The relative effect of charge dimensions on elastic vibration attenuation and blast-induced seismic energy concepts

This dissertation focuses on expanding the blasting industry's current understanding of the effect of charge geometry on blast vibration attenuation. The work includes a multiple regression analysis of a sample population of signature hole blast vibration data. The regression analysis is used to identify the relative effect of the variables that affect blast vibrations at various distances from the charge. The study suggests that the most common vibration models used in the blasting industry do not use all of the statistically significant variables. Therefore, the models neglect to fully describe the relationship between the significant variables and the blast vibration. The results of the statistical study are used as a foundation for a new method of analyzing and presenting blast vibration data that does fully describe this relationship.;Currently, the blasting industry relies on variations of the scaled distance equation and the Z-Curve to predict or illustrate blast vibration characteristics. These methods focus on blast vibration amplitude and frequency, charge weight, and the distance from the charge. However, neither method solely accounts for all of these details. Additionally, both methods omit variables that have a statistically significant effect on blast vibration attenuation. This document shows that the current methods can be improved upon by developing a methodology that focuses on blast vibration energy. Energy, which can account for blast vibration amplitude, frequency, and duration, can be related to all of the statistically significant variables. Energy relationships also have an advantage over the traditional methods since energy is more easily understood by the general public.