Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

Air quantity; Blast exclusion zone; Blasting; Explosives; Re-entry time; Ventilation

Abstract

"Blasting activities using standard industry explosives is an essential component of underground hard rock mining operations. Blasting operations result in the release of noxious gases, presenting both safety and productivity threats. Overestimation of post-blast re-entry time results in production losses, while underestimation leads to injuries and fatalities. Research shows that most underground mines simply standardize post-blast re-entry times based on experiences and observations. Few underground mines use theoretical methods for calculating post-blast re-entry time. These theoretical methods, however, are unable to account for the variations in the blasting conditions. Literature review shows that: (i) there is currently no means of estimating safe blast distance (i.e., blast exclusion zone); and (ii) there is a lack of a comprehensive relationship for calculating optimal post-blast re-entry time and optimal air quantity in underground mines. An important factor associated with blast fume dilution and clearance, the fan duct discharge location, needs to be studied in details. To achieve the above goals, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is used to simulate blast fume dispersion and clearance in the underground mine.

An experiment has been successfully conducted at the Missouri S&T Experimental Mine to acquire blast data to validate the proposed CFD model. Computational fluid dynamics simulation results compare favorably with blast data from Missouri S&T Experimental Mine with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.97. Based on the verified CFD model, various blasting and ventilation conditions were studied. A linear relationship has been developed and validated for estimating safe blast distances. Four equations have been generated and validated to conservatively calculate optimal air quantity and post-blast re-entry time based on commonly used blasting and ventilation conditions"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Aouad, Nassib

Committee Member(s)

Galecki, Greg
Johnson, Catherine E.
Alagha, Lana Z.
Homan, Kelly

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Mining Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2019

Pagination

xii, 190 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references (pages 176-189).

Rights

© 2019 Raymond Ninnang Tiile, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11555

Electronic OCLC #

1105154535

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