PRIMING OF EXPLOSIVES If an explosives column is not initiated properly, its optimum energy cannot be generated.

A change in the configuration or type of initiation, priming or boosting can lead to a significant increase in blasting efficiency. The terms primer and booster are often confused. The Mine Safety and Health Administration USA (MSHA) defines primer as a unit of cap-sensitive explosive used to initiate other explosives or blasting agents. A primer contains a detonator or other initiating device such as detonating cord. The primer cartridge should be assembled at the work-site. The transport of cap primers is a hazard and is against the regulation of most countries. Priming should be done correctly as in Figure 1. The primer cartridge must not be tamped nor dropped into the blasthole. When priming blasting agents, the primer should have a diameter which is close to the diameter of the blasthole.
1

Figure 1: Correctly assembled primer cartridge

A booster is a cap-sensitive explosive but does not contain a detonator. Its purpose is to maintain or intensify the explosive reaction at a specific point in the explosive charge along a blasthole. It is a specially manufactured explosive that can produce a high velocity of detonation (VOD) such as cast boosters that have VOD of 7,600 m/s. The most common used boosters in Malaysia are the pentolite boosters. A pentolite booster is made up of a mixture pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and TNT.

Figure 2: Cast boosters

Priming When an explosive column is initiated at a point, the full steady-state VOD is generally attained some distance away from that point. This distance is called the run-up distance.

The run-up distance varies between explosives. ANFO has the maximum (about six charge diameters) and PETN/TNT explosives have the least (about one charge diameter) as in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Run-up distance of two types of explosives

A VOD less than 2,000 m/s is not considered stable. carried out by Swedish Detonic Research

Tests

Foundation

(SVEDEFO) showed that a Dynamex M (NG based explosives) primer cartridge initiates ANFO directly to its full velocity. The same result will be obtained with an Emulite 100 or now renamed as Emulex 100 (AN based emulsion explosive) primer, provided that its diameter is close to the blasthole diameter.

Figure 4 shows a primer that has a stable detonation velocity greater than the ANFO stable detonation. This will ensure that ANFO will reach its stable velocity in a shorter time and the blasting agent will explode efficiently.

Figure 4: Effect of primer on velocity of detonation (VOD) - Olofsson

Priming of ANFO When ANFO is efficiently primed it rapidly reaches its steady state velocity of detonation and maintains it. The steady state velocity depends on the density, the confinement and particle size of ANFO as well as the blasthole diameter. The VOD increases as the blasthole diameter increases and reaches its highest value at a blasthole diameter of 300 mm as shown in the table below.

The steady state velocity of ANFO for different blasthole diameters

Blasthole diameter mm 89 102 152 270

VOD m/s 3,700 3,800 4,200 4,400

The purpose of a primer is to initiate the ANFO so that it rapidly reaches its steady state velocity. The primer may initiate the ANFO with low order velocity (VOD lower than the steady state VOD) or overdrive velocity (VOD higher than the steady state VOD).

Low order initiation is caused by a primer being too small (Figure 5) or too low detonation pressure.

Figure 5: Effect of inefficient primer. Most of the energy is wasted, as it takes more explosive in reaching the steady state VOD.

The velocity distance curve (Figure 5) shows that it takes approximately the length of four blasthole diameters. The low energy initiation in the bottom of the blasthole may have serious effect on the blasting result. Figure 6 shows how various types and sizes of primers affect the distance from the primer at which ANFO reaches steady state VOD. In general, the closer the primer diameter is to the borehole diameter, the more effective a primer will be in initiating ANFO.

Figure 6: Effect of primer diameter on ANFO VOD.

Top versus bottom initiation

In large diameter blastholes in bench mining, an ANFO charge may have a 10 m column, and its VOD of 4 000 m/s. If this charge is bottom primed, the stemming and the top part of the burden are not affected by the detonation until 2.5 ms after initiation. Thus the bubble or the gas energy has more time to work near the bottom to move the toe before explosion gases escape through the fractured rock.

The practice of bottom priming provides a much lower probability of cut-offs, and hence greatly reduce incidence of misfires.

Qualities of a primer Four properties of primer have a significant influence on its performance, particularly in blastholes 150 mm in diameter. i) Detonation pressure: An effective primer should have a minimum detonation pressure of 5 000 MPa (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Effect of primer quality on ANFO VOD (After ICI)

ii)

Diameter: The primer should match the hole diameter as closely as possible; however, its diameter should not be less than 0.67 times the blasthole diameter (Figure 6).

iii)

Length:

It should be sufficiently long for maximum

VOD to be reached (that is, run-up distance shorter than the primer length).

iv)

Shape: The importance of shape can be seen in Figure 8, which shows the results of a double-pipe tests.

In this test a low sensitivity explosive column, together with the primer, is loaded into a 80 mm diameter steel or plastic pipe. The charged pipe is then placed on top of the heavy duty steel witness pipe. After the explosive is detonated, the depth of the dent produced along the witness pipe is measured and plotted (as in Figure 8). It can be concluded from this graph that blast results can be improved without any increase in primer mass.

10

Figure 8: Effect of size and shape on primer performance (after AECI)

Booster

Sometimes, after detonation, a low sensitivity explosive may show signs of losing the VOD progressively along its column. This may arise when an ANFO charge is contaminated with water.

The boosters can be placed at appropriate intervals (about 30 times the blasthole diameter) to increase the VOD along the explosives column. Boosters can be placed at appropriate spots where the ground is especially hard and requires extra pressure for satisfactory breakage.
11

Figure 9: Charging of explosives into the blastholes

12