Analysis of predictor equations for determining the blast-induced vibration in rock blasting

The paper proposes a new empirical correlation designed to complement the‘‘site laws"currently used to evaluate the attenuation in the rock masses of vibrations induced by rock blasting.The formula contains a deformed exponential known as the K-exponential,which seems to well represent a large number of both natural and artificial phenomena ranging from astrophysics to quantum mechanics,with some extension in the field of economics and finance.Experimental validation of the formula was performed via the analysis of vibration data covering a number of case studies,which differed in terms of both operation and rock type.A total of 12 experimental cases were analysed and the proposed formulation exhibited a good performance in 11 of them.In particular,the proposed law,which was built using blast test data,produced very good approximations of the points representing the vibration measurements and would thus be useful in organising production blasts.However,the developed formula was found to work less well when a correlation obtained for a given site was applied to another presenting similar types of rocks and operations,and thus should not be employed in the absence of measurements from test data.

Removal of Lead,Copper,Zinc and Cadmium from Water Using Phosphate Rock

Removal of Pb^2＋, Cu^2＋, Zn^2＋ and Cd^2＋ from aqueous solutions by sorption on a natural phosphate rock （FAP） was investigated. The effects of the contact time and initial metal concentration were examined in the batch method. The percentage sorption of heavy metals from solution ranges generally between 50% and 99%. The amount of sorbed metal ions follows the order Cu〉Pb〉Cd〉Zn. Heavy metal immobilization was attributed to both surface complexation of metal ions on the surface of FAP grains and partial dissolution and precipitation of a heavy metal-containing phosphate. The very low desorption ratio of heavy metals further supports the effectiveness of FAP as an alternative and low-cost material to remove toxic Pb^2＋, Cu^2＋, Zn^2＋ and Cd^2＋ from polluted waters.

Lower Continental Crusts Involved in the Alpine Orogeny:New Insight from the Santa Lucia Nappe Metasediments(Corsica,France)

In the Alpine Corsica(France),the Santa Lucia Nappe represents a peculiar unit preserving the unique relicts of Paleozoic lower to medium continental crust.It consists of composite basement affected by Permian granulite facies metamorphic conditions unconformably covered by a Late Cretaceous clastic sequence(Tomboni Conglomerate and Tralonca Flysch)affected by polyphase deformation and low-grade-metamorphism.In this work,we present a new reconstruction of the deformation events registered by the Tralonca Flysch during the Alpine orogeny.The D1 phase was testified by rare isoclinal folds.The D2 phase produced a continuous foliation and a map-scale sheath-fold with a top-to-W sense of shear.The D3 phase produced E-verging non-cylindrical folds and S3 crenulation cleavage that is not associated to metamorphic blastesis.We present the first temperature-pressure-deformation(P-T-d)path for the Tralonca Flysch,demonstrating that the Santa Lucia Nappe underwent accretion and then first stage exhumation in the Alpine wedge during the D1 phase with pressure and temperature peaks both occurred under blueschist metamorphic conditions.The D2 phase occurred at lower pressure-temperature conditions during a second stage exhumation.This pressure-temperaturedeformation path is comparable with those of the Lower Units(i.e.,the subducted continental units of Alpine Corsica)suggesting a common geodynamic history.