BLASTING Chapter 1. Charge Calculations for Tunneling Rocer Honsurra INTRODUCTION The driving of drifts is a very important aspes undergeound niining, {is not unusual for the perce age of eock broken during development in a mine ui Sublevel caving, for example, to be as much ay 25% of the total, If one abo considers the amount broken for transport, ventilation, and exploration deifts, one can cnily unerstand that the planning and exeavation of Uifts play a major part ia the total economies of the rine (Fig. 1) Increasing mechanization in mining demands larger tunnel areis for teansport and mining equipment. With ‘modern machives the hard work involved in using hand held pushers is gone, and. a" better environment is achieved, More tational methods coukl be used but much of the experience the working man acquired by working close to the rock face (such as utilizing the "weak plancs inthe rock when he placed the dill- has unfortunately been lost. By havin fate shifts for deilling, loading, and h tion has to be plied upou a welldesigned dillin pattern. ome reduction in the number of holes required can be achieved with mechanized drilling bec larger holes that ean be prodi Fig, 1, Development for sublevel ‘caving. it is probably not possible to achieve the same precision fas with pneumatic pushers, and itis difficult to utilize the Turger holes because these eause more damage to the re maining rock. Recently, however, the precision has be: come very good with the parallel booms and automatic Ucvices for setting the lookout angle (Fig. 2). A tars arch of the drift roof requires a more carefully executed blasting procedure than before in order to prevent rock fall and to insure a suiiciently long stand-up time. In this chapter, empirical relationships that ean be used to design an economic and optimal drift blasting design will be presented. ‘The tion method are based upon the ear fors and Kihlstrim (1963) and Gustafsson (1973). COMPARISON OF EXPLOSIVES To provide for the use of various explosives it is necessaty to have a basis of comparison. “Several met ‘ods have been developed to characterize the strength of fan explosive. Some examples are comparison of valuss sgiven by (1) calculated explosion energies; (2) the bal: listic mortar test; (3) the Trauzl lead block tests (4) the brisance test; (5) the weight strength concept (6) the et test. However, most of these meth- fos should be used earefully when stating the breakingBLASTING capacity of an explosive in a rock material. Depending lupon the type of the blasting operation, ie, crater blast ing oF bench blasting, the strength of the explosive must be estimated from different premises, “The best way to rank explosives, of course, would be to measure the rock breaking capacity in different rock materials with different blasting operations under differ- tent charging conditions. Such an evaluation is, however, prohibitive due to the costs and time involved. Instead ‘one usually is restricted to using one of the aforemen- tioned methods for the comparison of strength. In this chapter the Swedish weight strength relation: ship is used for the correlation of different explosives. ‘The elation is described by so iv 60, *6Y, where sis weight strength relative £0 a reference explo- sive (LEB dynamite); 0, is heat of explosion for 1 kg of LFB; V, is released gas volume from 1 hg of LFB at standard temperature and pressure (STP); 0 is heat of explosion for 1 kg of the actual explosive; V is released gas volume from 1 kg of the actual explosive; Q, is 5.0 MJ; and V, is O85 m. ‘The formula is hased upon the fact that the work of expansion depends primazily upon the heat of explosion land secondarily upon the released gascous reaction prod= vets. The constants 5/6 and 1/6 in the formula were ddicrmined in field experiments where low and high gas volume explosives were used and compared to the LPB dynamite Under bench-blasting conditions. Today, the weight strength is seldom expressed relax ive to LEB, Usually itis given with respect to ANFO (armonium nitrate-fucl oil) or as in Nitro Nobel AB's preduct prospect relative to the dynamite Dynamex B. Whon weight strength is expressed relative to ANFO, fone must first calculate the weight strength relative 10 LEB and then divide the value by the weight strength of ANFO relative to LFB (0.84). See Table 1 Generally the weight strength concept describes the magnitude of the expansion work the blssting agent ean perform ina blasting ope Teased encrey does. One must heep in mind, however, that it is impossible to utilize the total energy for break= ing tock. ‘The explosion energy is the tel enctgy. To utilize all of this energy as exp: the gascous products must have the posi panding to a very Low presatite, Rock bi a Fig. 2. Atlas Copco allhydraulic il fig, Boomer W128 for drifting ‘and tunneling. Teble 1. Welght Strength for Some Explosives Density, koi oma Explosive MUIkg Vika Sue 500 0850 1.09, DynomexB 48 0765 0.92 NFO. 382 0973 064 Snr 41 069 082 PEIN 12 0760 1.47 NABIT 41 oss 086 URI 3730425 O71 LFB dynamite 1450 ‘200 1500 127 083 o77 1000 3000 primary fragmentation are already completed when the Setonation products have expanded to a volume of about ten times the initial borehole volume. The pressure in the products at this expansion is in the range of 10 10 100 MPa. Depending upon the ingredients in the explosive, es pecially the solid ones, the eflicieney ean vary consider: bly. Aluminized explosives, for example, obviously have a high total explosion energy. Unfortunately, a high proportion of their expansion work occurs in the Tow pressure region which lowers the efficiency significantly (ig. 3). Expansion’ work MJ/kg Utilized energy for main fragmentation yooo ‘100 ——«10 t Fig. 3. Example of the expansion work 9% a function of the pressure in the reaction products for an aluminized water get explosive,UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK CHARGE CALCULATION AND DESIGN OF DRILLING PATTERN Tunnel blasting is a mich more complicated opera tion than ench Blasting because the only available fe surface toward which initial breakage can occur is the ecause of the high constriction there will much higher specitie charge. Fig. 4 pre- senty a good guide for explosive consumption for ¥ry- funncl si Environmental aspects intlucnce the choivs of explo- sive by rewiring the avoidance of high conceateations of The small burdens used in the eut demand nitive so that torie fumes. aan explosive agent which iy sliciemty fas Hashover from hots to hole is impossible, and which has 4 walliciently high detonation velocity to prevent occur= fence of chuanel elfects when the coupling ratio ¥ less than one. With the mechanized dilling equipment used today larger holes than the charge demands are nozmally Chanoel eifeets ean oveut if aw ae space is pres= ‘and the borchole wall, &f the detonation velocity is not high enough (less than about 3000 a/s), the expanding detonation gases drive for- wand the ait in the channel as a compressed layer with aahigh temperatuce and a high pressucs. ‘The shock front the aie compresses the explosive in front of the deto- nation front, destroys the hot spots, or increases the den 10 such a degree that the dctonation could stop oF result in a low ensrgy release, The explosive used in the lifters must also withstand water. Tn the contour holes special columa charges shot be used to minimize damage tothe remaining rock. To simplity the charge eatculations fet us divide the tunnel face into five separate sections A through E. Each one has to be treated in its own special way during the calculation. A is the eut section; B involves the stoping holes breaking horizontally and upwards C is the stoping holes breaking downward; D is tho’ contour hholest and E is the lifters (Fig. $). ‘The most important operation in the blasting pro- ‘cedure is exeating an opening in the rock face to serve as another free surface. If this stage fails the round will definitely not In the cut the holes are arranged in such a way that the delay sequence permits the opening to geadually in crease in size until the stoping holes can take over, ‘The Specific charge kg/m 25. «50. 75 100 arog m2 Specific charge as a funetion of the tunnel area, B B Stoping IStoping} Cut E Lifters Fig. 5. Sections A‘E represent the types of holes used Under different blasting conditions, (V-cut), as a ratered aroun holes can be drilled in a series of weds Fan, o¢ ina patallel geometry usually ‘an empty hole. “The choiee of the cut has to be msde with respect to the type of available deilfing equipment, the tunnel Width, sind the desired advance. With V-cuts and fan cuts where angted holes are drilled, the advance is strictly ‘dependent upon the Width of the tunnel. Un the last dec- ade the parallel cut (Tour-section cut) with one or two ge empty diameter holes has been used to a ge extent. "The obvious auvantages to using this that-no attcation has to be paid to the tunnel ‘width, and the eut is much easier to drill with machines as there is no need to change the angle of the boom. The principle behind a parallel cutis that small di ameter Roles are drilled with great precision around a larger hole (4 65 to $ 175 mm). The larger empty ho serves as a free face for the smailer holes, and the open= ing is enlarged gradually until the stoping holes tke over. The predominant type of parallel hole eut is the foursestion cut which is used in the following cealeulation Advance The advance is restricted by the diameter of th empty’ hole and the hole deviation for the smatler diame tee holes, Good economics demand maximum utiliza tiow of the full hole depth. Drifting is gotting very e« pensive if the advance becomes much less than 95° of the hole depth. Fig. 6 illustrates the required hole dey as a function of the empty hole diameter when a 9: advunce is desired with a four-seetion cut (Fig. 6) The equation for hole depth (#1) can be expressed as H=OIS 43416-39489 (m) 42d empty hole diameter in meters The advance Fis 12095 cmt) Bes. 2 and. are ald only for a deing deviation Sometimes Tro opty halen are uscd faa of cos tot ay tr ema ering cevign o Manoa irgor deters ay 2s val com puted according to the followBLASTING a TFS tmaty tole m Fig. 6. Hote depth as a function of empty hole diameter fora four-section cut, b= dN? 4, denotes the hole diameters of the two The general geometry for the eut and cut spre is outlined in Fig. 7. Burden in the First Quadrangle The distance between the eniply hole and the drill hoes in the first quadrangle should not exceed 1.7 times the diameter of the empty hole if satisfactory breakage and cleaning are to take place. Breahage conditions dif- fer very much depending upon explosive type, structure * of the rock, and distance between the charged hole and_ (the empty hole. As illostrated in Fig. 8, there is no advantage in using a burden greater than’? ¢ as long as the aperture angle is too small for the heavy chitge. Plastic defor- ‘mation would be the only effect of the blast, Even if the distance is smaller than 2 ¢, 100 great a charge concen: tration woutd cause a misfunction of the eut duc to rock, impact and sintering which prevents the necessary swell: HW the maximum accepted hole deviation is of the maga FOUR SECTION CUT Fig. 7. Four-section eut: V, represents the practical burden for quadtangte the holes meet a2 03 @ Empty hole m Fig, 8. Blasting result for different relations between the practical burden and the empty hole diameter. Hol Geviation is less than 164 (langefors and. Kiistiom, 1963). tude 0.5 fo 196, then the practical burden (V4) for the spreader holes in the cut must be less than the maximus Minden (P78) nase am We use When the deviation exceeds 1%, Vy has to be -d even further. The following formula should then be used, V=1Ig—(@H4A) — (m) (6) Where the fist term represents the maximum drill de- ation (F), a is the angular deviation (m/m), 11 is the hhole depth (m), and f denotes the collaring deviation in 1s. In practice drilling precision is normally good enough to sllow the ase of Tq. 5 Charge Concentration in the First Quadrangle Langefors and Kibistrim (1963) have verified the following relationship between charge concentration (Dy the mavimum distance between the holes (V'), atid th diameter of the empty Dole 4, for s borehole with a diameter of 0.032 mm T= 1s (gy (= 4/2) (hey) (7) To unilize the explosive in the host manner, burden of = 15 ¢ for a deviation of 0.8 to 14s showht be sed. ‘One must remember that Fj. 7 ill hote diameter of 0.032 to be used in the round tion por meter of borehole his to be used breakage at the same level it ie necessary to incre concentration n proportion to the di Thus if vse instead 0032 ly for a een increased charge eonecnitta Vo keep the the of d, ty wUNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK svhen the diameter is increased this ateans that the coupling ratio and the borehole pressure de- crease. ICis important to carefully select the proper eX: plosive ia o«lee to minisize the risk of channel elfects and incomplete detonation, Considering the cock material Ey, T can gow be eowritten in terms of diameter bsssacvysy ul type of expos igenveal hole (V — $12) (ef. Ni suse0 tein) where sagmy denotes the might stength eclative to ANE, nl’ Bdeined av the tock somata fiesta poaiie vail Ta cary concontcacoa is ile nited do tthe eerie aubienea fe the plover maeifactrer; This concontsion i ive, a the burden fy eatelated form Eu 9 imteal “This can eally be done by using a peor (puirablapocketesieator sal an facaive procodie Rock Constant PFactor eis an empires! measure of the amount of caplonve nevde for loocning ane cube mnctor of oc “The fld experiments by which the ¢ values wee dae tine took place with a bench-blsing geomet. Tt Thine out tha ths cock comvant determined ths tho giver 3 good approximation forthe gock propertin in tonnstng. tnt lst twas found tate facut ‘ery tk blating in brite eytaline grants gave a f factor equal to 0.2. In practically all ater tock mae teria, fom sandtone fo mors homogeneous granite, 2 value of 0.3 19.04 ky was found Under Swedish onions Oi predominant in basting operations: ‘The Second Quadrangle After the fst quarangls has bec ecuated a me essvcly nppis wher eslving the Furlan forthe fot Koning quacrangcn, Blasting tows circular hole aatucaly demands a higher charge sngentration than Blasting fowardea straight fase dus toa higher conse Gnas las cfecve tes wave refecton It there a rectangular opening of width B, and the burden V is known (Es. 9)r the charge conentetion {i ele to ANFO sien by Bader Fa Bin (ats 72 Ue fnstsad we start from the assumption that the charge concentration for he actus explosive andthe festanglar opening widih'B are know then the bu LLL (kg/m). (10) 9. Gaomatry for blasting towards (2 steaight face Fig. 10, Influence of the hote dovin tion, dea V can be expressed explicitly with good a function of Band L ceuracy as BTigsv vase 10/25 oo. av When calculating the burden for the new quadran, the effect of the faulty drilling F (defined in Eq. 6) must be included. This is done by treating the holes in the first quadcangte as if they were placed’ at the most us. favorable location (Fig. 10) From Fig. 10 one ean see that the free surface B that, should be used in Eq. LI ditfers from the hole distance 2B in the first quadrangle. B=VI.—F) (mm). (12) By substitution, the burden for the new quadrant is Of course this value fas to be reduced by the drill hole deviation to obtain the practical burden, veav— m9) ‘There are a fow restrictions that must be put on V5. Ie must satisfy the following: V,<2B «sy 9 occur. If it does not, if plastic deformation is not ‘concentration should he using Eqs. 10 and 15, the char “dito, 32.3028 Fawobingam ayer HM C8) 40d eB/sayry (kg/m). (17) If the restriction for plastic deformation cannot be satistieg i is usualy better to choose an explosive with a lowoe weight strength in order to optimize the breakage ‘The aperture angle should also be less than 16 rad (90°). Tf not the cut will lose its character of a four- seetion cut. This means V,>05B. cas) Gustafsson (1973) suggests that the burden for each quadral ‘A tule of thumb for the number of quadeangles in the eut is that the side length of the last quadrangle should not be less than the square root of the advanceBLASTING The algorithm for the ealeulation of the remaining quad- ranghes isthe same as for the second quadrangle. Hotes in the quadrangles should be loaded so that a hhote length (i) of ten times the hole diameter is left unloaded, had (m). 20) Litters The burden for the lifters in a round are in principle calculated with the same formula as for Bench blast ‘The bench height is simply replaced by the advance, and a higher fisation factor is used duc t0 the gravitational effect and 10 a greater time interval between the holes The maximum burden can be found using Tixxro ot ae where / is the fixation factor, E/V denotes the relation between the spacing (F) and the borden (¥), and & is the corrected rock constant. A fixation factor f of 14S and an £/V ratio equal to 1 are used for lifters. ee Vetém yy 4 007V vetdm When locating the lifters, one must remember to con: sider the fookout angle (see Fig. 11). The magnitude of the angle is dependent upon available drilling eguipment and hole depth. For an advance of ahout 3 m a lookout angle equal t0 0.05 rad (3°) (corresponding to —S mi/m) should be enough to provide room for driling the next round, Hole spacing should be equal to V. However, it will vary depending upon the turel width, “The number of lifters N is given by x Te (m). 20) 2). en ‘The spacing Ey for the holes (with the exception of the corner holes) is evaluated by tunnel width + 217 siny T (m). (23) The practical spacing E,, for the corner holes is equal to Ey, Hsiny (mm). (24) borden Vy, should be reduced by the bottom lookout angle and the drill hole deviation. V,=V—HsinyF (m). 5) ‘The length of the bottom charge (ig) needed for Joossning the toe is Fig. 12. Blasting peometry for Mere 25, im. 26) The length of the column charge (i) is given by A=W hyd (m) 27) and the concentration of this charge ean he reduced to 70%% of the concentration in the bottom charge. How ever, this is not always done hecause its time-consuming work, Generally the same concentration is used in both the bottom and in the column. For lifters an unloaded hole length of 10 d is usually used at the totlar, If Fg. 20 s going to be used, the following condition thas to be full! ys Ve o6H, sy Otherwise the maximum burden has to be succes. sively reduced by lowering the charge concentration: ‘Then the practical spacing B;, and burden V, can be Fixation Factor In the formulas, different fixation factors f for calculating the burden in differcet situations. For example, in bench blasting with vertical hole positioned ina row with a fixed bottom, f= 1. If the holes are in- clined it becomes easier to loosen the toe. To account for this a lower fixation factor (f <1) is used for an inclined hole. This results in a larger burden. Int neling a number of holes are Blasted with the sume delay umber. Sometimes the heles have to loosen the burden upward and sometimes downward. Different fixation factors are used to include the effects of multiple holes and of gravity Stoping Holes The method for calculating the stoping holes in see- tions B and © (Fig. 5) does not differ much from the calculation of the lifters, For stoping holes breaking horizontally and upward in section B, a fixation factor f of 1.45 and an E/V ratio equal to 1.25 are wed, Th fixation factor for stoping holes breaking downward is reduced to 1.2, and £/V should be 1.28, The column charge concentration for both types of stoping holes should be equal 10 50% of the concentration for the bottom charge. Contour Holes If smooth blasting is not necessuty, the burden and spacing of the contour holes are calculated according to what has been ssid previously about the Hifters, with the following exeeptions: (1) fixation factor f=" 1.2 EZV ratio should be 1.25; and (3) charge concer for the column charge is SO% of the bottom charge ‘The Dlastlamaged roof and walls in a drift often reed an exeessive amount of support. In low strength rock, a long stand-up time usually can be achieved by more careful contour Mating. A 3m long borehole with ANFO (15 kg/m) is capable of prodacing damaged zone of shout 1.S-m radius With smooth blisting this damage zone is reduced to 4 minimum. Our experience shows that the spacing is # Tinear function of hole diameter (Persson, 1975) Bakd fm) 29) of 15 0 16, An 4t-mm hole re sed where the constant X is in the rang E/V ratio. of O8 should be used. For1586 UNDERGROUND MINING ka/m ANFO equivalent 22 mm NAGIT ——+ 17mm GURIT 11 mm GuaiT 60 Diameter mm 20 40) Fig. 12, Mision required charge concenteation for ‘Smooth blasting and’ recomended practical Hote diam ter for NABIT and GURIT eho, diam the spacing will be about 0.6 mand the burden about 0.8 a “The miainwm charge com borehole is als a function of the hole diameter. hole diameters up to 0.15 a the relationship 1900" sim) GO) the total hole Length must be Tis plotted as a ration por meter of Bor Applies. tn sawoth blast charged t0 avoid rippin function of d. Rock Damage The sudten expansion caused by an explosion ia a borehule generates a stress wave that propagates into the flock mass, For an elastic material the generated streys is rectly proportional to density, patticle velocity, and wave propagation velocity Close to the charge the stain will reach a magnitude ‘where permanent damage is produced. Whether this damage will ase any significant influence on the Mand-up condition for a tunel depends upon the ehar~ acter of the damage, the exposuze time, the influence of ground water, and the orientation of the joint planes With respect to the contour and the static load. For a long time, the damage eviteria for structures built in the vivinity of a blasting site have been based tupon the pesk particle velocity, At SveDeFo (Swedish Detonie Research Foundation) the same eriteria have been found to apply for estimating damage in the fe maining rack (Persson, Holaibers, and Persson, 1977; Holmberg and Persson, 1. 1978; Holmberg, 1978) The empirical equation is y= 7009/8 where ¥ is the particle velocity (mm/s); Q is the charge en ‘ard A denotes the distance (mn). Ie is valid for ealowlating the particle velocity at yeh distances Whore the charge ean be treated ay Being sph For short distances the discrepancy between the ealeulatsd And the nisasured values is unacceptable, By performing an inteseation over the charge leasthy it was found possible to get the particle velocity as a fusction of distance, eharss length, and ehargs concen tration per meter of borehole. tn Fig, 13 the calculation for a 3-m long charge is given. When the particle velocity exceeds some value be: ‘escent 700 and 1000 mov/s (Fig. 13), eracks are induced cod i a granite rock mass, "A concenteation of weight (Ke): METHODS HANDBOOK Ne 7 z Fig. 13. Peak particle volocity as a function of dist Sind charge ‘concentration for a 3m long. charg 1 kg/m means that damage occurs ina zone of radius LO to 1. around the charg Tn field experinyents for ite (omile drength = 3 to 13 MPa), a very good Agr rent between the calculated and measured. values was Found. Reports about damage zones also the ealoulated distances for similar cha 1000 mav’s eriterion is used. This is concentrations in the range In the field experiments ct used together with FM-tape and transient recorders. Numerical integration provided the particle velocities. ‘The closest distance feom the charges located in 25 to 250.10 holes to the accelerometers has been in the 1S to 13m. ats close to tunnel contours have indi ceated that charges in the row next to the contour often Cruse higher particle velocities and more damage than the smooth blasted row, If a smooth blasting result should not be ruined by the rest of the holes it isa good oa to redtice the charge concentration in the cow nest Fig. 13 provides a guile for estimating concentration. A concentration of O2 kg/m sults ina shamage zone Of 0.3 ny. Wf the burden was O.8, one ean see that the charge concentra tion for the inace rove should be limited to about 1k sev ifthe 700 to Fig. 14, A wolldesigned round whore the charge concen: trations in the holes close to the contour are adjusted ‘so that the damage zona from each hole coincides,BLASTING. EXAMPLE OF CHARGE CALCULATION Conditions Hole diameter = 45 mm, Empty hole, é = 102 mm, Tunnel width = 4.5m, Abutment height = 4.0 m. Height of arch = 0.5 m. ‘Smooth blasting in the roof. : Lookout for contour holes 7 = 0.05 rad (3°) Angulat deviation a= 10 mm/m, Collar deviation & = 20 mm. Explosive: a water gol explosive is used with care tridge dimensions of d 25 x 600, & 32 x 600, ¢ 38x 600 Heat of explosion = 4.5 MI/kg. Gas volume at STP = OSS ms ke. Density = 1200 kg/m’ Rock constant ¢= 0.4. Calculation Weight strength telative to LFB (Eg. 1) SXAS | 1X 08S ane os 50 * 6x OSS sysra = 0.92/0.84 = 1.09 Charge concentration g mm Dhg/m ees 22087 136 Advance Using an empty hole diameter ¢= 102 mm, Eg. 2 results ina hole depth of 3.2 m, and the advance 30m, cut Fist Quadrangle Maximum burden Practical burden Charge concentration, Os8ke/m — (F9.9) for the smallest cartridge is 059 ke/m which is sufficient for clean blasting the opening Unloaded hole length = 10d = 0.45 m (Fq. 19). Hole distance in quadrangle BY = VV, = 0.17 m No. of 25 x 600 cartridees= (3.20.45) /0.6 45. Second Quadrangle ‘The rectangular opening to blast toward 36 B= VE (02~ 0.05) = 0.101m (Fg. 12). Maginiom burden for 425 ci (Pq) Manion (Bq) Maximum burden for #38 cartidees V= 0.25 m (e411). Eq, 15 says the practical burden must not execed 20 ‘This implies that the €32 x G00 cartridges are the most stale ones in this Practical burden V, = 0. (hq. 14) Unloaded hole Regt f= (Fg. 19) Hole distance in quadtangle B= V2 (016-4 0.177 2) 0.35 mn. No, of €32 8 600 eurtridges = 4.5, fidges V=O.17 m n burden for #32 cartridges V= O21 m Third Quadrangle B= V2 (0.16 + 0.17/2 ~ 0.05) = 0.28 m, Fe ee aera gen nes Nasitin burden V= 042m, S Se elated ene facaeaeer a eta Dla none Ponce Paiste Peeraar eres Ce eee x VE (0.62 4. 0.77/2) = 1.42 m. eae ential see Due ei ame te ad ees Sree eee eco V2 (0.374 0.35/ X 600 cartridges = 4.5, 0.05) = 0.30 m. 62m, Lifters Use 438 x 600 cartridges with a charge concentration of = 1.36 kg/m, Maximum borden No. of lifters N Spacing E Spacing, corner holes, Practical burden Vp, 1.36 m (Eq. 20) (9.22) 1m (Fg. 23) 1.04 m (Pq. 24) (F425) 26) Length of column charge hy = 1.32 m (Fg. 27) This charge concentration shall be 70% of the bot- ration; 0.70 > 1-36 = 0.98 kg/m. Use 2.5 cattidges 438 x 600 a6 the bottom charge sand 2 eariridges 432 x 600 os the column charge. Contour Holes, Root Smooth blasting with 25 x 600 cartridges is spect. = 0.68 m (Eg, 29 Borden V % Due to lookout and deviation the proctical bure den becomes Vg = 0.84 — 3.2 sin 3° — 0.05 = 0.62 m. “The minimum charge eon O18 kp/m (Eq. 30). Sccartridges por ble sre wed Contour Holes, Wall The abutment height is 4.0 m and from the eae tion its known that the lifters should have a burden of 114m, and the ro holes shoud have a burden of 0462 m. This implies that there are 4.0 1.14 — 42 = 2.24 m teft in the contour along whieh to position the Wall holes My sing a fisation factor f equal wy 128, Py. 20 results in Veo L83 m Practical burden Vy na No. of holes = interer of ¢ 3 1.2, and an £/ Patio maximum burden LAR — 3.2 sin 3° 0.08 = 0.33 HyUNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK 1.40 m. artridges 618 «600 are used as the bottom tind 2 eatridges 632 x 600 are’ used in the The side of the fourth quadrangle in the cut Laz on, and the practical burden Vy. for the wall hol was determined to be 112m. As the tunnel width is 43 ma distance of 45 —143—2% L12= O84 m is ‘available for placing horizontal stoping holes Masimum burden (f= 145) V= 1.21 ay, ractival bueden Vy = L2L — 0.05 = 1.16 mn. Iustead the burden Vy ~ 0.85 m is used, due ¢0 the twonct geometey The height ofthe fourth quadrangle was 1.42 m, and this will of course determine the spacing for the two hholes, which becomes 142 m. For stoping downwacds: Masimuot burden 7-= 1.33 m. Practical burden Vy = 1.38 m. eof the tunnel is specified to be 4.5 m, [we subteact the height of the fourth quadrangle (LA? m), the burdens for the lifters (L-14 m) and the oof holes (062 m), there is 1.32 m leit for a stoping hhole. This is just a Hitle more than the practical burder Dut if the stoping holes are placed at 1.28 m above th cut, the remsining 0.04 m will in all probability be 1s moved by the overcharged contour. Furthermore, the formulas used in the calculation have a safety margin that can tolerate small deviations. Three holes for stoping downward are positioned above the fourth quadrangle (sce Fig. 15). The cha Aistribution for the stoping holes is the same as for ‘wall holes. ‘A summary of explosive consumption is given in Table ACKNOWLEDGMENT a8 a pact of the rock blasting research program of the Swedish Detonic Research Foundation supported by Swedish industry and. the National Swedish Board for Technical Development. This work was don HS-caps Fig. 15. Calculated driling pattern: MS stands for m-soe caps (dma. LOO msec) and HS stands for half sce ‘caps (I No. 0.5 sec), ‘The author gratefully acknowledges professional dis- ‘cussions with present and former colleagues at SveDeFo and Nitco Consult whose experiences in the art of charge calculations helped in the formulation: of this chapter. REFERENCES AND BISLIOGRAPHY Gustafson, R., 1973, Swedish Blasting Teolnigue, Gothen- Tours, Sweden Holmberg, R,, 1975, “Computer Calculations of Drilling Patterns for Surface and Underseound Blastings" Design Methods in Rock Mechanics, C. Fachurst and S. Crouch, tas, 16th Symposiuen on Rock Mechanics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Holmberg, R., and Hustrulid, W., 1981, “Swedish Cautious Blast Excavations at the CSM/ONWi Test Colo: ado." th Conference of Explosives and Blasting Tec: pique, Phoenis Holmberg, R, and Mii, K., 1982, "Case Exampt ing Damage and Its Inluzace oa Slope Sta in Surface Mining, Vol. 3, AIME, New Yo Holmbers, R., and Persson, P-A., 1979, “Design of Tunnel Perimeter Blasthole Pattorms t9 Prevent Rock Damage Proceedings, Tunnelling “79, MA, Jones, ed, Institution of Mining and Metallurg Holmbers, R197, of Bat 7 Stability ements and Limitations of ‘Table 2. Summary of Explosive Consumption No. of Cart ee Charge par Hola, ka Ist quad 2nd quad Sed th quad Liters Rost Wall Stoping 159 45 262 387 20 320 Ww 20 320 20 320 Total chargo woight = 111.5 kg Gross sectional atea = 19.5 m" Advance Specific charge Total No.of holo Hola dapth Specie dritingBLASTING Rock Damage in Remaining Rock." Rock Mechanics Meeting, Stockholm, Holmberg, R, snd Persion, PA, 1978, “The Swedish ‘Approach 1 Contour Mlasting.” ath Conference on Ex: Plsives and Blasting Technique, New Orleans, LA, Feb, Johansson, CH, and Petsson, PA. 1970, Detonies of igh Explosives, Acedemic Press, London. Langefors, U., and Kihistrim, B, 1963, The Mesern Technique oj Rock Blasting, Almayist and Wiksell, Stocks holm, Nasir, 1 1980, “Field Experiments with Ca 1589 tious Blasting.” TULEA, 1980:26, University of ules, Sweden, Persson, PA, 1973, “The Influence of Blasting on the Remaining Rock,” Report DS 1973:15, Swedish Detonie Research Foundetion. Penson, P-A., Holmbesg, R., and Person, Gy 1977, “Care. ful Blasting of Slopes in’ Open Pit Mines” Report DS 197724, Swedish Detonie Research Foundation. Svanholm, B.O,, Petsson, PA, and Larson, B., 1977, “Smooth Blasting for Reliable Underground’ Opcnines, Rockstore 77, Sesion 1, Sweden, Sep.Chapter 2, Blasting Effects and Their Control Lewis Le INTRODUCTION {In recent years, there has been a teend in the die tion of larger deilling equipment and larger diameter blastholes. Although this change has improved the ell cicncies and reduced the eosts in many operations, it has inereased the potential for damage to underground open- ings. Tn addition, ia many iastances one now finds more sophisticated delicate instruments, automated eanteal £4 es, and large variety of structures in proximity to netivity. ‘The combined effect of larger-scale blasting activity and its proximity to various features of Jnterest is such that there is sd fora more felined analysis of blasting effects and their control, BLASTING EFFECTS ON ROCK SURFACES The Breakage Mechanism In onder to develop techniques for controle ‘ong must fist understand the features of the mecha nisms by which blasting eauses tock breakage to oceur. These features have not been easy to demonstra. wstly duc to the diieulty in making tests and observa rns at the high stress levels and short time durations involved When an explosive charge is detonated, the material rounding the charge is subjected to a nearly instante neous, very high pressure fon the order of 1-4 to 13.8 GPa (0.2 to 2.0 X 10" psi), depending on the explosive} Tethe is coupled to “average” rock, this pressure will pulverize the surrounding rock for a distance on the dorider of 1 to 3 charge radi in hard cock, and to a greater stance in softer rock (this is also dependent on the type lof explosive). As the pressure wave passes into the rock, hhigh tangential stresses cause radial cracks to appear, And the nearly discontinuous radial stress zones gen trated by the shock feant may cause tangential eracks to appear. The extent of these eracks depends on the en ergy available in the explosive, how quickly the energy is teansmitted to the rock, and the strength properties of the rock, The discontinuous shock front is quickly dis sipated, but the expanding gaves generate a longer-acting pressure, A compressive pulse travels to the nearest face fF infernal rock bourdaty Where it is rellected in tension, ‘The tensile strengths of most rocks are roughly fo to tsa e stremgths, so the rock may now fail 1s it miaghhave eet able to support the inished compressive phase without failure. The ten: sile deilection typically produces a failure seseribed as tensile slabhing or seabbing, Laboratory experiments and field experience have pretty well established that several mechanisms ate ia~ Nolved. These include (1) the classical case of tensile parallel slabhing when the pressure pulse is rellected 8 free surface; (2) failure under quast-static compressive Toading (the shape is normally irregular due to discon- Uinuities in the rock); (3) radial cracking under the action of tangential stresses at the periphery of the ex panding pressure pulse; (4) periphecal et Giscontinnous shock front which is quickly slisipated; and (5) additional mass shitting due to the vent Ontano the explosive gases. The first three item have received ‘much attention in the laboratory and the literature. The complex elfects of gas venting are dillicult to test in the laboratory because of the diflculty in ceproducing the many weak planes and discontinuities typical of most Field conditions, which play such a prominent role in determining the behavior of the rock mass subjected 10 blasting. Unfortunately, gus venting effects can be pro jected to significant distances under certain field con. Uitions, and are sometimes dificult to control. It is pot unusual for gos venting to be the overriding fact termining the Final geometric shape and. physi dition of the finished excavation. Sources of Damage For the purposes of this diveussion, damage not only the breaking and rupturing of rock beyond the desired limits of excavation but alyo an unwanted loosen- ing. distocation, and distuebance of the rock mass the in- tegrity of which one wishes to preserve (such as mine pillars, underground openings, ete.). The sources of Gamage include, of course, all those physical features of the rock breakage mechanism, Each of these effects must be limited to the desired zone of breakage ard excavation if the integrity of the remaining rock mass js to remain undiminished. ‘The primary zone of rock breakage usually caa be controlted in the normal proce Of fickd experimentation to deteratine proper charge size nd location for primacy excavation. Howeser, it fr. uently happens that there is damage from sources which are more difficult to account for in the design process, which are often overlooked. These are (1) the Bverbreak die to poor delling control, (2) dislocation of frock (mass shifting) due {0 venting Of explosive gas land (3) loosening or dislocation due to the influence of seismic waves (ground vibrations) CONTROL OF ROCK BREAKAGE Importance of Geometry In studying the rock mass and blasting des siderations. its important to Keep ia mind the geometric relationships among charge size, shape, and position, and the physical features of the rock mass to be preserved. ‘The features of principal interest are the external shape on of the rock mass relative to blasting, and fon and attitade of any weak planes in the roek The Sequence of Blasting and Excavation Events Unfortunately, there are too many times when the task of preserving delicate rock is considered hope vd because of this altitude, no further effort 8 ev pended towards caution of conteol In such eases the often a failure to recognize the importance of the = quence of the procedures, Attention to this ean greatly reduce unwanted elfeets a minimum cost Perimeter Control The requirements for perimeter control are highly ependeat on the special needs of each pasticular pea) ‘of control is a highly variable .BLASTING item. Nevertheless, such dramatic improvements ean be ‘nude over the simple expedient of terminating. pattern blasting at the perimeter that itis rare today to find major project in which some form of pattern modifica. tion is not applied at the perimeter to improve results Before deciding on the degree of caution to exercise, one ‘must evaluate the cost and time of the work compared 10 the needs. Will concrete replace the overexcavated rock beyond a prescribed perimeter? How eatefully must one preserve the integrity of the remaining rock? Can it be allowed 10 ravel or fail? Ts the geometric shape of the perimeter of importance? ‘The answers to such questions Will help to determine the syyproach to the work Ifa high degree of control is needed, the two most ‘common methods for controlling perimeter breakage are the presplitting or preshearing method, and the smooth lasting or smooth Wall blasting method. A ¥: the latter is usually called cushion blasting, a term which is even older in its usage. In any method which is designed to produce precise control of the perimeter, itis extremely important to Te- uire careful drifing. The final results eannot possibly be better than the drilling, Poor drilling probably ace counts for more overbreak in underground excavations than does poor blasting. Extra time and effort are ust ally necded at the beginning of a project, since drilling isan art, and there is uswally a noticeable learning curve asthe work gets under way Presplitting Prespltting or preshearing is a method of generating 4 crack in the rock along the desired limit of breakage in advance of the pattern blasting. In this method, holes are drilled just beyond the desired perimeter [usually 76 to 152 mm (3 to 6 in.) for shallow holes, 305 mm 2 in.) for deep holes). Smalldiameter’ explosive charges are loaded into these holes and detonated si multancously ahead of primary blasting, generating. @ crack or shear along the perimeter. Size and spacing of the holes and charges are dependent on the rock eharae- teres and the need for smoothness and soundness of the final surface. Ian explosive charge isin full contact with the walls of the drill hol, itis sail to be fully coupled. When sich a charge is detonated, a very high pressure shock wave strikes the walls, usually crushing the rock for a distance of Vt 3 charge radii, The expanding pases try to ex. prand the hole and cause radial eracks to be transmitted into the rock as the perimeter is placed in tension, In the presplitting method, the shattering is elimi nated or greatly reduced by decoupling the charge, ie ain annulse ring of air sursounds the eartridge, Healy he charze does not touch the rock, Although the dam sing effeet of the shock wave is thus largely eliminated, he espanding gases continue to work on the tock. And if wo adjacent holes ate detonated simultaneously. here is a preferential growth of the radial erick connecting the two holes, in preference to wither directions. For an illustration, refer to Fig. 1. Assume thot the decoupled charges A’and B detonate sivsultancously, Stresses ave developed at particle Hocations x and y. At location the stresses «(radiating from charge A) oppose the streses from such that a erack dacs not develop, At location 2, the stresses from A enhance those from I cient 10 Gause the The compressive stresses aFe tot sl x Gore | 4 : ° Fig. 1. Peespltting stress distribution. Crack propagation ‘enhanced in rock web between heles rock to fail, However, the rock is much weaker in tene sion, and a tensile erack between the two charges is pre: ferred over any other direction, In addition, this crack is piven further preferen © after it begins to form, since tess energy is required to extend a erath than to develop In the design of patterns for prespliting, the explo- © timer and carpe tamater an the suey neat ihe'ncant ne exes anda) Wh IE gree islamm Skies ches noo 1.2mm (2 ton) holy the ears concent ete oder of 44 v3 Pe (OOF OAT ne “10 of perimcesurace aes ‘The mow dieu poston af perimeter to prose inthe deed contin the shee edo Percer inthe colar tne af wept hee abe Siem cse hs ave dled wo See de intros "Tene ols my he hase kt oe te ony rtrd nas pis hae Thee wok Nek whom died win aoa fe samt a od bes ison shat das the esc propgaen ne tie nencal yt eee se pe hae, When shutter ik beng been or se yn In ang ay he nee te esa inncnce tes pepapatonSaring prope Peeping rh wil be unearths Using sacs iguger meh wal Soe Unvhesensed le Wk ecu oan the ppt holes detonate 4 holes per delay dc to vibration controls, per delay 21592 There hay been nnuch discussion aver the benefits of prespliting as a method to bring about sibeation isola tion, ie., 40 prevent vibrations (rom paving effectively beyond the presplit plane, Suck assumed henefits may not in fact exit, and the concept should be regaeded with conservatism. Tn most eases, a semiininite burden exits, and/or horizontal in-situ Stresses are present. In Such eases, the presplit crack iniorediately closes and oes not prevent a signiticant barrice to vibrations, being Similar to a typical joint plane in the rock. Typical Steesies found in underground workings will cause such cracks of joints to close tightly. This may not vectie Where a limited burden exists, where a dilferent type of Problem would then exist. Sometioncs a large peesplit Shot will cause the permanent displacement of a lat mass of rock, leaving a Large open erack and a disturbed tock mass. Further drilling and blasting may be ee Seicted because of this distuchance. ‘The open erack will serve as an effective vibration isolator only for the uppee part of the small zone adjacent to the crack on the oppo- Site side from futuce blasting. Charges placed below the level of the bottom of the crack will genceate vibrations ‘which pass undiminished below the crack through the rock mass in » normal fashion. is desired that prespliting be used to develop 1a vibration barrier in a rock mass, it is possible to blast With heaviee charges than normal or use more than one row of charges to produce a fractised zone. Again, it should be remembered that scivmic waves will be dif- fracted around this zone so that its influence is Timtted. Tn connection with vibeation problems, it should not be overlooked that the presplit blast itself is capable of causing an unacceptable vibration. Because of the ex cessive confinement, the presplit blast will usually gen- erate the largest amount of vibration for a given amount of explosive. Tn many instances, the balance between costs and benefits would suggest that some form of modified pre+ splitting be put into use. Depending oa the requis of the particulae project, the diameter and spaci hhotes eould be increased until the perimeter condition reached its limit of acceptability. Table 1 lists sugges: jons for designing such prespliting shots asa First-order cut ‘Smooth Blasting Smooth blasting is similar in concept to presplittin except that the charges ate detonated after the primary blasting. In the ideal case, the prinvary blasting has been one and the rock excavated to the last row of holes ‘Then a separate blast is detonated for the last row. A common alternative is to detonate the perimeter charges as the last dclay ia a Larger blast. Lf the later techaique Table 1. Recommendations for Prosplit Blasting Holo Charge Diameter Spacing Concontration, one tem tm porte aim 018.025 025-050 035075 0.75-1'50 29 6473 29% 06-11 ‘$102 38 Ogre 8 se 45 tate 8 203 68 1824 (002.0035), (0035-050) {0.05:0.10), (0.10020) UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK is used, there should be some adjustinent in powder fae tr and tinting to give the greatest amount of free move mont to the perimeter blasting. In smooth blasting, itis untomacy to reduce the spacing betsssen holes 10 proximately 80° of the burden. Holes are fired simu ancously, oF in. groups if a vibyation. problem exists Charges ean be reduced slightly below those used for prespltting if a free face exit, Both presplitting and smooth blasting usually pro- duce good results in missive rock, Smooth blasting tt ally i capable of reducing venting damage in highly jointed or fractured rock. Smooth blasting has a benefit if stron) js. are causing presplt cracks to travel in the weong dicections. The primary blasting removes the burden land relieves most of the in-situ stress, so that the smooth blasting no longer has the same unfavorable conditions imposed. If smooth blasting is taken to mean a completsly separate blast fired after the primary round, itis a costly procedure for tunnel practice, and is not often used. In hard massive rock, no special technique is usually needed, In loose jointed roek, the stand-up tine of an exposed root is a problem, so it is not desirable to drill and blast a separate round forthe perinicter. A compro- mise is to fire sections of the perimeter simultaneously om the last delay intervals Modifications to Perimeter Blasting Techniques It would be misleading to propose that presplitting or smooth blasting methods must follow certain prescribed: patterns. There are as many variations as the rock con- Alitions and the imagination of the explosives engineer Will allow. The plans should be tailored to the conditions and the purpose of the blasting ‘The perimeter charges may be modified by diam: length, position, density, strength, etc. Conditions ean vary even within a single hole. One quick approach to rmouifid perimeter blasting is to use a very low-density bulk blasting agent, consisting of a mixture of ANFO nitrate-fuel oil) and expanded plastics. If thee density is satisfactory or ceded, requirements may be met with low-density slurties of untamped car tridges, Going to the other extrems, one may find that conventional presplit cartridges are too large where ex treme caution is required. Ip stich eases, holes ean be drilled closer togsther, leaving a narrow web to be broken with detonating cord. Fracture Control in Blasting Another interesting modification to conventional blasting is that where notches or slots are scribed ia the walls of the drill holes to enkance the growth of eracks in the preferred plane. The scribing of slotting can bs done with mechanical tools or by means of high-pressure water jets. These techniques offer the following advan tages: (1) a perimeter fracture plane that is. more sharply defined, (2) less shattering elfect on final sur faces, (3) lower vibration levels, (4) greater spacing between holes, and (5) better extraction of a eut zone if used ina tunnel round (Oriand, 1981). Research conducted at the University of Maryland suggests that holes may be spaced up to 25 to 50 diam sand that charges may be redticed €0 about Yin or Less of| the normal concentration (Barker, Fourney, and Dally, 1977). Plewman has demonsteated a fracture extensionBLASTING of 50 diam (Plewman, 1968). ‘The writer is familiar with a dimensionstone quarry in which even greater fracture lengths have been achieved. As of this writing, the technique hus been tried at (wo rock sites and on a project requiring partial demolition of an old concrete structure which required extremely delicate work One of the rock sites is a construction site in rela. tively massive and competent limestone. In experimental basting for fracture control at this site, veeshaped notches were scribed mechanically in vertical holes [diam of 63.5 mm (214 in.J)._ It was found possible to gener- He preshear fractures in this Himestone with approxi- mately % to ¥% normal loading per unit of sueface area fof perimeter wall when the holes were scribed, ‘The rock id not fracture at loadings or spacings equivalent 10 those used siccessfully in luboratory experiments. How cover, the method was considered successful at this site and proved that it could be used under typical ficld conditions for large-scale blasting. The second site was a rescarch chamber in highly folisted rock appended to the Peachtree Center subway station in Atlanta, Georgia, As expected, it was far feasier to develop fractures parallel to foliation than it ‘was to develop them perpendicular to foliation. As be- fore, fractures developed at reduced loadings. However, in this highly’ anisotropic rock, approximately equal results were obtained at the same spacing with the use fof heavier charges detonated conventionally without scribing (Oriard, 1979). ‘A third case involved the use of explosives for par tial demolition of the old concrete lock walls at Lock and Dam No. 1, Minneapolis, MN. Field tests were ery successful in demonstrating that explosives charges in notched holes could be reduced to about ¥% of those in holes that were not notched. Good stemming was required to accomplish this reduction, ‘Mechanical scribing tools were developed at each of these sites. The. writer has not yet had the opportunity to test high-pressure water jet scribing, but feels that it has the potential for producing slightly better results than mechanical seribing. is probable that fictd results will not consistently ‘equal those obtained in the laboratory. ‘There may be need for more field data before we can, scale up the Taboratory data successfully, Tn this writer's opinion, the {question of the fracture toughness of a given material is complicated by another factor which we might eall the beam strength, A relatively small Block of material is more easily broken in the Tsborstory than the same material in a semi-infinite mass of rock in the fick For the enhancement of fracture growth jn a pre Spliting operation, the ideal explosive would be a slow explosive which produces a large volome of gas, where the gas expansion ean be maintained for 2 relatively Tong period of time. Confining. the gases is very important, One must use good stemming s0 that the gases are pre- sented from escaping before the fracture growth is com pleted, This was dramatically demonstrated st the Hme= stone ‘ite previously mentioned. After a riven shot failed to develop a presplit fracture, the stemming. was changed and the shot was then repeated successfully becuise the stemming wus not ejected the sccond time: Similarly, the test Blasting in eonerete demonstrated the importance of good stemming as an adjunct t0 good fractore proportion (Orie, 1980; Tar, OF Pomp. 1880)- Grade Control Ta underground bench type Sestng sly there eo sped of wade contra tal re of primary intree One of toe hte depth ofthe rock breakage (or oni tr encodes the ores reabage te tomogencaur iotupie rock, each shape Ta © ating roa tends 1 form m ere crate, traking feowrl cet netted to bp kata ote city he wee und shape of. erdecratr ar a Tuncton of ihn cts at ft ce Bsa f this endeney to form a ear ty ose tenth bthoke dapr tan se dese gras ee pets in smack ace wl yess Shove the pade kvel. "Th atonal ring wsaly sicd subgrade drilig Ab a Bonde rue of thant the pth of subgrade dang pprenimatly Pte dimen of the hol Hodes (dntonc to fe fs) However toe ung! of sagreds ling con exen gg ls hon seo toss ch eh he bards Sot faye is entoontered at geds vel wh hand rook shows, Ha taedlagr ag sacelysedletie ie bee et Charges It's sft inyer i founda few foe above rade ievel with hard ook at grade re wil bes tendency “- for explosive energy to be dissipated in the soft layer, tand deeper drilling will be needed to break 10 grade. ‘The smoothness of the grade surface is also deter- mined strongly by the character of the rock. When blist- ing in horizontally bedded rack with prominent horizon- tal parting planes, one enn achieve smooth plana bottom surfaces. However, when blasting in massive unbedded rock, of rock with’ weak planes at some alfitde other than horizontal, the smoothness of the grade surface is strongly dependent on the spacing between the holes, Smaller charges at closer ‘spacings will develop a smoother surface. For planning purposes, the predicted surface ean be modeled as contiguous eraters whose bottoms are V4 times burden below grade VIBRATIONS (ELASTIC WAVES) After the primary shock front or pressure pulse has passed beyond the zone in which shattering o fractur- ing of the rock occurs, i€ passes through the rock in the form of vibrations of elistic waves, AS this enerey passes through the rock, i takes on different forms which travel at different velocities and cause different types of Aeformation to occur in the rock. The fastest traveling wave originally was given the nome primary or Pawa This is a compressional wave, sometimes called a radial wave or longitndinal wave, because the rock is deformed in the radial dircetion from the energy source. Follow ing the Pawave is a slower taveling wave which was ‘originally called a sceondary wave oF S.wave, This iss shear wave, sometimes called a tranwverse wave. Al. though this wave travels in the same direction as the Pawave, the deformation of the rock is st right angles (or transverse) to the direction of the wave travel. The P-wave and Swave move through the main mass of the rock and have the general name body waves. As the body waves strive at the ground surface, new forms of waves ate roncrated. One group of these waves is Known as surface waves because they travel along the [Fround sueface. Their motion is quite different from thatUNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK bf the body waves, being characterized hy Larger ampli tunles, lower frequencies, and Toity, Structures which rest on ace are tially Toeated far enough from the blasting for the Sauface waves to develop, and they receive the strongest part of the motion from these waves. Iq underground castes hoy waves tend to be the most signticant If one makes the usual assumption th, clastic half space that iy homogeneous and isotropic, clastic wave theory describes the wave motions that can be anticipated, In practice, itis simpler and more re: liable to determine patticle motions by means of fikd mensurentents rather thin through theoretical ealeula- tions, However, i€ is important to remember that the dilferent foents of esergy ace propagated at different ve: Tocities, The compressional of dilational wave is peopa- gated with the velocity p= LEC = wo = 201 wT S104 2G)/ I" ‘=F ma- oF Ew modulus of elasticity: p is mass density The constants A and G are known as modulus. ressional wave transmission velocities for most rock types fall in the range of 1524 n1/s (5000 fps) to arotind 606 m/s (20,000 fps), correspondingly tess for weathered of decomposed rock. Most soils fall in the eange of about 152 m/s (500 fps) to about 1220 m/s (4000 fps). “The shear wave travels at the vetocity, vGip (EPI wT “The ratio of compressional and she CIC, 22 =a = 20dP Poissou's ratio for most rock materials is ve 0.35, This, the velocity eatio C,/C, is often very nearly Vea 178 The Rayleigh wave is named after Lord Rayleigh who Was the fies to examine the eave of this seismic wave traveling afong the boundary of a free surface, This wave iy characterized by. particle motion that is polarized in a vertical plane parallel to the direction of the wave propagation, and the particle motion is elipti- eal retrograde, When Poisson's ratio is equal to 0.25, the velocity of the Rayleigh wave is 0.92 times the ve locity of the shear wave Not only do theve ditferent wave forms travel at di ferent velocities, but they hive the adlitional character istic of attenuating at different rates. In the ease of spherical symmetry ia a nondispersive medium, such ay the outward-advancing body wave, elastic theory shows that the amplitude is inversely proportional to the dis: ice. Tn contrast, surface waves have an ample hich is inversely peaportional to the square root of the distance, Eisth nis Poisson's ratio. on ygieiaie as ore te 2 Therefore, when the point of observation is close to the energy source, there Will he a complex combination ‘of severaf different wave forms. However, as one moves farther from the source, the wave forms become sepa rated, arriving at ilferent tines and producing ditferent types of particle motion. The more distant the point of jobservation iy from the source, the more prominent will the surface waves he compared to the body waves, oth theory and observation suggest that the parti= ele motion teansmitted to free surface is more promi- hnent than for the same wave within the body of the solid For a wave arriving at normal incidence, the particle amplitite may be doubled. This is of interest when considering undergrowad structures. Kinetics of Mave Motion The displacement of amplitude ofthe grouodd wave is the distance from a particle a rext to its ah the wave passes Typical daplacements for blasting Siovations fall inthe range fron D028 to 25 rom (0004 to Ost in). The term amplitute is used alo to refer to the tease amplitats on the schanagramy (recoding of the snotion)- “The froquoncy af a vibration isthe number of eysts shat pass a Bin point in un tine, seul expressed 3s cycle per second or herte,Froucneies of interest for listing vibrations ustally fall in the range from 1 to $00 fz, and mot ace inthe range front 510 100 Hr ‘The period of a vibration is the length of tne r aired for one complcte cycle to pass a given” pit, thuully exprened in seconis. Period isthe invone of freauensy Particle velsity i the time rate of Tes the velocity of the motion of a particle during the puvsage of the simi wave. Pat Fle Netocty i not to be confused with propagation vost Propagation velosty wave tenets through a given medium. ‘The propa Seloity varies widely according to the el Urthe medium, Typical Dowave velocities in rock rane from about 1500 an/s, (5000 fps) to about 6000 1's 80.000 tps)e "The term velocity wil denote patil feloity unless otherwise specified ‘cceeraton iy the time eats of change sefocitys It refers to the acceleration of a particle as the Seismie wave passes this partite, For simple harmonic trotion the foloning rslationships apply is dsplce tment at fer is aximom value of x which i equal fumplitude (zero to peak); f 8 feauencys ¥ is Sloctys a is scxsteration; and wis angular Some useful formulae are wa Bef sin wt 4 teva = w sos wt Sint + 9/2) = —wi sin wt = WA sin (WUE =) ws dele liye = AFA Damage Criteria Parameters Over the years there have been many attempts toBLASTING select suitable eriteria for limiting vibrations or for rep- resenting the ability of some entity (structure, rock slope, cle.) to withstand vibrations. ‘The two parameters which hnave been used most often to express the intensity of a sibration are acceleration and particle velocity. Dis- Placement has reccived somewhat less emphasis. The purpose of these various researches generally has been to find a single vslue of some vibration parameter which can he used to espress damage potential. For a specific {ype of vibration and an identified structure or response stem, the problem ean often he solved theorctically through the se of response spectra, Tn attempting to find a simplified approach to Mast- ing vibrations, a number of investigators (Duvall. et aly 1963; Devine, et ah, 1966; Oriard, 1970; Nichols, et aly find Oriard, 1972; and others) have found it practical to use values of particle velocity as criteria in preference to other «d parameters because particle velocity: appears to have the best cor relation in the frequency’ sunge encompassed by most Dosing vibvations. Nevertheless, itis this writer's con- clusion that for most structures a single-valued velocity Criterion i less conservative at fow frequicncies and more conservative at high frequencies. One reason for this is the larger response that occurs in most structures at low frequencies. Even without an enhanced response, distor~ tion (strain) of the structure plays an important role in etermining the extent of damage. Thus, large displace- nents and low frequencies tend to he more harmful than small displacements and high frequencies, even if the assumed eriterion parameter renvains constant ‘Therefore one should be assare of the time history of the motion, as well as any single value used to express Weally, one should look also at the response nd compare that to the input sig- There can be an important sdvantage towards treater iberalism if the response time of the structure is large compared to the rise time or frequency of the input Signal. For eximple, it is not ordinarily suitable to tstablish a criterion for shock waves on the basis of peak presure, For such short-duration transients, the damage Potential is more related to impulse, which takes the time history into account. ‘The time histories of both sheck wave and stricture are important. The total uration of the motion is also significant im instances where the motion reaches or execeds a certain threshold level Tn the case of underground ope span of the opening becomes. an item of considerable importance, not only because the spam has an important beating on the static stability ef the opening but also JJecause Ht hay an important beating on the amount of seismic energy that is reflected at the surface of the open- ing, hence the dynamic stability. This reflected energy is js fonction of the span of the opening. the wave Tength ‘of the incoming seismic signal, and the angle of inci tence of the signal, Tn spite of the technical dificulties in specifying a single value of 9 given parameter it turns out in practive that one ean select Mhreshold value that is restricted 10 certain pes of sibrations and cottain types of structares (or whatever might he the entity of eonecen). One ean be as comervative a selecting that value “Thotefore, patticle velocity can serve as a useful parame: ter for describing the damape potential of Blasting Vibra Jngs in rock, the 1595 tions, eyen though the degree of conservatism may change’with frequency. In other words, there may be a different Timiting value of particle velocity for 100- to 200-Hz vibration from tune] blasting than there Would be for a 2- to 20-Hz vibration from a bench blast. Re fgnizing this, one can refine the analyses and still void the complications of developing response spectra, How ever, with advances in instrumentation technology, i is becoming ever easier to determine the spectral content of vibrations, and it is expected that there will be an inereased use of eriteria which take this into account Data Sealing In order to compare blasts of different sizes at differ- cent distances, it is customary’ to scale the distance factor by some Function of the explosive weight. Two methods fare currently in popular use in the US. One of 1 scales distance by the Y% power of the charge weight per delay, the other by the #8 power. Ambrascys and Hendron (1968) have suggested the use of cube root scaling. Research sponsored by the US Bureat of Mines has Ted to the recommendation for square root scaling (Devine, etal, 1966). This writer uses eube root sealing for blast waves in water, sometimes for seismic body waves in rock, but usually uses square root scaling for surface ground motion data, and emphasizes the need to consider modifications due to spatial and time distr butions of encrey (Oriard, 1972). Cube root scaling demands certain theoretical limitations that are often not met under conditions found for many types. of construction blasting. Empirical pred ing are shown in Wn curves hased on cube togt seals jg. 2. In this figure, Fis rallbe (in feet), Wis charge Weight per delay: (in pounds), and Vis peak particle velocity (in inches per second). Similar curves for square root sealing are shown in Fig. 3. The trend fines on the graph can be expressed mathematically in the form: VE (DIWY hy hacky where V is peak particle velocity: 17 is velocity at unity scaled distance, D is distance, Wis charge weight per dchiy, B isstope of trend Hine, and Kare factors defining firing time variations, travel time vatiations, coupling confinement, geology, isolation, spatial distribution, ete Scaling by the 1 power is considered to be the pre ferred metho by some who argue that it ean be shown to be dimensionally correct by the Buckingham Pi theorem. Yet this is only true for a spherical charge or for a eslindrical charge whose Fight changes in a spec fied manner with a change in radius. Although these conditions are sometimes approached in the field, i often happens that they ate not. Tay many blasting eases, the hole depth is a fixed constant, and charge weight is changed by increasing the hole diameter, thus being pres portional to the change in radius squared. One needs 10 recopnize that theoretical conditions are seldom met pet fectly, sn the data is empirical, Neier of these seating riethouls accounts perfectly: for all the conditions that ay be encountered. Neither for the many possible Variations aid cormplesitics in Blast design and eometty. age may approach similarity to the classical ease of the concentrated spherical ch bother niay be a very long smvall diameter cylinders and another nay be miany small charpes in many holes ete One re: aUNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANOBOOK eens PEAK PARTICLE VELOCITY (notes per second : SCALED RANGE (Hh /iox!9) Fig. 2, Peak particle velocity vs. seated range according to cube root’ sealing {Ambrseys and Mendron, 1968). nating si IRancously throughout a large mass of rock. Since correction factors or judgment must be applied for | many stich factors, the degree of theoretical correctness (of sealing laws docs aot solve the problem for the explo sixes enginese, Additional input is nevded, ‘As was mentioned earlice in the section on elastic es, both particle motions and attonuation rates are foe the dilforent types of waves. When the point of observation is elose to the energy source, the Will be a complex combination of several diferent wave foums. As we move farther from the source, the wave forms become separated, arriving at different times and producing dilferent particle motions. The more distant the point of observation is from the source, the more prominent will be the surface waves compared to the body waves. Thus, the various sealing techniques for prediction purposes are merely an effort to express the average attenuation rate of a given type of blasting in a en ype of geolosical setting For particle velocities below about 0,05 m/s (2.0 ips), there is relatively litte significance to differences in the prediction methods, since the predicted values them selves are not ordinarily significant. For predictions very love to the source of energy, the methods show a more significant departure from cach other. Unfortunat this isthe area in which blast-design parameters have a nportant effect an the vibration results, For a prediction of body waves gencrated for single charges oF greatly concentrated charges, cube root data ‘would sometimes be the best choice, For a prediction of surface waves generated by a charge distributed ina Fig. 3. Peak particle velocity vs. seated distance accord ing to square root sealing (Oriard, 1972). umber of holes, square root data would be a better choice, Both methods might give trend lines that are too conservative for complicated geometeical arrang eg, if the charge per delay were to be disteibuted ove a lincar distance that is appreciable compared to the dis- tance from the point of abservation, or if there is timing, seatter ia the detonation of individual holes. Another example would be large coyote blasts in which a tunnet is filled with exptosives and detonated. Under a num- ber of such conditions, the trend line will often drop t a flatter slope at lower values of scaled distance. Failure to cealize this might have the effect of prohibiting work that would be quite feasible and safe. Tt can be an error in judgment to become overly cengrossed with the best fit concept when there ate qu tions about the hasie data, For example, itis very com: mon to find errors in the values assigned to charge w per delay, and these valuss have a primary input to the Gata plot. Ta many of the complex Firing patterns in use today, there can only be aa estimate of the charge wei that detonates at any given instant of time because of the variations ia actual fring times from the theoretic: nominal It is important for the person using some prediction method to fealize the differences in conservatism under ditferent field conditions. Hendeon and Oriaed (1972) have compared the effects on quantity-distance predic tions using several different methods. Consider the to range accumulation of data by several investigators as a basis for predicting a certain particle velocity. Fig. 4 shows a graph of charge per delay ¥s. range to generste A particle velocity of 0.05 m/s (2.0 ips) oF threshold of | damage predicted by Langefors (1963) for residential structures, and a conservative prediction used by Devine in the absence of field data, Ta this general case, Hen: nentsBLASTING Fig. 4, Relation between charge per delay ond range for residential vibration limits, ron is the most conservative st small distances and the most liberal at great distances. Langefors is the most liberal at small distances and the most conservative at reat distances. The Oriard values fall botween the other two, Devine’s line falls outside the range of the others and represents an extreme beyond which Devine docs not expect any data. Table 2 shows the Oriard predic: tion fine presented a a table of allowable charge weight per delay ys. distance for 0.05 m/s (2.0 ips see). It is common for typical blasting t0 be monitored with a single scismograph, Examining such data, one finds great deal of seater in the data, and it is usually very difficult 10 decide what power function would best sit the data. An even more important fact to keep in mind is that the data fit often changes dramatically 48 a few more data points ate gathered. would not be rate to find that a horizontal line or even a Tine with reverse slope would best fit a given number of data points, and that a completely new line would be required after & few more points are added. AS more dats is added, it be comes increasingly evident that we are not wstally inter- 1597 Teble 2. Typical Values of Allowable Charge Weight per Delay for Vibretion Limit of 2.0 In. per Sect Distance 10 ‘Allowable Charge Equipment, ft per Delay, bt 10 025 15 os. 2a 10 25 15 50 6 75 “ 100 2 350, 56 200 100 250 156 Sonera Metre equivalants: x 02088 = m; tb = 0453 580.4 ve. sted in finding the best fit, but in finding the envetope (oF upper hound of the data. Predietions or limits based fon averages can be disastrous. It is not good enough to say that the average blast won't ease damage, if we vant any blast to cause damage, It is especially difficult to compare differences in the ricthods for scaling distance in the middle range. For ‘ample, take the series of points shown in Table “These are points which were selected to fit exactly on @ line drawn for sealing 10 the 14 power, as in Fig. 5: Using the same data, but sealing the distance by the power, and 34 power of the charge weight {one ean plot three additional Hines for the re- spective scaling factors. Fig. 5 reveals that scaling to a lower fractional power has the effect of producing a line which is concave downward, whereas scaling to & higher fractional power has the effcet of producing a line which is concave upward, The curvature inereases with de- Parture from the best fit line. Also, within the data for any single line, the curvature increases as the Tine is extended upward or downward fom middle-range values. In these hypothetical examples, the data were se- lected to fit perfectly formed lines. Of course, wctual field data would show a great deal of scatter. ‘Typical field dats in middle-range values would show a comvine- ing ft to any of these approsiches. Therefore, within that Table 3. Particle Velocity Vs. Scated Distance for Different Fractional Powers of Dietance Scaling (Hypothetical Field Deta) Panicle Weioity, ips” 20 00 +0 1000 og 1100 08 1200 07 1300 06 1400 1088.1 os. 1800 9972 04 600 8556, 03, 3700 one 02 1600 4502 04 1900 69 Charge per Delay, Ibs" 6250 10406 11368 ae 11402 Distance, “wate eaualents ps 00254 > ms, W> O8OKE > mlb > OAL SOT ow 00 6 169 206 2a pe 267 296 336 309 495 0UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK 4 Fig, 5, Comparison of data for diferent sealing powers ange, thore is very little significance to the best fit concept. ‘The important thing is to recognize that sealing is just a means of comparing blasting data for different dis tances and dilfereat charge quantities. Judgment must come in recognizing what happens when we wish (© nxie hipulate the data for various purposes. Suppose, for example, that a small scale test is arranged with Small charge weight and small distance in order to determine the response characteristics at this test pro duces the limiting scaled distance. Suppose further that the final blast will be a larger charge at geeater distance, but will be designed for the same seated distance so as to generate the limiting vibration. What is the correct 2A simple arithmetic manipulation will show that scaling to the 13 power gives the more eon servative prediction in this instanc gto the power i less conservative, Take the reverse case for Comparison. Suppose that the Timiting-scaled distance thas been determined by a large blast at great distance, and that the fina Blast will take place at small distance and stall charge weight, What is the Fimiting charge Weight? In this ease, sealing to the 2 power gives a less conservative prediction and sealing to the Ys power is more conservative. This exercise should foveal to the reader how impor- tant its to recognize where a given test value falls in the expected range of data scatter, If the test vals were unusually low, extreme conservatism should be used for predicting future events. If the test value were high, a rmoce liberal prediction could be made safely. And, of course, itis more important to know the expected of data than itis to use a specie sealing law. Factors Which Affect the Vibration reat many Variables which have an in mnerated by blasting. We will ee 4 few comments on those variables which most commonly have the predominant elfeets, These are (1) distance and geometry, (2) charge weight per in- There are a uence on vibrations g stant of time, (A) geological environment, and (4) ontinement a order to evaluate these variables, we aged to look At the revulls of extensive fichd experience because an tical approach has not yet been de seceptable the round mations trom. typical veloped for caleulatin basting fay some instances it sulices to assume maximum conservative valuce for all modifying factors and accept the conservatisnt that this intootices into predictions or data treatment. For example, we could assume that all K factors equal LO, and assume a high value for Hf However, there are instances whe such hish levels of convervatign introduce unacceptable costs into a projest for make it techaically impossible to perform the work Clearly, such conditions eall for refinement of the ap- proach, and one needs to look agaia at all significant variables Distance and Geometry At fest glance, there would seem to be no ambiguity ina term ich ay distance, However, it happens quite often that there is indeed some question as to its mean: e must often try to define it as some effective s eoatrolled hy the orientation ff the firing sequence, o some elfective distance to a charge with a high ratio of length to diameter, o¢ some effective distance modification because the surface area ‘covered by the blast is Large compared to the distance 10 the point of observation, of effective distance modifica tion because of some ysometsic isolation, Tn other tial distribution can be an important consid- eration, especially when the distance is small. Modifica tions are introduced by deviation from the concept of a point charge words, 5 Charge Weight Per Delay Similarly, there can be ambiguity regacding the tera charge weight per delay. Mt would be more meaningt to define the term as charge weight detonating withia specitied interval of time and Within a spectied distanc interval. Tn the case of single charges whose dimensions are small compared to the distance to the point of ob- servation, the effects are controlled by sequential detona: tion, Variable time periods are available for selection from the types of initiators on the market. ‘These in. cluxte electric eaps in long-period series (usually Vt to 1 see), short period series (usually 20 to 250 m-see), inter mediate series (usually Y to 13. soe), of combinations df these. An additional alternative method for elective firing is the use of a sequential timer, a detonating ¢ which fires a series of electrical cineuits. with preselected time interval between circuits. Inn Glectrie caps, similar selections are available with the aided feature that the initiators ean be used in a coni- bination of surface and down-theshole initiatio lunlimited series. Hlosiever, itis extremely important be awace of deviations from nominal firing times Geological Environment The elastic properties of the medium through which the waves pass Will have a steong insluence on the ehare aacier of the waves, The two fundamental characteristics ff the motion which are of most interest to us are the Frequency and the amplitude. As a general comment, weBLASTING cam state that & sofl_ medium will transmit waves with lower frequeney and larger amplitude, whereas a hard ‘vcd wil ransinit waves with a higher frequeney and smaller amplitude. ‘Thus, motions in soft saturated soils Would he quite different from those in rock. Similarly, as the rock becomes harder snd more brittle, the motions ‘would show an increase toward even higher frequencies and smaller amplitudes, Distance and charge size ako have an influence on the character of the vibrations. High frequencies tenusted with distance; and the smaller the size of the explosive charge, the higher will he the generated frequencies, Confinement The eoncept of confinement is partly a matter of geor logical environment and partly a matter of blast desipny ‘The greater the physical confinement of a charge, the reater will be the sibration generated by’ the detonation of that charge, up to the limits which the clastic prop- ets of the confining material will allow. Atypical Uupper Fimit in construction practice comes from the detonation of a presplit Blast. Ideally, such a blast has 4 semi-infinite (great) burden, the masimum to which the material is capable of confining the charges, and as le encrey as possible is dissipated in generating more than a single fracture plane through the rock. Such a blast represents the normal upper limit of vibration for 8 particular ecological setting in typical construction oF mining practice. Under some circumstances, presplilting may generate vibrations which are about twice the typi= cal upper bound of down-hole bench blasting. Minimum Delay Time for Vibration Control Currently, there is a very widesprend concept that shoot time intervals between detonstions are mot effec ive in the conttol of ground vibrations from blasting, is unfortunate that this concept has become 80 deeply ingrained. It has resulted in some very costly decisions fon major projects The following advice is presented for the eonsidera- tion of the reader: Tf the question is an important one for your project, cautiously teat the reaction of your geo logical sciting to the desired blasting technique. “As a eeneral guideline, shorter time intervals. ean be used in hau, brittle, heterogeneous tock, especially i the charges are small and in boreholes at relstively elose spacings, One may need 10 use longer time intervals in soft, clastic, homagencous materials especially if the charges are large and placed in wily spaced borcholes. A ease history of a large-scale blisting operation, along. with further theoretical discussion, hs been presented by riatd and Fmmert (1980) Effects on Notural and Mon-Made Structures Different man-msde structures, underground open: ings, slopes, and other entities will have dlfferent strengths to resist Aibration damage, Turthermore, the range duite large. Therefore, w be dtinitive, itis necessary to scpurate these entities inte appropriate groups. One conimen group needing defisition i that encompassing nnonengingered structures sich #8 sal mine eflices, res donces, and the like. Although their strengths. vary widely. a great deal of experience has been gained in the past 40 years in the obervation of residential structs, Prompted by the unfayerable reaction of homeowners te 1599 blasting vibrations. It is now generally agreed that a typical blasting vibration in the middle to upper fre quency range with a peak particle velocity less than 0.05 m/s (2.0 ips) will not be harmful to such non cengincered structores in average condition, Most such structures will not be damaged until the particke velocity of the ground motion reaches a vale near or above 0.1 m/s (4.0 ips). Major damage may’ occur in some at about 0.2 m/s (8.0 ips), but others will sill not be hharmed at this level. ‘The writer has observed cases Where $0-year old frame residences were subjected to ground motions of mote than 0.25 mi/s (10 ips) without Ineurring damage, ‘The reader is expected to have a primary interest in tunderground mining, where blasting normally generates ground vibrations in the middle to upper frequency Fange, say 20 t0 200 Hz. However, if the vibration is characterized by a very low frequency, say 1 10 5 Hz, and the structure is thought to he unustally. weak, would be prudent to reduce the foregoing valtes. by about half, depending on conditions. If surface mining is involved, the reader should become familiar with the hitest regulations. covering that activity. At the time of this writing, it appears possible that new regulitions will he forthcoming. Explosives users offen limit vibrations to lower levels than necessary because of the ndverse response of hit mans. There is a trend toward giving a greater role to this aspect of blasting effects, and certain regulations specifications are being revised to more conservative levels for this reason, OF course, engincered structures have grester strengths than residential structures and have a similar range of strengths. Because of their great variety, itis dificult to define them by categories. However, many engineered conerete structures have been subjected t0 9 0.25 10 0.38 m/s (1049 15 ips) wit and the writer has observed several which were subjected to particle veloc ities in the range of 0.5 to 08 m/s (20-10 30 ips) and did not ineur damage. Tied-own, heavily braced steel structures may withstand as much as S m/s (200 ips), even at Tow frequencies, For rock and soil stapes, # si wn be for: mulated, “At the low end of the scale, slope displace ments have been observed at low levels of vibration but were ako observed in the absence of vibrations. Ustally it appears that no primary influence i found at velo tunder 0.05 t0 0.1 m/s (2 to 4 js), Hut the time histo imay be changed under special encumstanices. AL QOS to O.1 m/s (2 t0 4 ps), we may expect the decisional fall ing of loowe stones on slopes. AL OTS 40 0.38 1/5 (5 0 15 ips), we may’ expect the falling of purty loosened see tions of rock underpromnd and on above-provnd slopes, sections of rock that would otherwise reniain in place for Tong. periods of time. Above 0.6 m/s (25 ips), se woud expect some € to occur in the relatively unsound sock types, But we find aso thot eeu in sound rock ot much highce vibration levels. Much dle ponds on whether the seismie waves merely puss thresh a scction of confined 1o¢k, or whether the waves ate te flected at 4 free boundary st the sock siface, One ean fehserve sections af sound rack that sho 1 visible ips fof dumaye even after they have been subjected ts parte fle Selocitics in eco OF 2.8 mn/s C100 ips). Thine its partite velo1600 not merely a question af variations in inherent strength but also-a question of the geometric shapes in eelation to the surfaces of relecton Blasting Effects on Concrete ‘As in the ewe of rok, conerete cant he dhamtaged by cithor exeessive vibration ae hy rupture, [thas been this y experience to yee more damage feom eupture from excemsive vibration, Establishing realist fie its foreither of these blasting effects is macke more co lev by the fast that the ability of concrete to resist Aamage is not merely a function of the stcength of the fconctete falhricy and the fabric strength itself varies with time for frexhly poured concrete. Most of our knowl fuze about the ability of conerete to resist sibeation Gomes from fiekt experience, although there has bs Some limited rewearch eonulucted by such agencies as the Corps of Engineers and the Portland Cement Associa tion. Such cexearch results were encouraging in that no damage oseureed to concrete specimens of varying ages ff curing which were subjected to moderate levels of Sibeation, However, these test conditions were sot se- Vere enouh to be applicable to the feld conditions that fare offen encoustered in mining and construction. Ex- perience demonstrates that miost engineered. concrete Structures are able to withstand particle velocities in the range of 0.5 € 0.8 m/s (20 to 30 ips) at medium frequencies, say in the range of 20 to 100 Hz, and ean withstand much higher particle velocities in the eange of several thousand ert Tina recent ease, this writer conducted experimental test blasting near freshly poured concrete at a con- struction site, "The conefete was composed of a fow- Strength mis and formed in cubes 0.9 m (3 ft) on each Side. ‘These cubes were not subject to the type of dele tion one might expect for structural sections. ‘They were intended to represent mass or fill concrete. When they thud attained @ compressive strength of 28 MPs (400 pai), they were subjected to particle velocities of about 18 ta/s (70 ips). When they had attained a compre sive strength of about 8.3 MPa (1200 psi, they were Subjected to more thas 2.5 m/s (100 ips). This final blast destroyed the surrounding rock and theew the con crete into the muck pile, However, it was not damaged by the vibrations it had eecoived (Oriard, 1980; Oriard and Coulson, 1980) Even without ficld experience, there is a justification for recommending values in the rags of 0.25 to 0.38 sn/s (10 40 15 ips) For the case of tensile slabbing. ‘This UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK fon the assumption that the pressure in a medivi tiv he represented an the par locity haf concrete of about Tin that in compression, awe wright expect femvile Mabbing at about 0.25 m/s (10 ips). This figure eam be increased alve to the fact that the dynamic steength of concrete is highoe than ily static strength. The exact Value is a furtction of the time history of the incom Stress pubs. The faster the Five time of the pule, th reatet will be the stecnuth of the concrete in resistin tis this weiter'y opinion that iis important to recognize what onder of magnitude of strain can be expected and to take this info account when selecting limits. AM ample of the values of particle velocity that would rally he acceptable for ensinoered concrete struetiecs is ilusteated ia Tables 4.6, The values are those whic have been recommended by this writer for use in the blasting of rack near existing concrete sections of various wee. Orfard and Coulson (1980) give additional e amples of criteria developed for the Tennessee Valley ‘Authority to proside protection to concrete “The Distance Factor shown in the tables used to reduce the allowable particle velocity with in- fereasing distance because of the attenuation of fre« quency with distance. Experience demonstrates that higher particle velocity ean be allowed at higher tre~ quencies. At lower frequencies, greater deflections (hence greater strains) will be induced in those struc tures which are capable of responding in that fashion. (there is a special concern for structural walls of freshly poured concrete), This is not entirely a ques: tion of resonance. Rigid systems at resonance are usually more durable. “The limits are varied according to the age of the concrete. In the period of O to 4 hr, the eonerete has not Started to set and it ean still tolerate vibration. (Of Course, structural concrete forms can be damaged by Severe shaking at this time). From 4 to 24 hr, the con crete has begun to set, but has very litle strength. After T days, the concrete has a strength that is approximately ‘of the ultimate (28-day) strength. ‘Although these eecomnvended linvtsare far more th eral than some which have appeared in project speci tions in the past, exp hhas shown that they are acceptable for many engincered conerete structures, aad will often save very large sums of money by allowing the onstruction work to proceed at a much higher rate, The rewder should not apply these criteria indiserimi Table 4, An Illustration of Particle Velocity and Distance Criterla for Blasting Near Concrete (Case History)* ‘Nonsteuctura Fill, Tima From Batching and Mass Concrote ane 420ne 1d days 37 anys 10 days ‘vee 10 days ‘ips < OFF ips < OF 1S ips < OF Sips < OF Bips = OF Sips < OF ‘Stiyotural Concrote Walls, Unspacitiod Electrical ‘Structural Slabs, et. Equipmont, Ips 2ips x OFt Yaips = DF ips «OF 2ips = OF Sips = OF 10 ips < OF “Jrondea-a an usation ofa cave hor. nal a general recommendation or al eases (No allowance for form brazing, which would provide Toetams Mion 60 te multiply < 10; 50430 m, mutiny « 08; 150-250, multiply « 07; and over 280, mutiny « 06 Mon egusstnt pa © 00254 msBLASTING Toble 5. An Iilustration of Allowable Charge Weight per Delay for Nonstructural Fill end Mass Concrete* Distance to Conerete, tt 4tozsh 110.8 bays on 0104 he a7 02 oa’ oa o7 10 06 15 13 2a 24 25 a7 06 1 50 n 26 3 75 ‘ 7 100 a 8 3 180 93 16 a 200 168 2 a 250 aan 39 es ‘Age of Gonerete (From Batching Time) 307 Daye: Over 10 Days, IDF 04 14 3 oe 3 7 7 5 2 26 e 18 é 28 a 18 63 3 65 6 156 70 10 Days 00 £00 500) 595 500 “tended an ration ofa case hor, not x general ecormendation foal eases (No Alowance for form bracing, which wold provide 8ationleength) Wee egustent: Wx 03048 mitt» 0489 592 4= 4g nately to all concrete structures. They are presented as an illustration of the fact that past criteria have often heen unnecessarily conservative, This. liberatizstion should not be attempted without an understanding of the time-history of the input motion and time-history of the response. ‘This understanding is eritical to the s0e= cess of establishing criteria. Its importance cannot be overemphasized, When assessing the effects of blasting on freshly poured concrete, one should also consider the strength of the forms which will hold the concrete in the early stages ofits curing. Before the conerete has attained a strength of ils own, and especially when itis still in a semiliquid Mate, the forms must be capable of resisting any shaking that might be generated, Hf forns ate especially strong and well-braced, itis Powible to allow even higher levels of vibration’ than those shown in the tables. The writer is involved ‘ther projects where substantially higher particle veloc ties were allowed, but only under special circumstances, In audition to tensile slabbing or structural deflec- tion, concrete may also be damaged through dislocation, ie, a permanent displacement. This may come about through vibration, supture, oF venting of explosive gases More commonly, this type of damage comes about be. Table 6. An Illustration of Ail cause the rock supporting the eonerete has been shifted (oF ruptured, rather than the concrete alone. There is really no acceptable basis for making ealeulation to control this type of damage because of the many variations that ean exist in the rock and fn the ‘Mast designs. Someone in the field must examine the rock conditions and estimate the manner in which the rock could be broken by the blasts being considered, then form a judgment as to whether or not it is safe 10 proceed. The writer has developed criteria to prevent Fupture damage under various rock and soil conditions (Oriard, 1973 and 1980). Tn many esses the field com ditions justify the use of more heral eriteria than those ited here. A judgment must be mide on the basis of the vibration characteristics, the structural response characteristics, and the possibilities of block motion or ground rupture, Mechanical and Electrical Equipment There is such a wide range in response character ties of mechanical and electrical equipment that itis very difficult, and probably misleading, to give specific recommendations for vibration limits. Even within a nnartow category, such as electrical switches or relays, the sensitivity to Vibration will often vary by at least one wable Charge Welght per Delay for Structural Concrete Walls, Structural Slabs, etc.* ‘Age of Concrete (From Batching Time) Distance to Concrete, ttt O10 hr 10 026 8 os 2 10 2 15. 06 50 6 26. 75 u 4 109 20 8 350 30 6 200 70 23 250 59 Atozihr 1403 Dey 03 02 oa tena sve ngthe) S107 Days 71010 Days Over 10 Days, bt 025 08 10 ay 15 48 fe 1% ” 35 20 2 a 123 70 219 2 23 07 7 £00 £00 Rot 8 ornerat reccmmendation Yor wl Cas (NO wOmunce fr Form Lnecng, which would rOWaE1602 onfer of masnittste, Some switches eam be tripped at le velocitis of a8 low a8 0.025 m/s (Lips) ar tes, Othses mighe aor be affected at OS m/s CO ips) Int av with structures, many electrical and mechanical devices will have sensitivities that are frequeney-depent ents ter in certain fee quency ea Similar to elvetrieal witches, mechanical devices and controls have a seide range of sensitivities. Some are so Guable that the steueture containing them may eol before dae. Others are highly semsitive, rohably the first step in the judgment process is to termine what will be the eonsequence Ha switeh is ripped or if some other device iy activated, alfected, oF hroken by vibration. TE the rests are the question iy acalorig, and there may be no need to termine a limit, LF the results induced by the vibea tion cannot be tolerated, two alternatives may be eon: silerad, One is, of course, to heep vibration levels be- low the eritical level. Another approach is often more attractive, but offen overlooked, be, either to isolate the Tock out its action, e.g, (ying clestrically an’ automatic their sensitivities are is incueced eviee froin vibration o dowa a eelay oF bypass switch, Except for such items as sensitive switches, most lectronie and electrical equipment will nat be physieally damaged by particle velocities of the order of 005 m/s (20 ips), anat_most mechanical equipment is far fess sensitive, ‘The frequcntly quoted limit of 0.05 m/s (2.0 ips) is therefore, appropriate to limit physical damage to most of this equipment, but often inappropriate to prevent activation of automatic devices AIR WAVES ir Waves Above Ground It is expected that the reader will be interested pri- marily in underground work. For this reason, only lim ited comment will be nade about above-ground Occasionally it may happen that air waves from tunnel blasting could be of concern to aboveground stouctures of people, expecially if the work is taking place in an urhin setting, or in proximity to mine offices or processing facilities ‘An overpresire of the oner of 7 KPa (1.0 psi) can be expected to cause widespread window damage. Tt ray also cause minor architectural damage t0 unusually weak strvctures. Oveepressures of the order of 0.7 KPa. (VL psi) are not expected to cause damage except under tunustial cireumstances. An example of design eriteria for window glass subjected ¢© soais boom is shown in Fig. 6 (Dittsborsh Plate Glass fadustrics, 1969). A fae- to of safety of 2.5 is included in the recommendations. ‘The render ix advised to review applicable regulations, lass, and ordinances pertinent to his location and type ‘of operation. For example, at the time of this writ the Otlige of Surface requires compliance to an alithlast oveeprest 128 dit (0.0078 psi, 0.05 KPa) foe residences “There are several factors which ate important in the contrat af air waves. Atmospheric conditions ate very important in the above-ground transmission of air over: prewurcs, Ina ble to avoid Blasting during times when refraction, relletion, and f area of concern, its desi UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS HANDBOOK 6. Design criteria for window glass subjected to ‘onic boom. using of air waves could builll up air overpressures to potentiatly harmful or annoying values. Th aie wav 3 problem, isotherms, temperature inversions, wind shears, and unfavorable wind digsetions should. be avoided. Tf human response is a matter of interest, desirable to avoid nighttime and other guict hours, to avoid weekend and holiday blasting. The choice of products ean influence the results also. Down-bole Electric detonators will generate lower overpeessures| than sucface connectors and detonating fuse, "The use dof stemming ean be used to reduce overpressures. In many instances, there is a feasibility to using some sort ff barrier or isolation deviee, such as a shaft cover. Air Waves Underground The behavior of blast waves in air and in und ground chambers and openings is far more complicated than the behavior of ground vibrations. Through eon plex reflection and focusing, air overpressures may be maintained at high valucs in an underground environ ment. To illustrate overpressures developed in a pi cal room and-piltar mining operation, Olson and Fletcher (I9TL) recorded air waves from three mine production blasts initiated with conventional '-sec delay detona- tors. For that particular location and blasting syste the overpressures could be expressed by the equation: P49 x 10 (DI where P is overpressure in pounds per yquace inch, D is distance from the blast in fect, and Wis zerordclay se weight in pounds This writer has also found it useful to follow the eon expt of overprewures developed in vented chambers ac eonfing to the volume of the chamber. Measueements at the NORAD facilities (Smart, 1971) showed good agreement with tests in partially clowed chambers (Weibull, 1968). See Fig. 7.BLASTING. 7. NORAD overpressure measurements in compari: ‘son with vented chamber tests REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Ambraseys, N.R., and Hendson, Adj JE. 1968, “Dynamic Tichavior of Rack Masses," Ruck Mechanics in Engineer ing Practice, KG. Stage and O.C. Zienkiewicz, eds, John Witey-and Sons, pp. 208-227 Hatber, Dib, Fournes, Wik, and F wre Contial ia Tune) Blasting, A Marber, DM, Fourney, WAL ly, JW, 1979, “Frac: University’ of Maryland, and Dally, LW. 197%, “Blast 16 Conitols” ing Paral! Hole Cols with Fracivre Vi Turonete and Tunneling, May © Weight on RL 6774, US Devine, LF, et al, 1966, “Effect of Ch Vibration “Levels from Quitry”Blssting.” zest of Mines, Duvall, WL, et al, 1963 snd Millisccond-Delayed Quarry. Masts,” RE Iozce of Mines, Hendron, AJ., and Oriaed, Li, 1972, “Specifications for Contetied Blssing in Civil Engineering Projects," Poo. cvedings, First Novth. American Rapid Exeavation and Tunneling Conference, Vol. 2, AIME, New York. Langefors, U,, snd Kibltzons, Hy 1963, The Afodern Tech nique of Rock Blasting, Almas and Wiksell, Stockholny, Sweden, Nicholls, H.R, Johmon, CF, and Duvall, WH, 1971 ‘lasting Vibyations. nd) TiisrTH¥ects om Strvetures; Bulletin 686, US Hotes of Stine ‘Vibrations from Instantaneous 's1, US 1603 Ohon, JU, and Fletcher, LAR, 1971, “Aisblist Overpresure Tevels from Confined Undesgrosind Production Blasts. RV7874, US tures of Mines, Orisrd, Li Blesting Operations in the Urban Ene ‘irenmeni’” Bulletin, Association of Enpincering Goole tists, Vol. 8, No. 1, Get Orisrd, Li, 1972, “esting Hfects and Their Control in ‘Open Bit Mining.” Proceedings, 2nd nernational Con ference on Stability in Open Pit Mining, AIME, New York. Oriard, L1., 1973, “A Guide 40 Evaluste Damope Potential to Pipelines from Nearby Construction Blasting.” unpub Tnhed report to Alyesha Tipcline Service Co.. Houston, Oviard, LL, 1979, “Blasting aid Excavation.” The Alloa Research Chamber, Report No. UMTA-GA-06-00077-1, Dept. of Transportation, Washington, Jone Origed, L1., 1980, "Otwervstions On the Pevformance of Concrete it igh Sires Levels from Misting,” Proceed ings, Sith Conference on Taplosives and Blasting Tet nigues, Society of Fsplovives Engineer, Montille, Ohio Oriard, LIL, and Couhor, 11, 1980, °TVA Mlast Vibration Criteria for Mass Concrete," Minimizing Detimental Construction Vibrations, Prepiint No, 80178, American Society of Chil Engineers, New York, Oriard, LLL and Emmert, M.W., 1980, “Short-Deley Blas ing it Ataconda'y Berkeley Open-Pit Mine, Montana” ‘SME Preprint 80-60, AIME Annual Mecting, Las Veras, NV, February Oviard, 1L., 1981, “Field Tests with Fracture-Control Bi ing. Techniques,* 1981 RETC Proceedings, AIME, New York, NY. Oriard, LL, 1989b, “Infucnce of Missing on Slone Sta- bility: State of the Ante" Proceedings, Stability i Surface Mining, Vol. 3, AIME, New York PPG Industries, 1969, “Glass Product Recommendation,” Technical Service Report No, 101, Pittshnth, PA, Rathbone, T.C,, 1963, "Human Sensitivity to Product Vibra- tion," Praluct Engineering Reiner, Hand Meister, FJ., 1931, “Susceptibility of Homan Deings to Vibration.” Pngincering News Record, Mary p40. Smart, LD, 1971, °Messurement of Blt Presi in the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex During. Facavie tion for the Expansion Project” US Army Corps of Fngincers. Tan, RG, Oriand, LL, and Plump, JH, “lst Damage teria for Massive Concrete Stitchire.” Minimizing Dettimentid Conrvetion Vilvations, Preptin| 80.175, American Society of Cisil Engineers, New York. Weibull, WK, 1968, "Pressures. Recovded in. Partially ‘Closed Chambery at Explosion of TNT Charges.” Annals Of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 182, Atte by Oct