Experimental multiblast craters and ejecta — seismo-acoustics, jet characteristics, craters, and ejecta deposits and implications for volcanic explosions

Blasting experiments were performed that investigate multiple explosions that occur in quick succession in the ground and their effects on host material and atmosphere. Such processes are known to occur during volcanic eruptions at various depths, lateral locations, and energies. The experiments follow a multi-instrument approach in order to observe phenomena in the atmosphere and in the ground, and measure the respective energy partitioning. The experiments show significant coupling of atmospheric (acoustic)- and ground (seismic) signal over a large range of (scaled)distances (30--330\m, 1--10\(\m\J^{-1/3}\)). The distribution of ejected material strongly depends on the sequence of how the explosions occur. The overall crater sizes are in the expected range of a maximum size for many explosions and a minimum for one explosion at a given lateral location. The experiments also show that peak atmospheric over-pressure decays exponentially with scaled depth at a rate of \bar{d}_0 = 6.47x10^{-4} mJ^{-1/3}; at a scaled explosion depth of \(4x10^{-3} mJ^{-1/3} ca. 1% of the blast energy is responsible for the formation of the atmospheric pressure pulse; at a more shallow scaled depth of 2.75x10^{-3 \mJ^{-1/3} this ratio lies at ca. 5.5–7.5%. A first order consideration of seismic energy estimates the sum of radiated airborne and seismic energy to be up to 20\% of blast energy.

Gas hazard of explosives used in the mining industry

Reducing emissions of hazardous pollutants that have a negative impact on the environment and human health has been approved as one of the strategic objectives of Russia's development. More than 90% of minerals in mined using blast energy. Despite an increase in the share of non-explosive component mixtures used in mining, blasting still poses a hazard to miners as the gaseous detonation products are potentially dangerous. The composition of blast gaseous products is extremely important in underground blasting because air exchange is difficult under these conditions and the blast products can contaminate the atmosphere of underground excavations, causing illness or poisoning of miners. Currently, there are no uniform requirements for obtaining information on the amount of gaseous blast products that would be hazardous to the human organism. Available documents do not contain information on the permissible amounts of toxic oxides per 1 kg of explosive detonated. The article compares the results of studying gas toxic hazard of industrial explosives obtained by different methods and based on different criteria.

Analyzing methods of determining pre-destruction of blast hole vicinity

The level of deformation of the rock massif of a blasted slab must be planned in advance, depending on the required results of blasting. Thus the energy costs of barren rock overfilling as part of preparing for overburden excavation are inefficient. On the contrary, an increase in the blast energy spent on degrading and breaking the ore mass is an efficient measure of preparing for the excavation of mineral wealth. There are currently two methods used to determine the pre-destruction of a blasted rock massif. The first one is based on determining the number of strain waves passing through locations of borehole charges. However, this method fails to determine the preliminary rock destruction level. The second method is based on determining coefficients of the pre-destruction of a rock massif by these strain waves. The merit of this method is that it allows evaluating the quality pattern of the pre-destruction of a rock massif. The procedure of considering the fraction of energy of the strain waves, reflected by the shielding rock mass to the destructive amount of blasting charges and refracted to this destroyed rock, is proposed.

Optimization of Underbody Blast Energy-Attenuating Seat Mechanisms Using Modified MADYMO Human Body Models

Though energy attenuating (EA) seats for air and spacecraft applications have existed for decades, they have not yet been fully characterized for their energy attenuation capability or resulting effect on occupant protection in vertical underbody blast. EA seats utilize stroking mechanisms to absorb energy and reduce the vertical forces imparted on the occupant's pelvis and lower spine. Using dynamic rigid-body modeling, a tool to determine optimal force and deflection limits was developed to reduce pelvis and lower spine injuries in underbody blast events using a generic seat model. MAthematical DYnamic MOdels (MADYMO) and modeFRONTIER software were leveraged for this study. This optimizing tool may be shared with EA seat manufacturers and applied to military seat development efforts for EA mechanisms for a given occupant and designated blast severity. To optimally tune the EA seat response, the MADYMO Human Body Model (HBM) was first updated to improve its fidelity in kinematic response data for high rate vertical accelerative loading relative to experimental data from laboratory simulated underbody blast tests using post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS). Subsequently, using available injury criteria for underbody blast, the optimization tool demonstrated the ability to identify successful EA mechanism configurations to reduce forces and accelerations in the pelvis and lower spine HBM to presumed non-injurious levels. This tool could be tailored by varying input pulses, force and deflection limits, and occupant size to evaluate EA mechanism designs.

Risk criteria classification and the evaluation of blasting operations in open pit mines by using the FDANP method

Purpose. Mineral projects are heavily influenced by risk factors. By providing evidence-based information and analysis to make informed decisions about how to choose between options, a risk assessment can be made. Methods. In this study, the relationships of 46 criteria and 10 dimensions affecting the risk of blasting operations were investigated in order to determine the significance, effectiveness, relative weight of the criteria and dimensions as well as to prioritize the risk criteria of blasting operations. For this purpose, the combination of the FDEMATEL method and FANP method are used as FDANP. Findings. The most important criterion is the lack of specialized knowledge (C1). The damage to manpower criterion (C46) will receive the greatest impact from other criteria. The criterion for implementing the explosion plan, without respecting the design principles (C12) has most interactions with other criteria and the failure to determine the amount of production capacity (low or high) criterion (C45) has the least interactions with other criteria. According to the FDANP method, the number of explosions in one stage (C14) is the first criterion of the blasting operations risk. Originality. By controlling this criterion, the effects and destructive consequences of blasting operations can be prevented. Controlling this criterion reduces the risk of blasting operations and also reduces the damage by C46 criterion. From comparison, human resources dimension (D1) is the most effective and natural hazards dimension (D10) has the greatest interactions with other dimensions and is most affected among the other dimensions. The production and extraction consideration dimension (D9) has the least interaction with other dimensions and is less important. Practical implications. By reducing the destructive effects of blasting operations, two favorable results will be achieved: the reduction of damage caused by undesirable consequences and the assignment of a greater share of blast energy to the desired outcomes.

Predicting the Deflection of Square Plates Subjected to Fully Confined Blast Loading

The main objective of this study is to conveniently and rapidly develop a new dimensionless number to characterize and predict the deflection of square plates subjected to fully confined blast loading. Firstly, based on the Kirchhoff–Love theory and dimension analysis, a set of dimensionless parameters was obtained from the governing equation representing the response of a thin plate subjected to impact load. A new dimensionless number with a definite physical meaning was then proposed based on dimensional analysis, in which the influence of bending, torsion moment and membrane forces on the dynamic response of the blast-loaded plate were considered along with the related parameters of the blast' energy, the yield strength of the material, the plate thickness and dimensions of the confined space. By analyzing the experimental data of plates subjected to confined blast loading, an approximately linear relationship between the midpoint deflection–thickness ratio of the target plate and the new dimensionless number was derived. On this basis, an empirical formula to predict the deflection of square plates subjected to fully confined blast loading was subsequently regressed, and its calculated results agree well with the experimental data. Furthermore, numerical simulations of square plates subjected to blast loading in a cuboid chamber with different lengths were performed. The numerical results were compared with the calculated data to verify the applicability of the present empirical formula in different scenarios of blast loading from explosions in a cuboid space. It is indicated that the new dimensionless number and corresponding empirical formula presented in this paper have good applicability and reliability for the deflection prediction of plates subjected to fully confined explosions in a cuboid chamber with different lengths, especially when the plates experience a large deflection–thickness ratio.

Surface Interactions of Transonic Shock Waves with Graphene-Like Nanoribbons

Graphene-like nanoribbons (GLNRs) were fabricated (length—20 μm; width—2 μm) and subjected to blast-like pulsed pressure >1.5 GPa (pulse speed ≈1 Mach, impulse duration, ≈µs) to examine the amount of absorption. GLNRs prepared by the chemical vapor deposition technique via controlled biomass combustion were subjected to investigate the structure–property characteristics using microspectroscopic techniques. Following this, GLNRs were employed to high strain rate (HSR) studies with the help of the technique known as split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) to evaluate numerous dynamic parameters. The parameters were extracted from variations in the stress and strain rates. Their analysis provided insight into the damping response of blast energy within GLNRs. By and large, the impact generated modified the microstructure, exhibiting modifications in the number of layers, conjugated loops, and dynamic disorder. Signal processing analysis carried out for incident and transmitted impulse pressure revealed an interaction mechanism of shock wave with GLNR. Details are presented.

Experimental Study on Shock Wave Propagation of the Explosion in a Pipe with Holes by High-Speed Schlieren Method

The shock wave propagation of the explosion in a pipe with holes was studied by a high-speed schlieren experimental system. In the experiments, schlieren images in the explosion were recorded by a high-speed camera from parallel and perpendicular orientations, respectively, and the pressure in the air was measured by an overpressure test system. In parallel orientation, it is observed that the steel pipe blocks the propagation of blast gases, but it allows the propagation of shock waves with a symmetrical shape. In perpendicular orientation, oblique shock wave fronts were observed, indicating the propagation of explosion detonation along the charge. Shock wave velocity in the hole direction is larger than that in the nonhole direction, indicating the function of holes in controlling blast energy, that is, leading blast energy to hole direction. Furthermore, the function of holes is verified by overpressure measurements in which peak overpressure in the hole direction is 0.87 KPa, 2.8 times larger than that in the nonhole direction. Finally, the variation of pressure around the explosion in a pipe with holes was analyzed by numerical simulation, qualitatively agreeing with high-speed schlieren experiments.

Study of Mild Steel Sandwich Structure Energy Absorption Performance Subjected to Localized Impulsive Loading

Extensive research focus had been given to sacrificial sandwich panels to mitigate the effects of blast loads. This is due to their ability to distribute the load and absorb a significant portion of the blast energy. This paper studies the behavior of sacrificial sandwich mild steel panels of axially oriented octagonal tapered tubular cores subjected to near-field impulsive blast. The deformation behavior and several assessment parameters consisting of the peak force, stroke efficiency, energy absorption and core efficiency were investigated using validated finite element analysis. The developed deformation modes were mainly influenced by the top plate and tube thickness. Tubes of a 5° taper performed unfavorably, exhibiting increased peak force and lower energy absorption. Panels of top plate thickness of 4 mm exhibited higher stroke efficiency as compared to panels of lower thickness. The top plate and tube thickness significantly affected energy absorption. An increase of 73.5% in core efficiency was observed in thick-plate panels as compared to thin-plate ones.