Delay blasting involves detonating explosives in a controlled sequence using delays between holes and rows. Using the proper delays provides benefits like finer fragmentation, less ground vibration, and better control of displacement. The optimal inter-hole delay is usually less than 10ms per meter of spacing, while inter-row delay is typically more than 8ms per meter of effective burden. Both surface delays and in-hole delays should be used to achieve a sufficient burning front ratio for safety.
Delay blasting involves detonating explosives in a controlled sequence using delays between holes and rows. Using the proper delays provides benefits like finer fragmentation, less ground vibration, and better control of displacement. The optimal inter-hole delay is usually less than 10ms per meter of spacing, while inter-row delay is typically more than 8ms per meter of effective burden. Both surface delays and in-hole delays should be used to achieve a sufficient burning front ratio for safety.
Delay blasting involves detonating explosives in a controlled sequence using delays between holes and rows. Using the proper delays provides benefits like finer fragmentation, less ground vibration, and better control of displacement. The optimal inter-hole delay is usually less than 10ms per meter of spacing, while inter-row delay is typically more than 8ms per meter of effective burden. Both surface delays and in-hole delays should be used to achieve a sufficient burning front ratio for safety.
Delay blasting involves detonating explosives in a controlled sequence using delays between holes and rows. Using the proper delays provides benefits like finer fragmentation, less ground vibration, and better control of displacement. The optimal inter-hole delay is usually less than 10ms per meter of spacing, while inter-row delay is typically more than 8ms per meter of effective burden. Both surface delays and in-hole delays should be used to achieve a sufficient burning front ratio for safety.
Abbas Taheri The University of Adelaide Introduction When a single blasthole in rock is fired to an open free face, the sequence of events after initiation can be simplified into the notional stages of:
Detonation of the explosives charge,
Propagation of a “shock wave” through the rock, Expansion of pressurised gases, and Displacement of the rock mass. Instantaneous Firing A single row of identical blastholes detonated simultaneously would produce quite different results compared to firing a single blasthole in the same rock mass: Engineering Challenge!!!
Group Discussion
Q: What problems may be causes by
instantaneous Firing? Instantaneous Firing - Problems 1) Coarser fragmentation is produced, as cracks from adjacent blastholes tend to join together and produce an elongated “slab” of rock.
2) More forward displacement (i.e. “throw”) occurs, as
explosion gases can enter the inter-connecting cracks and adjacent blastholes push the burden forward together.
3) More damage and “overbreak” occur in rock behind the blast,
as the burden tends to move forward as a single mass, producing a sudden large reaction on the rock behind it.
4) Higher ground and air vibrations are produced, as a larger
amount of explosives is releasing energy and causing rock movement in a short period of time. Instantaneous Firing - Problems 5) The results of such an instantaneous multi-row blast would almost always be quite unacceptable (i.e. fragmentation and forward displacement would usually be poor, and overbreak, ground vibrations and airblast would be too high).
6) The muckpile resulting from an instantaneous multi-row blast
would be very “tight” and become progressively more difficult to dig towards the perimeter (i.e. sides and back, where the rock mass may be virtually intact near the toe). Delay Firing Blastholes drilled in a single row parallel to a free face and detonated individually, with a relatively long time delay between successive detonations, would generally produce a quite different result compared to firing the same group instantaneously Engineering Challenge!!!
Group Discussion
Q: What benefits and issues you see in
Delay Firing? Delay Firing – Notes: 1) Fragmentation would generally be finer than an instantaneous single row hole blast, as cracks between blastholes would not tend to link up preferentially.
2) Blastholes that fire first may damage or dislocate adjacent
charges, or disrupt the rock mass surrounding them. This could cause overall fragmentation to be much coarser than the single hole blast, because there is negative interaction between charges.
3) There will be less forward displacement than the single hole or
instantaneous single row blasts, as the rock broken by the first charge to fire will become a “buffer” which restrains movement of the burden in front of other blastholes (i.e. after it comes to rest). Delay Firing – Notes: 4) Charges that fire first will create cracks that may allow explosion gases from other blastholes to easily escape, wasting energy and possibly causing flyrock and airblast.
5) There is likely to be less damage and overbreak than the
instantaneous single row blast, but more than the single hole blast because forward displacement is restrained by the broken rock buffer.
6) Firing blastholes independently will usually cause lower ground
and air vibrations than an instantaneous blast, because energy release and ground movement are spread over a longer period of time. Direction of Movement and Angle of Initiation
This concept has come to the fore with the introduction of
nonelectric surface delays into blasting. The angle of initiation is the angle at which the initiation front passes through the blast. It can be likened to a detonating cord tie. Direction of Movement and Angle of Initiation The direction of movement of broken rock can be controlled by manipulating delay timing to modify the shape and position of notional free faces created during the blast.
The ratio of inter-row
delay to inter-hole delay influences the direction and extent of displacement of each blasthole’s burden (i.e. because it affects the geometry of these new free faces). Row-by-Row Delay
A multi-row blast could be fired to a free face in a “row-by-row”
sequence, by introducing a time delay between detonations of each successive row of blastholes. If this time delay is adequate, overall blast performance may be much better than firing all of the blastholes instantaneously, because progressive “relief of burden” is provided for successive rows.
“Hole-by-hole” initiation is usually achieved by using a surface delay system to control blasthole sequencing in combination with a constant in-hole delay. Engineering Challenge!!!
Group Discussion
Q: Why we should use both surface-
delay and in-hole delay? Burning Front In the first millisecond after an explosive column fires, major disruption and dislocation occurs in the immediate vicinity of the hole. This is a direct consequence of the fragmentation mechanism.
Planes of weakness can
cause dislocations to extend over significant distances and collar cratering can cause flyrock to shower the blast area. Burning Front The principles applied to blast design to minimize down-line cut-offs caused by ground movement is known as the burning front.
Burning front is generally measured as the number of rows between
holes firing and un-initiated components and is represented as a ratio calculated by dividing the in-hole delay by the maximum surface delay.
Using a 200ms in-hole delay with a 42ms surface delay would
provide a 4:1 burning front i.e. protection of four rows (four burdens or spacings) between holes firing and uninitiated components as shown below. Burning Front Burning Front
When firing a series on non-electric delay or cord in the blasthole
and a detonating cord surface trunkline with no surface delays it can be said that the blast has a Total Burning Front, since all the surface system has detonated, and all in hole delay elements are burning before the first explosives fire.
This would appear to be the ideal situation since it eliminates
the risk of down-line cut-offs.
With current detonator technology a burning front of at least 4:1
is recommended. Selection of Delay for Blasting • Detonation Timing (Non-electric detonation surface initiation system)
Down hole delay
Inter hole delays Inter row delays Inter-hole Delay The time interval between detonations of adjacent blast-holes within a row is commonly referred to as the “inter-hole” delay (sometimes called the “intra-row” delay).
Firing a single row of blast-holes with the “ideal” inter-hole delay
would produce:
The finest overall fragmentation that can be achieved in the specific
situation, Less forward displacement than an instantaneous single row blast, Over-break and damage similar to a single hole blast, and Ground and air vibrations similar to a single hole blast. Inter-hole Delay Results from numerous experimental and production blasts indicate that the appropriate inter-hole delay for typical free face bench blasting is usually less than 10 ms per metre of blasthole spacing (as measured a long a row or echelon).
The ideal delay for each
situation is always influenced by rock properties, but 3 ms to 8 ms per metre of spacing is usually recommended for initial “trial” blasts. Important Notes: 1. Shorter inter-hole delays are usually appropriate for rock that is brittle, has a relatively low density, and is “blocky” (i.e. contains closely spaced structural discontinuities).
2. Dense, massive, porous, or “plastic” rock would generally
require more time between detonation of adjacent blastholes.
3. Long delays tend to make each blasthole work more
independently, reducing any positive interaction and possibly causing charges to be damaged by ground movement. Inter-row Delay The time interval between initiation of successive “dependent” blastholes or effective rows of blastholes is commonly referred to as the “inter-row” delay. This always has a major influence on the performance and results of any multi-row production blast.
Firing multi-row blasts with the “ideal” inter-hole and inter-row
delays would produce:
The best possible overall fragmentation,
Controlled displacement and muckpile shape, Minimum damage and overbreak of the surrounding rock, and Minimum ground and air vibrations. Important Notes: 1) The correct inter-row delay ensures that each blasthole has an effective free face to break towards, because preceding blastholes have broken and displaced their burdens before the next (i.e. “Dependent”) blasthole fires. Important Notes: 2) Fragmentation is often influenced more by inter-hole delay than inter-row delay. Overall fragmentation can be affected by the inter-row delay, especially near the toes of blastholes in the body of the blast. The maximum fragment size can often be significantly changed, but the amount of “fines” is usually relatively unaffected. Inter-row Delay Results from a wide range of conditions indicate that the appropriate inter-row delay for typical free face bench blasting is usually more than 8 ms per metre of effective burden.
The ideal figure for each
situation depends on local rock properties, blast geometry and the specific results required, but 15 ms to 20 ms per metre of effective burden is usually recommended for initial “trial” blasts. Important Notes: 1) For brittle, elastic, “blocky” rock with a relatively low density, a relatively short inter-row delay is usually suitable.
2) A porous, plastic, dense, homogeneous rock mass would require
usually more time to ensure adequate burden movement.
3) Long inter-row delays encourage maximum forward
displacement and muckpile looseness, with less damage to the surrounding rock. 200 Down hole delay 15 Inter hole delay 50 Inter row delay
15 15 15 15 200 200 200 200 200 350 365 380 395 410 Blasting without a free face • Each successive row of a blast provides progressively less and less relief to the next row.
• The result is that the effect of a free face becomes less
significant after the first few rows and is not significant after 8 to 10 blast rows. Example of a centre lift blast design The Figure shows a design for a centre lift blast that utilises angled blastholes to increase the vertical component of the material displacement. The centre line of holes is fired first, and because the surface is the only free face the material broken by these centre holes lifts upward. A centre lift blast design
This generates relief for the side holes to move towards the centre, creating relief for the row of holes outside them. • Centre lift blast design in theory and in practice
