The refuelling hoses should force.
have appropnate nozzeis.
-
Lonsult wirn rne manuracturer as to cieaning pmeau-
When fuel is spilled, before starting the engine clean res when any liquid substance of deteriorated explosives
all affected surfaces. has spilled on the magazine floor.
Smoking is forbidden in a radius of at least 10 m from If artificial illumination is necessary, use safety lamps.
the refuelling'point, as well as any flames, incandescent Immediately repair any leaks that rnight appear from
materials or anything that can produce sparks, Fig. 35.13. walls or roof.
Have fire extinguishers available at the refuelling point Never Open or rewrap the boxes of explosives inside
for type B fires (grease, gasoline, dissolvents, paint, the magazine.
etc.). Do not leave loose explosives or Open boxes inside the
Avoid completely filling the fuel tanks as their volume rnagazine.
can vary with the temperature. Never store blasting caps or other initiation accessories
When checking the level of the cooiing liquid in the in the Same magazine.
motor compressor,the engine must be off and the radiator Do not store detonating cord in the Same place as the
at environmental temperature. electric blasting caps.
Do not store metal objects that could produce sparks in
the magazine.
35.3 BLASTINGS Never store oils, gasolines or dissolvents in the Same
area.
Before indicating the recornmendations for the different Matches or lighters are strictiy forbidden inside or near
Stages of blasting, it must be stated that, except in under- the magazine.
water blasts, it is expressly forbidden to charge blast- Place clearly visible warning signs around the installa-
-
tion through contact with the drilling tools and equip-
ment. -,
35.3.2 Precautions when transporting explosives inside
the working area
35.3.1 Measures to be taken when storing explosives
Strictly obey the conditions established by the Regula-
Always store explosives in powder magazines that tions in force.
fulfill the acting rules and regulations. Make certain that any vehicle assigned to the transport
of explosives complies with the stipulated regulations.
Check the running condition of the vehicle to see if
. ..
evergttrmg rsm p m - k
out and have canvas on hand to Cover the explosives if it
rains.
Cany fire extinguishers on the vehicles, properly
placed and in easy access. The knowledge of their use is
obligatory for drivers and helpers.
The engine of the vehicle rnust always be tumed off
when loading and unloading explosives.
Check the floor of the vehicle to be certain that there
are no cracks or holes.
Always load and unload the vehicles during daylight
hours and never when there are electric, sand or Snow
storms.
Photo 35.2. Surface powder magazine with natural protection. When loading and unloading explosives, only autho-
376 Drilling and blasting of rocks
rized personnel are ailowed to remain in the area, prohi- Fig. 35.1 1. When handling battenes, all pertinent precautions must
biting any other activity within a radius of 50 m. taken.
Never transport metal. fuel or coaosire mataiakwith
explosives.
Smoking is stnctly forbidden for anyone in or near the
vehicle.
Do not 'ailow the boxes of explosives to be opened
~ ~ -
when still in the vehicle or in the unloading area until this
operation is finished.
Never transport blasting accessories with explosives.
Detonating cord is considered an industnal explosive.
Always transport the explosives in their original Fig. 35.12. Never use compressed air to clean work clothes.
Fig. 35.18. Wrapping of the end of the detonating cord to keep it fmm
falling inside the hole. Photo 35.5. Tamping blastholes.
Safety measuresfor drilling und blasting operations 379
Fig. 35.21. Avoid rocks in the stemming material. 35.3.8 Precautions to take when$ring withfuse
detonators und safety fuse initiation
Blast as little as possible with fuses and reduce the
number of blasthole in each round.
Handle the fuse with care to avoid damaging the cov-
ering.
Light the fuse with a fuse lighter designed for this
purpose.
Always work with fuses of more than a meter and a
half in length. The burning time must be known and make
Fig. 35.22. Checking electric blasting caps. certan that mere 1s time to reachasaIeptace+ter
lighting. A test fuse can be used for this information.
Cut the fuse when ready to insert it into the fuse
-
detonator. Cut an inch or two off to insure a dry end.
Cut the fuse squarely across with a fuse cutter designed
for this purpose and insert it gently against the powder
charge of the detonator. Once placed, avoid twisting it.
Crimp the end of the fuse detonator with a cap crimper
where the fuse enters. Make certain that the detonator is
securely cnmped to the fuse to avoid its breaking loose or
Fig. 35.23. Isolate the connectionsfrom the ground. getting wet.
Never light the safety fuse without covenng the
explosive sufficiently to prevent sparks from coming into
contact with it.
380 Drilling und blas fing of rocks
Power Speed
kW (kilowaits) km/h (kilometres/hour) X 0.2777 = m/s
Horsepower, rnetric rnls X 3.6 = krnlh
Horsepower, U.K. mph (miles/hour) X 0.45 = rn/s
ft.lbf1sec mph X 1.61 = krnlh
Btulh fVs (foot/second) X 0.3048 = rnls
ftls (footlsecond) X 18.29 = mlrnin
ftlrnin (foot/rninute) X 0.3048 = mlrnin
Volume
I (litres)
rnl (millilitres) Frequency
dm3(cubic decimetres) blows/rninute X 0.01 7
crn3(cubic centirnetres) kHz (kiloHertz) X 1000
mm3(cubic millimetres) r/rnin.(rev./minute) X 0.01667
V n~ f i 7
inJ (cubic incnes)
ft3 (cubic feet) radianslsecond X 0.1592
Imperial gallon
U.S. gallon
Ounces (1rnp.fluid oz) Pressure
Ounces (U.S.fluid oz) bar X 100 = kPa
Pints (U.S. liq.) bar X 100 000 = Pa
Quarts (U.S. liq.) kp/crn2 X 0.98 = bar
yd3 (cubic yards) atrn (atmospheres) X 1.01 = bar
psi (pounds/in2) X 6.895 = kPa
AL
Force
kN (kilonewton)
kp (kilopond) Area
kgf (kilograrnrne force) mm"square mrn)
Ibf (pound force) cm2 (square cm)
in2(square inches)
ft' (square feet)
Torque yd2 (square yards)
kpm (kilopondmetres) Acres
Ibf in (poundforcelinch) Square miles
Ibf ft (poundforce/foot)
General information, weight of materials
bank loose
Weight') of niaterials swell inV ' O swell factOr lblcuydlkglma
lblcuyd/kglm3
Basalt 5000/2970 52 0.66 330011960
Bauxite, kaolin 3200/1900 33 0.75 2400/1420
Carnotite, uranium ore 3700/2200 35 0.74 275011630
Cinders 14501 860 54 0.65 9501 560
Clay - natural bed 340012020 22 0.82 280011660
crushed 260011540
--
Magnetite, iron ore 550013260 17 0.86 4700/2790
Pyrite. iron ore 5 10013030 18 0.85 435012580
Sand - dry, loose 2700/1600 12 0.89 240011420
dam~ 3200/1900 12 0.89 285011690
wet 3500/2080 13 0.88 3100/1840
Sand with clay - loose 3400/2020 26 0.79 270011600
compacted 4050/2400
Sand with gravel-dry 3250/1930 12 0.89 2900/1720
384 Drilling und blasfing of r o c h
-- .-.-.... . , . .
,
-.
280011660 33 1 0.75
-.
1 210011250
--- -- -
. --Y
11
Slatz - broken 1 495012940 1 G8 1 0.59 1 295011750
Bhting agent: A mixture of combustible and oxidizing substances Detachment:Separation produced between fragmented and remaining
that are not of an inirinsically explosive nature by themselves. rock after ablast.
Bottom charge: Explosive, normally'of high strength, placed at the Detonating cord: Plastic covered cord filled with a explosive of high
bottom of a blasthole. strength and velocity, used to initiate explosive charges and tran-
Boulder: Rock fragment which is too large to be handled by the loading smit detonation.
equipment. Detonation velocity: Propagation velocity of the detonation wave
Bubble energy: Energy of the gases produced by an explosion. It is through an explosive charge.
usually measured in underwater tests. Detonation pressure: Pressure measured in the C-J plane, behind the
Burden: Distance from blasthole to free face of the rock, measured detonation front, during propagation through an explosive col-
petpendicularly to the axis of the hole. umn.
Cartridge:Explosive cartridge in cylindrical form. Detonation: Explosive reaction consisting in propagation of a shock
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c € ~ ~ n t o~&ngtrtfi-&e-Creacth
r t h r o ~ .
Centralizer: Drilling accessory used to make the drill string rotate on that frees a large quantity of hot, high pressure gases.
the Same axis in order to reduce deviation. Detonator or electric blasting cap: Initiation accessory in capsuie
Column charge: An explosive placed between the stemming and the shape which, in the electric version, can be instantaneous, delay
bottom charge. (0.5s) or millisecond delay (20 or 30 ms). They can also be
Collaring:Point on the surface where the blasthole drilling begins. classified according to intensity of impulse.
Charge concentration: Quantity or weight of explosive per lineal Dilution:Mixture of ore with waste or other worthless material.
meter of blasthole for a given diameter. Also expressed per unit of Dip: Angle fomed by blasthole inclination with the vertical.
area in contour blasts. Dmg bit: Rotary, reamear shaped drill bit with cutting action and hard
Confurement:Degree of burial of an explosivecharge inside the rock. metal inserts along the edges.
Connector: Blasting accessory used to unite the detonating- cords or Draw point: Excavation of inverted tnangular section used for the
wires of the eleckc blasting caps. extraction of fragmented ore in underground metal mines.
Contour, perimeter. The final profile or surface planned in an excava-
tion.
Drifr (adit or dean): Lineal underground excavation, usually in min-
ing.
-
Controlled blasting: Blasting technique used to control overbreak and Drill steel shank: Part of a drilling accessory that is between the
produce a competent slope. It can be presplitting, smooth blasting. hammer piston and the drill string.
cushin blasting, etc. Drill bit: Drilling tool which transmits the destmctive energy to the
rock.
3 85
Drilling und blasting of roch
Drill dust: Particles of rock produced when drilling blastholes. Particle velocity: Speed at which a ground particle moves from its rest
Drillingpattern: ~ e o m e t r i c ~ l for
a n the placing oflblastholesin a blast. position.
It also includes their lenath.
- . diameter and direction. Particle acceleration: Parameter for measuring a unit of ground vibra-
Drilling error: Deviation from the calculated blasthole Pattern. tion in grams (I g = 9.8 mls2).
Drilling maneuver: Any operation that refers to any change or transla- Net penetration : Average rate of advance duting blasthole dtilling.
tion of the dtilling equipment, lengthening of the dtill steel, remov- PETN: Pentrite. (Pentaetythritaltehanitrate)
ing it, cleaning the blasthole, etc. Plaster shooting or popping: Secondaty fragmentation or breakage of
Drilling rate: Average blasthole drilling rate, including non-productive boulders produced during previous blasts.
times. Pneutnatic loader: Equipment mn by compressed air. It is used for
Dynatnite: Explosive invented by Alfred Nobel. At present, it is charging either bulk or cartridged explosives.
considered to be any explosive in which the sensitizer is nitrogly- Pocket priming: Initiation system cattied out by placing the primer
cerine or a similar compound. cartridge on the bottom or top of the explosive column.
Echelon or staggeredpattern: Placing the blastholes of one row in such Powder magazine: A portable or permanent stnicture used to Store
a manner that they form triangles with those of the preceeding row. explosives and blasting accessones.
Emulsion: Blasting agent in which the ammonium nitrate is dissolved Presplitting: Contour blast consisting in blastholes which break before
in watet and forms droplets suttounded by fuel oil. the stoping blasts and create a cut or fissure plane in the rock.
and solids react instantaneously. forming hot, high pressure gases. Primer cartridge: An explosive charge of high strength and sensitivity
Explosive: Substance or compound that, by sudden release ot its into.0-cw
ih 11 IS m&tqmtentratL ünd
energy, produces an overpressure in the surroundings accompanied increase the output of other explosives.
by flame and noise. Quarry: Surface operation for the extraction of rock for ornamental
Extraneous electricity:Fiows of electrical cuttent that circulate outside and construction purposes: lime, marble, granite, and shale are
a normal conductor. It can be the result of defective insulation of examples.
the equipment, the galvanic action of two different metals, etc. Radiofrequency energy: Electric energy transmitted through the air in
Face: Free surface in a blast. the form of radio or electromagnetic waves.
Feed: Component of rotary percussive rock drills upon which the Raise: Underground upward excavation of a tunnel or shaft that can be
pneumatic or hydraulic hammers move back and forth, also supply- vertical or with an inclination of approximately 45' from the
ing the necessary thmst load for the advance. horizontal.
Firing line: Electric cable used to connect the blast to the blasting Retrac bit: A drill bit which has grooves and teeth on the back part
machine. which permit backward drilling in pmr ground which tends to cave
Floor (foot wall): Lower surface of a bench, tunnel or chamber. in.
Fly rock:The hurling of rock fragments in a blast. Rip-rap: Large sized blocks of rock used for constniction of dams,
Fracture: Plane of discontinuity or breakage of rock inside the rock piers, channel protection, etc.
mass. Ripping blast: Blast with vety little displacemenf which helps increase
Fragmentation:Size of the pieces of blasted rock. natural fracturation or rock swell when preparing for posterior
-
Frequency: Characteristic Parameter of a vibration (H, or cycles per
second).
breakage and loading.
Round: Blast, or amount of rock excavated in one blast.
Fumes: Dangerous or harmful gases produced in a blast. Row ofholes: Senes of aligned blastholes in ablast.
Halfcast: Cylindrical surface or wall formed in the rock when dnlling Scaled distance: Relationship used to predict the vibration level and air
a blasthole. blast. It is usually expressed by distance in meters, from the blast to
Hammer drilling:Equipment with either pneumatic or hydraulic drive the point of observation,divided by the square or cube root of the
that is used to drill blastholes by transmission of energy to the rock charge weight per delay, in kilograms.
in the form of shock waves. Scaling: Removal of rock that is loose or in poor condition from the
Heavy ANFO: Blasting agent consisting in an emulsion mixed with side walls and faces.
rn
ANFO.
Impedance: Characteristic which serves to measure the amount of produce a competent slope. It can be presplitting, smooth blasting,
energy transfered by a materiql. The product of the density is cushion blasting, etc.
measured by sonic velocity. Seismograph: Instrument that measures and permanently registers
Indentation: The act of detonating an explosive by means of a de- ground vibrations induced by earthquakes and blasting.
tonator or any other accessorv. Sensitivity: Measure of susceptibility of an explosive to detonate when
Initiator: ~lastingaccessory tha;produces detoaation. it receives an extemal subsonic impulse. Also a measure of its
Insert: Hard meta1 piece on drill bit. ability to propagate the detonation.
Joints: Planes of weakness in the rock mass which offer no resistance Sensitizer: Ingredient used in explosives to increase facility of initia-
to separation. tion or propagation of the reactions.
Jumbo: Self propelled equipment with one or several bmms which Sequential blasting machine: Blasting machine which has diverse
have hammers for drilling in underground operations. channels through which current is discharged with a prefixed
Lifrers: Lower horizontal, or slightly inclined, blastholes which= -dephasing ot m ~ l l i s e c o n d s . ~ ~ ~
upwards. Shaft: Vertical underground excavation that is either of rectangular or
Loose rock: Rock fragments that comeloose because of cracks, discon- circular sections and of larger dimensions than raises.
tinuities, etc. Shank adaptor: First piece on the drill string which transmits the
Mut: Materials used to control fly rock. energy from piston impact and breakage to the dnll string gears.
Microballoons: Small 'crystal or plastic spheres which are added to Shaped charge: An explosive prepared with a special geometrical
explosives to increase their sensitivity. configuration used fundamentally in secondary fragmentation and
Milliseconddelay: Dephase of time in milliseconds (less than 100 ms) demolitions.
-
with which diverse blasting accessories are manufactured. such as Shock tube system (Nonel): An initiation system for detonators in
detonators, electnc blasting caps, relays, etc. which energy is transmitted to them by means of a shock wave that
Muck ~ i l eAfter
: blast oile of fragmented rock. travels through a plastic tube.
~itrogl~cerine (NG):( c ~ H( o~N o ~ ) ~ ) . Shock wave: A wave that propagates through the explosive charge at
Omega tube: Plastic tube opened by a generatrix that serves to prepare supersonic velocity in that medium.
charges with decked cartridges in contour blasting. Shot: Charged blasthole.
Open pit: Surface operation by downward benching in beds of ore, Side wall: The lateral face of an excavation.
inclined coal beds, etc. Slope: Relationship between the horizontal projection and the height of
Overbreak or backbreak: Rock breakage produced outside the thtical the bench face.
contour of a blast.
Glossary 387
Smooth blasting: Contour blast made up of blastholes placed close to Subdrill: Length of blasthole drilled below the planned level of break-
each other with weak charges, fired after stoping blasts to achieve age.
smoother profiles. Sublevel: Drifts opened at different levels to exploit ore beds.
Spacing: Distance between blastholes of the same row. Swelling: Increase in rock volume after breakage.
Spalling: Mechanism of rock breakage that is produced when the shock Sympathetic detonation: Detonation of an explosive material by means
wave is reflected on a free face as a consequence of the great of an impulse from the detonatiod of another charge, sent through
differente in impedances. air, ground or water.
Specijic drilling: Meters of blasthole or volume drilled per ton or m3 of Tamping stick: Wooden or plastic tool used to insert and tamp explos-
rock broken. ive cartridges and sternming material in a blasthole.
Specijic charge: Amount of explosive used per ton or rn3 of blasted TNT: Trinitrotoluene
rock. Toe: Unfragmented parts of a rock mass which appear in the lower
Squarepattern: Placing the blastholes on the vertexes of a Square. areas of the bench.
Stemming: Areas of blasthole without explosive charge that are filled Tricone (rolling cone) bit: Rotary drill bit with cmshing and ripping
with inert material such as dust, sand, clay, etc. action, made of three cones with steel teeth orhard meta1 inserts.
Stope: Steplike excavation underground for the removal of ore that is Tunnel: Lineal underground excavation.
formed as the ore is mined in successivelayers Underwater blasting: Rock blasting underwater.
".
J1 -
which express its working capacity. by Passage of an elastic wave.
Stress, or strain energy: Energy transmitted by the shock wave gene- Watergel:- an aqueous sototnnrofarmrmmuiii
rated by an explosive. nitrate, which has been sensitized with fuel oil and to which a
Strip mine: Surface operation with only one bench in which the bottom crosslinking agent has been added, tuming the consistency from
usually coincides with the wall of the ore level. fluid to elastic.
Subject index