BLAST

FRAGMENTATION IN
MINES
Presented by MGAYA FRANCIS, 2011-04-02327
GY424: ROCK EXCAVATION AND SUPPORT
Course Instructor: Dr. Kinabo

CONTENTS
Mechanism of Rock breakage by Blasting
Factors of Blast Design
Effects of Controllable Blast parameters on Fragmentation
Effects of Discontinuities on Rock fragmentation by Blasting
Extent of Blast damage zone
References

ROCK BREAKAGE BY BLASTING

Blasting technology is the process of fracturing material by the use of
a calculated amount of explosive so that a predetermined volume of
material is broken.
When an explosive charge is detonated, chemical reaction occur
which,very rapidly changes the solid or liquid explosive mass into a
hot gases.
This reaction starts at the point of initiation where detonator is
connected with explosives and forms a convex like shock wave
(Compressive wave) on its leading edge that acts on the borehole wall
and propagates through the explosive column.
Ahead of the reaction zone are undetonated explosive products and
behind the reaction zone are expanding hot gasses.

Cont..
Rock fragmentation by blasting is achieved by dynamic loading
introduced into the rock mass. The explosive loading of rock can be
separated into two phases, the shock wave and gas pressure phase.
Rapid the detonation process, the quicker the energy release from
explosives mass, in the form of a shockwave followed by gas
pressure, is applied to the borehole wall. In other words, faster the
detonation velocity of the explosive, quicker is the energy applied to
the borehole wall, and for a shorter time period.
Conversely, with a slower detonation velocity, the energy is applied
more slowly, and for a longer time period. The degree of coupling
between the explosive and the borehole wall will have an effect on
how efficiently the shockwave is transmitted into the rock.

Cont..
Pumped or poured explosives will result in better transmission of
energy than cartridge products with an annular space between the
cartridge and the borehole wall.
The pressure that builds up in the borehole depends not only upon
explosive composition, but also the physical characteristics of the rock.
Strong competent rock will result in higher pressures than weak,
compressible rock.
When the shock wave reaches the borehole wall the fragmentation
process begins.
When the shockwave first encounters the borehole wall, the
compressive strength of the rock is exceeded by the shockwave and
the zone immediately surrounding the borehole is crushed.

Cont..
As the shockwave radiates outward at declining velocity, its
intensity drops below the compressive strength of the rock and
compressive crushing stops.
The radius of this crushed zone varies with the compressive
strength of the rock and the intensity of the shock wave, but seldom
exceeds twice the diameter of the borehole.
However, beyond this crushed zone, the intensity is still above the
tensile strength of the rock and it causes the surrounding rock mass
to expand and fail in tension, resulting in radial cracking.
The hot gas following the shockwave expands into the radial cracks
and extends them further. This is the zone where most of the
fragmentation process takes place.

Important points learned through past

experience
Within the range of conventional blasting, the physical
characteristics of the rock are more important than the
characteristics of the explosives used and can have a
greater impact on the success or failure of a blast.
Final-size fragmentation is usually obtained before any
appreciable rock movement or throw occurs.
Rock can absorb only so much energy and only at a
certain maximum rate before it will fail.
The final displacement of the bulk of the rock is more a
function of the duration of the gas pressure than its
intensity.

FACTORS OF BLAST DESIGN

Blast designing is not a science, but knowledge, experience,
studying and analyzing past practices in relation to rock strata &
geology etc., makes blaster to achieve perfection.
Thus, for a blaster, valuable tool is the file of blast reports that he
builds as he gains experience.
Not only do these provide evidence of the quality of his work, but
they also provide a wealth of information upon which he can
draw as future blasting situations develop.
The two main factors in Blast design are, Controllable and
Uncontrollable factors.

Controllable factors
These are the factors of blast design that are manipulated by the engineer.
For the purposes of blast design, the controllable parameters are classified in
the following groups:
Geometric: Hole diameter, Hole depth, Sub-drill depth, Burden, Spacing,
Bench height, Stemming height etc.
Physicochemical or pertaining to explosives: Types of explosives,
strength, energy, priming systems, etc.
Time: Delay timing and initiation sequence.

Cont..

Uncontrollable factors
These are design factors that are out of the engineers control,
and should be taken into account during Blast design.
These include:
Geology
Materials strength and properties ( by strength we mean the
compressive strength)
Structural discontinuities ( strike, dip, jointing system, faults etc.)
Weather conditions
Water etc.

EFFECTS OF CONTROLLABLE BLAST PARAMETERS

ON FRAGMENTATION
Height of Bench ( H )
Is the vertical height from the toe to the crest.
The bench height limits the size of the charge diameter and the burden.
The optimum ratio ( H / B ) is larger than 3.
If H / B = 1.5 - 4, the fragments will be large, with overbreak / backbreak around
holes and toe problems.
If the bench height is very large, there can be problems of blasthole deviation,
which will not only affect rock fragmentation but will also increase risk of
generating strong vibrations, flyrock, and overbreak. Because the drilling pattern
and subsequently the explosives consumption will not remain constant in the
different levels of the blasthole.

Cont..
Burden ( B ) and Spacing ( S )
The burden is the minimum distance from the axis of a blasthole to the free face, and
spacing is the distance between blastholes in the same row.
These parameters depend basically upon the drilling diameter, the height of the
bench and the desired degree of fragmentation and displacement.
Burden values all fall in the range of 20-40 D.
Excessive burden resists penetration by explosion gases to effectively fracture and
displace the rock and part of the energy may become seismic intensifying blast
vibrations.
Small burden lets the gases escape and expand with high speed towards the free
face, pushing the fragmented rock and projecting it uncontrollably, provoking an
increase in overpressure of the air, noise and flyrock.

Cont..
Spacing is calculated as a function of burden, delay
timing between blastholes and initiation sequence.
Very small spacing causes excessive crushing between
charges and superficial crater breakage, large blocks in
front of the blastholes and toe problems.
Excessive spacing between blastholes causes
inadequate fracturing between charges, along with toe
problems and an irregular face.

Cont..
Blasthole diameter ( D )
Drillhole diameter plays an important role in the distribution of explosives in a blast.
Intuitively, it has a major impact on fragmentation.
For small diameter holes, due to a better distribution of energy in blasting, smaller
diameter boreholes result in a lower powder factor.
In the case of jointed rock, the use of small diameter boreholes is imperative,
otherwise fragmentation could be unacceptable if the joints and discontinuities are
widely separated and form blocks in situ.
In these cases it is recommended that the spacing between blastholes be smaller
than the mean separation distance between discontinuities, which necessitates
smaller holes.
For large diameter holes, a higher shock energy can be delivered to the rock mass,
aiding fragmentation.

Cont..
Blasthole Inclination
The benefits of inclined drilling are better
fragmentation, displacement and swelling of the
muckpile, less subdrilling and better use of the
explosive energy, lower vibration levels and less risk of
toe appearance.

Cont..
Stemming Material
If stemming is insufficient, then there will be a premature escape
of the gases into the atmosphere which will produce airblast and
dangerous flyrock.
On the other hand, if the stemming is excessive, there will be a
large quantity of boulders coming from the top part of the bench,
poor swelling of the muckpile and an elevated vibration level.

Cont..
Stemming Height ( T )
The optimum lengths of stemming increase as the quality and
competence of the rock decrease, varying between 20D and 60D,
where D is the diameter of the borehole.
Whenever possible, a stemming length of more than 25D should be
maintained in order to avoid problems of airblast, flyrock, cutoffs, and
overbreak.

Cont..
Subdrilling ( J )
If the subdrilling is small, then the rock will not be completely sheared off
at floor level, which will result in toe appearance and a considerable
increase in loading costs.
However, if subdrilling is excessive, there will be excessive fragmentation
in the top part of the underlying bench, causing drilling problems of the
same and affecting slope stability in the end zones of the open pit.

EFFECTS OF DISCONTINUITIES ON ROCK

FRAGMENTATION BY BLASTING
During designing of a blast, the rock mass is considered to be homogeneous. In reality rock
contains features like joints and other discontinuities, which have a pronounced effect on the
blasting results.
The quality of the rock mass in which an excavation is being driven has a strong influence on
the level of dynamic forces to which the rock can be subjected and sustain damage.
Generally all actual rock masses have different types of discontinuities spread throughout
the rock mass.
Blasting in a homogenous isotropic medium naturally does not result in the same
fragmentation pattern as when the medium is permeated with discontinuities.
In most rock materials, fissures occur, thus reducing the explosive induced stresses due to
shock wave reflections.

Orientation of Discontinuities
Blasting results are affected by the orientation of the rock mass structures.
Three cases which have to be considered are i) shooting with the dip, ii) shooting
against the dip and iii) shooting along the strike.
While shooting with the dip back break increases, toe problem decreases resulting
in a smooth floor and throw of the blast increases resulting in scattered and low
muck pile.
When shooing against the dip one finds less back break, more toe problems
resulting in uneven floor and throw of the blast decreases resulting in higher muck
pile profile.
Finally, when shooting along the strike one finds that the floor can be highly
sawtoothed due to the different rock types intersecting the floor. For the same
reasons the backbreak is irregular.

Orientation of Discontinuities

a) With Dip

b) Against Dip

c) Along Strike

Aperture of Discontinuities
As joint surface separation increases, it becomes
difficult to get a smooth excavation profile from
blasting, as open joints hinder the crack propagation
between the perimeter holes.
On the other hand the chance of overbreak reduces if
joints are tight and cemented.

Frequency of Discontinuities
If discontinuities are present then the effective area of influence of a hole
reduces.
Because the gaps of the joints will not only hinder the propagation of radial
cracks but will also provide easy passage for the gases to escape, thus reducing
the borehole pressure.
The fragmentation and heave of blasted material will be reduced as a
consequence.

Cont..

EXTENT OF BLAST DAMAGE

ZONE
The Blast induced damage zone can be defined as zone beyond the designed
perimeter of a rock tunnel or excavation where rock mass has been damaged by
blasting.
The quality of the rock mass in this zone can be significantly reduced, thus
leading to reduction in strength and stiffness with ultimate consequence on the
stability of the excavation.
Overbreak results in the need to remove additional volumes of material at
additional cost, which both the contractors and owners strive to avoid.
The remaining damaged rock can pose long term stability problems. Therefore it
is important to deal with both scenarios through damage control guidelines.

Blast damage

Cont..
The extent of rock damage can be approximately correlated with the peak
particle velocity, which is proportional to strain as a measure of the damage
potential of the wave motion.
From extensive studies made of structural damage to buildings and
constructions due to detonation in a drill hole of a single charge, we know that
reliable predictions of damage can be made if we know the peak particle
velocity.
The peak particle velocity can be predicted using the empirical equation: V = K
W R
Where: V is the peak particle velocity in mm/sec, W is the charge weight in kg,
and R is distance in m.
The constants K, , depend on the structural and elastic properties of the
rock mass and vary with each particular blasting site. Typical values for hard
rock masses are : K = 0.7 m/s. = 0.7 and = 1.4.

Cont..

Some common explosives and recommended

burdens used for tunneling in Sweden.

Example
For a hole diameter of 48mm and 17mm Gurit pipe charges, a burden of 0.8 is
normal. From figure a, we find that this charge will result in a damage zone of
about 0.3m.
It is apparent from this example that a reduction of the damage zone can be
obtained by a reduction of the charge concentration per meter of borehole. This
obviously results in increased costs for drill and blast operation, but these are
balanced by the advantage of a safer roof and decreased costs for grouting and
maintenance.

REFERENCES
Erickson, K.B. Investigating The Extent of Damage From a Single Blasthole. 2014.
Holmberg, R., J, Lee , P.A, Persson. Rock Blasting and Explosives. 1994.
M. Z. Abu Bakar, S. M. Tariq, M.B. Hayat, M. K. Zahoor, M. U. Khan. Influence Of
Geological Discontinuities Upon Fragmentation by Blasting. 2013.
Saiang, D. BlastInduced Damaged Zone Studies. 2011.
Sharma, P.D. Mining and Blasting Weblog.
University of Arizona Lecture Notes. 2006.