Metrics for Blast Design and Performance
(Room Concorde A)
30 Jan 16
11:15 AM
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12:00 PM
Tracks:
Blasters Training Seminar
In order to ensure every blast will produce the desired results, it is necessary to consider many pattern design factors. Such factors include: bench preparation; proper ratios for borehole diameter to burdens and burden to bench height; spacing; drill logs; geology; front row placement; required powder factor; and desired performance results. There are many tools readily available to the blast engineer today that can be used to optimize the blast design to ensure and verify the desired blast performance. The key to good blast design starts with good preparation. This includes properly selecting the borehole diameter, burden and spacing to maintain the desired stiffness ratio for a specific bench height. Additionally, to improve safety and optimize blast performance the placement of the front row of boreholes is critical and must be custom designed and drilled according to surveyed blast face profiles. This is only possible if the blast face has been cleared of muck. Once the blast has been designed and drilled to specifications, loading should be customized to match borehole profiles, drill logs and site conditions. Post blast, there are a number of analysis tools available to assess blast performance. These tools include, but are not limited to: fragmentation analysis; muckpile movement and swell factors; blast volumes; and blast videos.