Monitoring and Prediction of the Vibration Intensity of Seismic Waves Induced in Underwater Rock by Underwater Drilling and Blasting

All underwater drilling and blasting operations generate seismic waves.However,due to a lack of suitable vibration sensing instruments,most studies on the propagation of seismic waves have been limited to shorelines near construction areas or wharfs,whereas comparatively few studies have beerconducted on the larger seafloor itself.To address this gap,a seafloor vibration sensor system was developed and applied in this study that consists of an autonomous acquisition storage terminal,soft-ware platform,and hole-plugging device that was designed to record the blasting vibration intensities received through submarine rocks at a given measurement point.Additionally,dimensional analyses were used to derive a predictive equation for the strength of blast vibrations that considered the in fluence of the water depth.By combining reliable vibration data obtained using the sensor system in submarine rock and the developed predictive equation,it was determined that the water depth was ar important factor influencing the measured vibration strength.The results using the newly derivedequation were compared to those determined using the Sadowski equation,which is commonly used on land,and it was found that predictions using the derived equation were closer to the experimental values with an average error of less than 10%,representing a significant improvement.Based on these results the developed sensor system and preliminary theoretical basis was deemed suitable for studying the propagation behavior of submarine seismic waves generated by underwater drilling and blasting operations.

Assessing the range of blasting-induced cracks in the surrounding rock of deeply buried tunnels based on the unified strength theory

Blasting-induced cracks in the rock surrounding deeply buried tunnels can result in water gushing and rock mass collapse,posing significant safety risks.However,previous theoretical studies on the range of blasting-induced cracks often ignore the impact of the in-situ stress,especially that of the intermediate principal stress.The particle displacement−crack radius relationship was established in this paper by utilizing the blasthole cavity expansion equation,and theoretical analytical formulas of the stress−displacement relationship and the crack radius were derived with unified strength theory to accurately assess the range of cracks in deep surrounding rock under a blasting load.Parameter analysis showed that the crushing zone size was positively correlated with in-situ stress,intermediate principal stress,and detonation pressure,whereas negatively correlated with Poisson ratio and decoupling coefficient.The dilatancy angle-crushing zone size relationship exhibited nonmonotonic behavior.The relationships in the crushing zone and the fracture zone exhibited opposite trends under the influence of only in-situ stress or intermediate principal stress.As the in-situ stress increased from 0 to 70 MPa,the rate of change in the crack range and the attenuation rate of the peak vibration velocity gradually slowed.

Complexity analysis of blast-induced vibrations in underground mining: A case study

Blasting in geological bodies is an industrial process acting in an environment characterized by high uncertainties (natural joints, faults, voids, abrupt structural changes), which are transposed into the process parameters (e.g. energetic transfer to rock mass, hole deviations, misfires, vibrations, fly-rock, etc.). The approach to this problem searching for the "optimum" result can be ineffective. The geological environment is marked out by too many uncertainties, to have an "optimum" suitable to different applications. Researching for "Robustness" in a blast design gives rise to much more efficiency. Robustness is the capability of the system to behave constantly under varying conditions, without leading to unexpected results. Since the geology varies from site to site, setting a robust method can grant better results in varying environments, lowering the costs and increasing benefits and safety. Complexity Analysis (C.A.) is an innovative approach to systems. C.A. allows analyzing the Complexity of the Blast System and the criticality of each variable (drilling, charging and initiation parameters). The lower is the complexity, the more robust is the system, and the lower is the possibility of unexpected results. The paper presents the results obtained thanks to the C.A. approach in an underground gypsum quarry (Italy), exploited by conventional rooms and pillars method by drilling and blasting. The application of C.A. led to a reliable solution to reduce the charge per delay, hence reducing the impact of ground vibration on the surrounding structures. The analysis of the correlation degree between the variables allowed recognizing empirical laws as well.

A new theory of rock-explosive matching based on the reasonable control of crushed zone

Rational rock-explosive matching is of great importance to enhancing explosive energy effective utilization and improving rock fragmentation effect.The traditionally emphasized method of acoustic impedance matching is not rational.Based on blasting breakage mechanism,a new theory of rock-explosive matching in drilling and blasting is proposed.The new approach chooses explosive parameters by reasonable control of the size of crushed zone under the condition of fully fragmentation between adjacent blast holes.This method can directly reflect the blasting fragmentation effect and energy effective utilization,which is easy to implement.Also,a modified model is developed,taken adjacent blast hole blasting loading into account.As a result,explosive parameters of different grades of rock are given in full coupling on-site mixed explosive charge for different project objectives.

Rapid profiling rock mass quality underneath tunnel face for Sichuan-Xizang Railway

The Sichuan-Xizang Railway is a global challenge,surpassing other known railway projects in terms of geological and topographical complexity.This paper presents an approach for rapidly profiling rock mass quality underneath tunnel face for the ongoing construction of the Sichuan-Xizang Railway.It adopts the time-series method and carries out the quantitative analysis of the rock mass quality using the depth-series measurement-while-drilling(MWD)data associated with drilling of blastholes.A tunnel face with 15 blastholes is examined for illustration.The results include identification of the boundary of homogeneous geomaterial by plotting the blasthole depth against the net drilling time,as well as quantification of rock mass quality through the recalculation of the new specific energy.The new specific energy profile is compared and highly consistent with laboratory test,manual logging and tunnel seismic prediction results.This consistency can enhance the blasthole pattern design and facilitate the dynamic determination of charge placement and amount.This paper highlights the importance of digital monitoring during blasthole drilling for rapidly profiling rock mass quality underneath and ahead of tunnel face.It upgrades the MWD technique for rapid profiling rock mass quality in drilling and blasting tunnels.