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By Shazad Hosein, William Birch, Douglas A. Anderson

This paper will present the results of tests of a new method for assessing explosive performance using wavelet transform analysis of standard blast seismograms. The theoretical background of the method was presented at an earlier ISEE conference.

Jan 1, 2015

By Paul Sainato

Recruiting and retaining students in the explosives industry is becoming increasingly important each year. With no undergraduate degree in explosives engineering currently available in the United States, it is from other industries and degree disciplines we must recruit. The 2014 annual ISEE conference saw the first anonymous online survey distributed to members of SEE student chapters of the International Society of Explosives Engineers. The survey contained questions about future job and career plans, ideal job placement, expectations of salary and current academic degrees. The purpose of the survey was to determine what these students expect or require from a career in the explosives industry, and their current path to pursue this. This information can help steer recruitment activities and job offers for graduating students. The success for both student response rates and interest from the industry has allowed space for a yearly update of this survey. A second survey was distributed in 2015 and included international students. This paper provides the data from a third online survey distributed to all student members of the International Society of Explosives Engineers, globally. Understanding the main incentives for a student to accept a graduate position as an explosives engineer can help us, as an industry; position ourselves to remain competitive in recruiting against other major degree disciplines.

Jan 1, 2016

By Robert Hopler

DESCENT INTO A COAL MINE From “The Playbook of Metals, including Personal Narratives of Visits to Coal, Lead, Copper, and Tin Mines,” by John Henry Pepper. Published by Routledge, Wa rne, and Routledge, London, 1862 ENGINEERING NEWS New Yor k January 22, 1903 THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF DYNAMITE. In another part of this issue we have reported the results of some test results made upon one of the safety powders. It will pay every c o n t r a c t o r, miner, or user of explosives in any form to carefully re a d the article re f e r red to. Dynamite has done a gre a t work in the service of man, as did black powder before it; but its i n h e rent dangers are admitted by all and are proved by the long list of deaths and injuries, and destruction to property which annually occur through its use. Why should we continue to use an explosive that annually kills and maims hund reds of men, when others are available which are equally powerful, no more expensive and far less liable to accidental discharg e ? Dynamite when first manufacture d is pure and comparatively safe; but most unfortunately it does not always stay pure; it “rots,” and then it is exceedingly dangerous. More than this, the explosive part of dynamite is a liquid, nitro - g l y c e rine, which is absorbed or soaked up by sawdust, wood pulp or the like. So long as this liquid nitro - glycerine remains pure and remains “soaked up,” or absorbed t h e re is little danger. It has been found, however, that the nitro - g l y cerine leaks under certain conditions. During thawing it fre q u e n t l y leaks out of the stick, or if it becomes wet the water causes the n i t ro-glycerine to leak out. In either case free liquid nitro - g l y c e r i n e escapes, and in that free state it may be exploded by any very slight shock. Nor is this all, if a stick of frozen dynamite be bro k e n a c ross it has been found by tests that the frozen nitro - g l y c e r i n e w h e re thus broken is very sensitive to shocks afterward .

Jan 1, 2004

By Gordon M. Matheson, Douglas A. Anderson, David K. Miller

"Traditionally, analysis of vibrations from blasting has been focused on peak particle velocity fordetermining the likelihood of both annoyance and damage. The US Bureau of Mines, in RI 8507,indicated the importance of frequency in vibration. Methods of controlling the vibration by reducingthe vibration concentrated in certain frequency bands using delays have been successful over the past decade."

Jan 1, 1997

By Michael S. Wieland

Toxic fumes cause fatal and nonfatal incidents in underground mining, where the working environment tends to trap the fumes, hindering the restoration of nonharmful conditions. Workers can underestimate the residual fume toxicity and return to the work site too quickly. The toxic fumes from charge explosions depend upon a number things: formulation ingredients, mixture uniformity, water resistance, hole contaminates, rock hardness, and dust interactions. Hole-to-hole shock waves and rift compressions can partially desensitize charges, ruin the reaction kinetics, and worsen the fume toxicity. Traditionally the fume hazards for candidate explosives are resolved for a restricted set or tally of theoretical or measured fume components, transformed to standard reference conditions. The relative fume toxicity RFT is the resultant influence reckoned from a formulated sum of concentrations within the tally that are unweighted or weighted with chosen multiplying constants. The RFT result is compared to a rule criterion that represents the worst case tolerable fume toxicity stipulated by regulations or otherwise. The ranking and comparison of different hazard potentials that would otherwise remain unwieldy is rendered tractable by the common format of the RFT notation.

Jan 1, 1998

By Michael D. McGill

The effect of fragmentation size distribution as it relates to front end loader productivity was evaluated by comparing loader cycle times to fragmentation size of the shot rock. At Gold Mine in Southern Utah, a gold deposit containing both limestone and sandstone formations were blasted in the same shot.

Jan 1, 1994

By Stephen H. Chung

The SABREX computer blast simulation program permits the study of the effective use of explosive energies and predicts the total performance of a blast in terms of:fragment size distribution: muckpile profile; breakage at grade, column and collar with respect to the control case; crack penetration; damage envelope behind and beneath blastholes; a complete cost analysis including explosives, drilling and accessory costs

Jan 1, 1995

By Kevin Landey, Eric Gerst

Expanding blast patterns to near the limit of an explosives’ ability to do the necessary amount of work is a common practice to reduce drilling and blasting costs. Choosing less expensive explosives such as ANFO vs. emulsion, bulk product versus packaged product, etc. are also common cost savers. Both practices are only effective as long as the pattern geometries are accurately drilled. However, will pushing the limits on pattern sizes and explosive products produce consistent results at the face, minimize oversize, produce superior fragmentation, and improve crusher throughput? Sometimes, but no amount of explosives can overcome a poorly drilled pattern. Knowing the probable outcome of any changes in drilling and blasting is valuable in achieving success.

Jan 1, 2018

By Kenneth Eltschlager, Jim Ratcliff, Michael Mann, Edward Sheehan

The Appalachian Blaster Certification Delegation initiated a study to compare the consistency of measurements from blasting seismographs. Six blasts were monitored at surface coal mines in West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. A total of seven different makes were deployed during the tests, with as many as seven models from five different manufacturers compared during any one blast. Great care was taken to bury the geophones in identical fashion. The variations in seismograph readings were compared to the International Society of Explosives Engineers’ Performance Specifications for Blasting Seismographs. Between 4 and 125 Hertz, the ground vibration amplitudes should be within ±5% and airblast amplitudes should be ±1 decibel. For each of the three mutually perpendicular ground vibration channels and the acoustic channel, the median value of all the units was used as a baseline for comparison. The six blasts monitored had median peak particle velocities ranging from 0.42 to 3.47 inches per second (in/s) (10.7 – 88.1 mm/s) and median airblasts ranging from 124 to 135 decibels (dB). There were 46 seismograph recordings for the six blasts. Eighteen (39%) of the 46 maximum peak particle velocities varied more than ±5% from the median. A total of 138 (3 × 46) component particle velocities were recorded, with 50 (36%) of the readings varying more than ±5% from the median. For airblast comparison, 43 recordings were obtained, with seven (16%) varying more than ±1 dB of the median. Variances may be attributable to blasting seismograph differences, variations in field deployment, and relative locations of the geophones. Full waveform seismic and acoustic overlays for individual blasts showed encouraging conformity with some slight anomalies

Jan 1, 2015

By Dimitri Frantzos, Stewart Thompson, Ed Skiba, Hans Tammemagi

On behalf of Acres International we would like to thank Frank Chiappetta of Blasting Analysis International for inviting our organization to participate in this state-of-the-art course on blasting analysis techniques.

Jan 1, 1989

By Brian W. Stump, David P. Anderson, John Wiegand

Mining explosions are designed for a variety of purposes including the fragmentation and movement of materials. The blast design is dependent on the particular application intended and the material properties of the rock. The range of mining applications from hard rock quarrying to coal exposure to mineral recovery leads to a great variety of blasting practices.

Jan 1, 1997

By Thomas Hans Kleine

In general the software required by a blast designer includes tools that graphically present blast designs (surface & underground), can analyze a design or predict its result, and can assess blasting results. As computers develop and computer literacy continues to rise the development of and use of such tools will spread.

Jan 1, 1995

By Randall M. Wheeler

Using Computer software to analyze and interpret blast vibration effects has never been so practical. Fully digital seismographs and powerful desktop and portable computers have led to the development of fast and easy to use analysis software. This workshop will focus on new Microsoft Windows-based blast vibration analysis programs developed by White Industrial Seismology, Inc. The Windows point and click graphical environment is ideal for developing full-featured and yet intuitive software.

Jan 1, 1994

By Ola Lindahl, Mark Irving, John Hutchings

"Blasting is a process starting with a geometric description of the block of rock and ending with a pileof fragmented material. A key step in improving the productivity and quality control over the processis the integration of blast planning software, explosive delivery control systems, and blast recordingwithin one seamless customer solution."

Jan 1, 1997

By Marwan M. Mohammed, Hani S. Mitri, Wilfrid Comeaul, Baoyao Tang

In many parts of the world, rockbursts have become a major problem of mining at depth. As orebodies are being mined deeper, rockburst phenomena have become familiar to deep hard rock mines. Rockbursts are generally characterised by sudden release of energy in a volume of highly stressed rock, which can cause local violent failure of the rock mass around the opening. One method of controlling these failures is to precondition the rock mass by detonating fully confined explosive charges at the appropriate locations. This method known as destress blasting, was first tried in the deep South African gold mines (Roux et al., 1957), and was widely used later in Canada, United States, France, Poland and Japan.

Jan 1, 1999

By Michael Mann, Kenneth K. Eltschlager

The International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) Standards Committee has recently updated both the Field Practice Guidelines for Blasting Seismographs and the Performance Specifications for Blasting Seismographs. The revisions are the result of public and industry input along with recommendations of the ISEE Blast Vibration and Seismograph Section. The committee is comprised of blasting seismograph manufacturers, users and general interest personnel. On an as needed basis, subject matter experts are enlisted to advise the committee. Three phases of activities are necessary for each revision cycle: request for comment on the existing standard, first draft revision of the standard based on public input, and final draft approval by the ISEE Board of Directors. The ISEE standards revision process will be explained and each standard will be discussed along with the significant revisions from the latest revision cycle.

Jan 1, 2018

By B Mohanty

Currently there exist several explosive quantity-distance (Q-D) rules variously exercised by most countries to protect personnel and property against the effects of accidental explosions. These regulations apply to manufacture, transport and storage of explosive products. This paper reviews the technical basis behind these regulations, as they apply to commercial and military explosives. The characteristics of a blast wave and missiles issuing out of an explosion site and their role in determining the level of damage to a target are discussed. The need for further research on the effect of detonation of charges of non-standard geometry, and under confined conditions such as tunnels is discussed. The challenge in estimating the net quantity of explosives involved and calculation of its TNT-equivalency is also highlighted.

Jan 1, 2014

By P D. Katsabanis

The dynamic tensile strength of geomaterials is known to be highly dependent on the strain rate of the load applied. This is significant in applications where the material is subjected to shock waves and impact loading. This paper proposes the use of a simplified method to determine the dynamic tensile strength of hard brittle rocks using an explosively impacted version of the Hopkinson Pressure Bar. A compressive stress wave was propagated in a sample, representative of the material of interest, by detonating a small charge at one end of a cylindrical sample. The tension wave, generated upon reflection at the free face, causes spalling in brittle materials. Strains at four points in the specimen were continuously measured and the dynamic tensile strength was determined by applying the one-dimensional wave theory.

Jan 1, 2010

By Eduardo Lozano, Vilem Petr

The use of explosives bring countless benefits to our everyday lives in areas such as mining, oil and gas exploration, demolition or avalanche control. However, because of the potential destructive power of explosives, strict safety procedures must be an integral part of any explosives operation. The goal of this paper is to provide a solution against the hazards which unfortunately accompany the use of explosives. For this reason, a blast shield is specifically designed and tested for protecting personnel against these unpredictable effects. This document will develop a complete analysis answering the following questions: what are the potential hazards from an air blast; what are their effects; and how can we be protected against them. In order to answer these questions, theoretical, analytical, and numerical calculations are performed. Finally, a full blast shield prototype is tested under blasting conditions proving its effectiveness as a safety device while explosives are used.

Jan 1, 2015

By R Castedo, L. M. Lopez, J. A. Sanchidrian

In 2014 the authors presented results from 13 tests made with two blasting seismographs on a vibration exciter. They measured coupling transmissibility as function of frequency (i.e. ratio of the velocity of the sensor mount to the velocity of the ground motion) from 16 to 200 Hz at one or two vibrations levels (5 mm/s or 0.2 in/s, and 20 mm/s or 0.79 in/s) with mounts freely placed, sandbagged, and anchored to a granite slab firmly attached to the plate of a vibration exciter. As the memory capacity of one of the seismographs prevented to cover low frequencies, e.g. 4-16 Hz, a new measuring campaign has been recently made to extend the study down to 2 Hz. In this campaign, two more techniques, in which the sensor mounts were fixed with thermal adhesive or a combination of duct tape and gypsum plaster, have been also investigated from 2 to 200 Hz at 5 and 20 mm/s. Free and sandbagged mounts lead to a weak coupling of the mounts to rock, so that transmissibility depends on the characteristics of the imposed rock motion (peak velocity and frequency). Measurements are accurate only at low frequencies (below 17 Hz for free mounts and 10 Hz for sandbagged) in the tested conditions (velocities up to 20 mm/s). Above these frequencies, ground motion in the measurement can be modified by a factor of 0.16 to 1.22. Anchored, glued and plastered mounts achieve a stiff rock-to-ground coupling, ensuring consistent measurements for the frequencies commonly found in blasting independently of the vibration level and the mount characteristics

Jan 1, 2015