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with electric or electronic caps. The timing sequence for non-electric shock tube can be done us­
ing dual delays as shown in Figure 5-30C.

5-9. Hillside and Sliver Cuts.

a. Hillside or sliver cuts can be difficult to control, since in most instances the rock cannot
be thrown from the hillside. If the purpose of the blasting was to scatter the rock down the
hillside, there would be no problem is designing the blast. When it is the intent of the oper­
ator to keep as much rock as possible in the cut itself, procedures can be used that are simi­
lar to a modified V-cut. The method of timing of the blastholes will ensure rock movement in a
manner to keep the rock pushing toward the bank rather than pushing toward the slope. Figure
5-30 shows an example of this type of cut.

Figure 5-30. Hillside Sliver Cut, S = 1.4B.

b. On steeply sloping hillsides, the outer row of holes has very little depth. To produce the
proper fragmentation, displacement, and piling, especially in massive rock, the operator must
consider the general principles of rock breakage as described in Chapter 2. The L/B ratio must
never be less than 1. If large diameter holes are used where considerable depth is available,
blasthole size and related burdens and spacings must be reduced on the outer edges of the slope.
Air track drilling with smaller drills and smaller diameter explosive loads may be necessary to
produce the proper controlled results.

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5-10. Trenching.

a. There are many considerations when designing a utility trench. The size of pipe or
utility that will go into the trench, of course, is one of the prime considerations. One does not
want to blast a 6-ft wide trench if only an 8-in. line is going into the ground. On the other hand,
the size of the excavation equipment bucket is also an important consideration, since it will be
used to remove the material from the shot. In no instance can one design a shot, regardless of
the size of the utility line that has a width less than the excavator bucket.

b. In trench blasting, the local geology is extremely important. Trenches are at the surface
of the earth, where one can encounter the most weathered, unstable type of rock. Often there
has been significant decomposition of the rock resulting in clay or mud pockets and seams
within the rock mass. The overburden, whether it is weathered rock or soil, may not be flat-ly­
ing and this is an important consideration when the holes are loaded. One does not place ex­
plosives in the overburden (soil) above the solid rock. Therefore, it is imperative that the blaster
know the actual depth to rock within each hole. This is done by keeping a drilling log. To blast
efficiently, explosives would be loaded in the hole and stemming must be placed within the rock
itself, not only in the overburden.

c. In utility trench blasting, techniques that are used in bedded weak rock may not function
in solid massive material. Bedding planes will allow gas migration into the rock mass allowing
more cratering action. On the other hand, similar techniques used in massive rock may not
cause cratering. Instead, blastholes may rifle with little, if any, resulting breakage.

d. In the following discussion, the difference in blasting techniques between massive, hard
materials and inter-bedded, weaker rock will be reviewed. If a narrow trench is needed in an
inner-bedded rock mass, one can often use a single row of holes down the center of the trench
line. The burden distance or spacing between these single row holes would be similar to that
indicated in Equation 5-2 above. A minimum L/B ratio of 1 must be used in all types of blast­
ing.

e. If the trench is to be shallow, smaller diameter holes will be needed than if the
trench is to be deep. The timing should be such that holes will sequence down the row. If
blastholes are all fired instantaneously, considerable rock will be scattered in the nearby area.
As bench heights are reduced, the probability of scatter will increase and blasting mats may be
necessary. The single row technique is not applicable in massive hard rock. Normally blastholes
will rifle with little, if any, breakage between holes. In massive material, a double row trench is
normally used.

f. Figure 5-31 shows the design of a double row trench. In massive materials, the blasthole
should be placed at the excavation limit. In highly bedded weaker materials, on the other hand,
it is often recommended that the blastholes be placed about 12 in. within the excavation limit
since considerable overbreak usually results. Placing the blastholes within 12 in. of the exca­
vation limit, in massive materials, will produce poor results. To determine if a utility trench
pattern is within reasonable limits, the following guideline is used.

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Figure 5-31. Two-Row Trench Design.

g. The burden distance should be as approximated by Equation 5-2 and that burden is
placed at the location shown in Figure 5-31. Note that this is not the true burden or the perpen­
dicular distance from the hole to the face at the time the hole detonates is less.

h. The width of the trench must be between 0.75B and 1.25B. If trench widths must
be less than 0 .75B, then smaller holes and smaller diameter powder charges should be used
with burdens that are appropriate for these smaller charges. On the other hand, if trench widths
must be greater than 1.25B, either a larger borehole would be needed with its appropriate burden,
or a three-row trench (Figure 5-32) could be used. The L/B ratio must be greater than 1.

Figure 5-32. Three-Row Trench Design.

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5-11. Cut and Cover.

a. Cut and cover is a method of construction for shallow tunnels in which a trench is exca­
vated, then a roof system is constructed. Excavation in rock for cut and cover may incorporate
either standard blasting patterns or patterns used for trench design, depending on excavation di­
mensions and geology. Typical patterns used are “V” and “box cut” patterns shown in Figures
5-21 through 5-24.

b. Figure 5-33 shows a typical blasting pattern in a cut and cover tunneling project. The
use of pre-splitting or line drilling along the side walls of the trench, in advance of the production
blasts, will be necessary to maintain good wall control and prevent overbreak, see Section 6-2.

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Figure 5-33. Typical Cut and Cover Blasting Pattern.

5-12. Underground Blasting.

a. General.

(1) Underground blasting operations differ from surface operations because they lack the ad­
ditional face of relief that is normal to many surface blasting jobs. In underground operations, engi­
neers have only one face into which they must drill so they can create relief perpendicular to that
face by using the first drill holes to fire. If proper relief is not created when the first blastholes fire,
the rest of the blasting round may do little breakage and may rifle out of the collar of the holes.

(2) An additional difference in underground operations is the fact that blasting parameters
must conform to a specific contour. This can be quite different from mass blasting or mining opera­
tions on the surface where the exact size of any blast is not normally critical. This chapter re­
views many of the common underground blast designs used for shaft sinking and tunneling.

b. Shafts.

(1) In both mining and construction operations, vertical or inclined shafts provide access un­
derground. Shafts are used to provide access from the surface to underground entries or from one
level to another in a mining operation.

(2) Shaft sinking is difficult because the work area is normally small, noisy, and commonly
wet. The job can be dangerous because exposed walls above the drilling and blasting crews can
ravel and rocks may fall with little warning. Advance is slow because the drilling, blasting, and

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mucking are cyclic operations. The blasted rock must be well fragmented to be removed by the ex­
cavation equipment. Today, most shafts are made with a circular cross section, which gives better
distribution of rock pressures and decreases the need for reinforcement.

(3) There are three common methods used for blasting circular shafts: ring drilling with verti­
cal holes (Figure 5-34), pyramid cuts (Figure 5-35) and bench rounds (Figure 5-36). Some opera­
tions also use modified burn cuts to provide the second face of relief in a shaft round (Figure 5-37).

Figure 5-34. Ring Drill.

Figure 5-35. Pyramid Cuts.

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Figure 5-36. Bench Round.

Figure 5-37. Ring Drilling with Burn Cut Center.

c. Ring Drilled Vertical Hole Design.

The following section will go through a step-by-step procedure to design this type of shaft.

(1) Burden Determination

The burden for the shaft round is found in the same manner as for surface blasting operation:

 2SG e 
B =
 +
1.5 D e

SG
R  (5-15)

where:
B = Burden (ft)
SGe = Specific Gravity or Density of Explosive (g/cm³)

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SGr = Specific Gravity or Density of Rock (g/cm³)

De = Diameter of Explosive (in)

(2) Number of Rings

 B
 R SH − 
 2
NR = +1
B (5-16)

where:
NR = Number of Rings
RSH = Shaft Radius (ft)
B = Burden (ft)
De = Diameter of Explosive (in)

(3) Burden Actual

2 R SH
BA = (5-17)
2 NR −1

(4) Spacing of Holes in Ring (Estimate)

S= B (5-18)
where:

S = Spacing (ft)
B = Burden (ft)

(5) Number of Holes per Ring

2 R Rπ
NH = (5-19)
S
where:

NH = Number of Holes/Ring
RR = Ring Radius (ft)
S = Spacing (ft)
De = Diameter of Explosive (in)

(6) Spacing Actual / Ring

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