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By Clarence Zener, Howard Clarke, Cyril Stanley Smith

The importance of cold-working in the fabrication of metals is in marked contrast with our ignorance as to the nature of the accompanying internal changes. The failure of the usual methods of testing to provide a consistent picture of these internal changes has given the incentive for the present program of investigating the effect of cold-working upon the internal friction of metals measured at small strain amplitudes. It has previously been shown1,2,3, that the internal friction introduced by cold-work is removed by annealing at comparatively low temperatures. In the present paper the following additional factors are investigated: (I) frequency of measurement, (2) amount of cold-work, (3) temperature of measurement. Special care was taken to minimize the internal friction due to causes other than cold-work. The present paper is purely experimental, the authors believing that any conclusions drawn from this work as to the nature of the internal changes accompanying cold-work would be premature.'l PrEpaRations oF Specimens In this study of cold-work it was desirable to eliminate as far as possible all other sources of internal friction. One disturbing source is the lack of temperature equilibrium between adjacent crystallites of a vibrating specimen.4 Temperature equilibrium is aided by small grain size and by the use of low-frequency vibrations. Unless unduly long specimens are used, low frequencies can be obtained only in transverse vibrations. But in transverse vibrations a second source of internal friction is present, that arising from transverse thermal currents.5 The effect of these may be reduced by increasing the transverse dimensions. The grain size and transverse dimensions of the specimens were thus so chosen as to render the vibrations simultaneously nearly isothermal with respect to intercrystalline thermal currents, and nearly adiabatic with respect to transverse thermal currents. The material for this investigation was a 70-30 brass, part of the same lot of material that was used for some earlier studies on the effect of strain on proportional limit.10 It had the following composition: copper, 70.59 per cent; zinc, 29.39; lead, 0.01; iron, 0.01. This material was received from the brass mill in the form of 3/4-in. rod, cold-drawn to final size by a 65 per cent reduction of area from material that had been annealed to give a grain size of 0.060 mm, Rods of appropriate length were annealed for 2 hr. at 400°C. and cooled in air. The annealed rods (grain size, 0.012 mm.) were then stretched in a tension-testing machine, using special grips1' to ensure axial application of the load. The rate

Jan 1, 1942

By Howard Clarke, Cyril Stanley Smith, Clarence Zener

The importance of cold-working in the fabrication of metals is in marked contrast with our ignorance as to the nature of the accompanying internal changes. The failure of the usual methods of testing to provide a consistent picture of these internal changes has given the incentive for the present program of investigating the effect of cold-working upon the internal friction of metals measured at small strain amplitudes. It has previously been shown1,2,3, that the internal friction introduced by cold-work is removed by annealing at comparatively low temperatures. In the present paper the following additional factors are investigated: (I) frequency of measurement, (2) amount of cold-work, (3) temperature of measurement. Special care was taken to minimize the internal friction due to causes other than cold-work. The present paper is purely experimental, the authors believing that any conclusions drawn from this work as to the nature of the internal changes accompanying cold-work would be premature.'l PrEpaRations oF Specimens In this study of cold-work it was desirable to eliminate as far as possible all other sources of internal friction. One disturbing source is the lack of temperature equilibrium between adjacent crystallites of a vibrating specimen.4 Temperature equilibrium is aided by small grain size and by the use of low-frequency vibrations. Unless unduly long specimens are used, low frequencies can be obtained only in transverse vibrations. But in transverse vibrations a second source of internal friction is present, that arising from transverse thermal currents.5 The effect of these may be reduced by increasing the transverse dimensions. The grain size and transverse dimensions of the specimens were thus so chosen as to render the vibrations simultaneously nearly isothermal with respect to intercrystalline thermal currents, and nearly adiabatic with respect to transverse thermal currents. The material for this investigation was a 70-30 brass, part of the same lot of material that was used for some earlier studies on the effect of strain on proportional limit.10 It had the following composition: copper, 70.59 per cent; zinc, 29.39; lead, 0.01; iron, 0.01. This material was received from the brass mill in the form of 3/4-in. rod, cold-drawn to final size by a 65 per cent reduction of area from material that had been annealed to give a grain size of 0.060 mm, Rods of appropriate length were annealed for 2 hr. at 400°C. and cooled in air. The annealed rods (grain size, 0.012 mm.) were then stretched in a tension-testing machine, using special grips1' to ensure axial application of the load. The rate

Jan 1, 1942

By C. Y. Sun

In this paper, the development of research and practice on the separation process of fine complex Cu-S ore at a Copper Mine in south of China, was discussed. Since early 1980s, various processes were used, such as the process of bulk flotation-separation, the process of selection flotation and the process of iso-flotation. Especially when the process of selective flotation was put into operation, further development was achieved in beneficiation results, but the difficulty in separation of chalcopyrite from pyrite has not been solved yet, so causing a poor quality of Cu concentrate. The author has successfully developed a new separation process characterized by the use of collector thionocarbamate and fast flotation. The selectivity of fine chalcopyrite and pyrite was greatly improved. This process supplied a new route for the treatment of fine complex Copper sulphide ores.

Jan 1, 2014

By T. W. West

During the design and construction of a coal preparation facility, there are many items that can cause serious problems if not properly handled in the early stages of a project. These problems can be a detriment to smooth owner/ contractor relationships, the designing of a flow sheet, the selection of equipment, the design of the facility, the maintenance of schedule and budget, and a smooth start-up. It is the purpose of this presentation to identify some of these problems and to suggest steps that can be taken to reduce or eliminate their impact.

Jan 1, 1977

By L M. Zhang, T H. Xu, J Zhao

Blasting is one of the most commonly used strategies for excavation in civil and mining engineering. Yet blasting can also bring along such undesirable effects as ground vibrations and soil disturbance. Numerical analysis is a powerful tool for estimating the effects of blasting and improving blasting design. In this research, a constitutive model for sand is proposed for the numerical analysis of blast-induced ground motions and wave propagation in soil mass. In the model, three model surfaces, ie the critical surface, the dilatancy surface and the bounding surface, are defined following the bounding surface hypoplasticity framework. The strain rate is included explicitly into the model formulations so that the proposed model is valid under high strain rate loadings caused by blast-induced vibrations. The performance of the proposed model is validated by the simulation of drained triaxial compression tests conducted on a crushed coral sand under different strain rates.CITATION:Xu, T H, Zhang, L M and Zhao, J, 2014. A bounding surface model for sand subjected to blast-induced vibrations, in Proceedings AusRock 2014: Third Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference , pp 201–206 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 5, 2014

By Bengt H. Fellenius

The bearing capacity equation?"the triple N formula"? is now about 50 years old. It was developed from theory of plastic resistance of metal to a cone being pressed into the surface of the metal, superpositioned by resistance due to shear in an interparticulate medium (soil; note, we are not dealing with metallurgy), and tempered by work necessary to move the footing into the medium. The equation (and its coefficients) was "confirmed" by tests on small footings placed at or near the surface of the soil. The equation is a basic tenet of every geotechnical textbook, manual, and code. Over the years, innumerable variations of the N-coefficients and adjustments to the equation have been published. The main assumption behind the bearing capacity equation is that a shear plane develops between two essentially otherwise unaffected bodies: the main soil body and a body comprised of the footing with some soil. Moreover, the notion is that a model footing placed at or near the surface of a soil would behave proportionally or similarly to a full-scale footing, or to even a same size footing (pile toe) placed at some depth in the ground. This is not in agreement with factual observations. It is suggested that the behavior of a small or large diameter footing as well as a pile toe is governed by compression of the soil below the footing or pile toe and not by "bearing capacity".

Jan 1, 1999

By B. I. Whittington

This paper examines the effect of cation type (i.e. NH4+, Na+ and K+) and anion type (i.e. SO42- and C1-) on the extraction of nickel during the pressure acid leaching of a Western Australian laterite ore. The results are compared with testwork conducted with other Western Australian nickel laterite ores and the possible process implications of adding an additive to a plant autoclave are considered. Addition of either (NH4)2SO4, Na2SO4 or K2SO4 increased both the nickel extraction and the acid consumption, provided that the level of additive was not too great. For example, the nickel extraction of 93% increased to above 96% in the presence of additives, but decreased to 94% when, for example, NH4 levels increased from 7 kg/t ore to 21 kg/t ore. The relative stability of the jarosite species formed when additives were present influenced the amount of jarosite in the residue and, hence, both the final free acidity and overall nickel extraction. The use of Cl- versus SO42- salts as additives had little effect on overall nickel extraction or overall free acid values, although the presence of SO42- additives appeared to enhance nickel extraction kinetics over the first 60 minutes of the reaction. In contrast, manganese extraction was enhanced by the presence of Cl- additives.

Jan 1, 2004

"Twin Creeks is a gold mining complex that is part of Newmont’s Nevada operations. The mining complex is composed of two openpits, Mega and Vista, external ore sources and a set of existing stockpiles, all of which provide ore for an autoclave, an oxide mill and a heap leach. Mega pit provides sulfide ore for the autoclave, whereas Vista pit provides oxide ore for the oxide mill and the heap leach. Both pits operate the same mining equipment and their extraction sequence must, therefore, be optimized simultaneously. Stringent blending requirements are associated with the operation of the autoclave for the sulfide ore. Strategic blending optimization on a large scale has brought significant value to the operation by increasing synergies. This paper presents the implementation of a stochastic optimization framework for the long-term production planning at Twin Creeks that simultaneously optimizes mining, stockpiling, blending and processing decision variables. The uncertainty and variability associated with the different sources of material are incorporated in the optimization model by means of stochastic simulations. The stochastic solution generated shows substantial benefits by increasing forecasted recoverable gold, leading to increased cash flows, while reducing the risk of not achieving forecasts by increasing the probabilities of meeting production and blending targets.IntroductionMine operations consist of multiple components such as mineral deposits, stockpiles, external sources, mills and autoclaves. These components represent a mineral value chain, also known in the literature as a mining complex (Montiel and Dimitrakopoulos 2015; Goodfellow and Dimitrakopoulos 2016). The material extracted from the mines flows through the different components and is transformed into sellable products. This flow of material in a mineral value chain involves complex, nonlinear transformations that render the use of industry-standard optimizers difficult. Furthermore, the optimization of a mining complex can be formulated as a mixed-integer, nonlinear optimization program with millions of integer variables representing mining, blending, stockpiling and processing decisions, prohibiting the use of conventional nonlinear optimization approaches. Previous methods that consider the joint optimization of multiple components of the mineral value chain are available (Hoerger, Seymour and Hoffman, 1999; Chanda, 2005; Stone et al., 2005; Wooller, 2005; Whittle, 2007, 2010; Bodon et al., 2010). Although these methods add value by increasing the synergy between the different components of the mining complex, they rely on simplifying assumptions that constrain their efficacy, while ignoring a most critical aspect. The latter aspect includes the geological uncertainty and actual variability of the materials in the mineral deposits mined and are supplied to the related mineral value chain, similarly to conventional life-of-mine planning methods used for individual mines (Dimitrakopoulos, Farrelly and Godoy, 2002; Godoy and Dimitrakopoulos, 2011; Spleit and Dimitrakopoulos, 2017). Additional simplifying assumptions may include: the consideration of a limited number of components, the combination of different methods, the aggregation of variables, fixed production schedules the definition of policies prior to optimization, such as cutoff- grade definition or destination of mining blocks, the linearization of nonlinear transformation functions and/or the disregard for the uncertainty of several critical parameters (Whittle, 2007). The simultaneous optimization of multiple components of a mining complex was introduced by Newmont. Hoerger, Seymour and Hoffman (1999) implemented a mixed-integer programming formulation to optimize Newmont’s Nevada operations. The model is based on the work of Urbaez and Dagdelen (1999) and simultaneously optimizes the extraction of materials from multiple deposits and the delivery of ore to multiple plants, as well as as"

Dec 1, 2018

By Alfred James

John Stewart MacARthUr, born in 1856, was the son of Robert MacArthur of Glasgow, and came of Scots stock distinguished for character and religious conviction. His election as elder of the Free Kirk gave him greater pride than the receipt of the gold medal of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. The former honor was for character— it marked him as a son worthy to follow in his father's footsteps; the latter was awarded for his life work of eminent service to the gold industry. Cheery optimism, resolution, tenacity of purpose, and industry ever characterized his actions. Apprenticed to the Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Co., his work on the chemical staff brought him to the notice of the Cassel Gold Extracting CO.,. at that time struggling with an unworkable electrolytic process..He was engaged by that company, in 1886, as technical manager and before long brought out the perchloride process, which was speedily followed (in 1887) by the epoch-making cyanide process. This process revolutionized gold mining and directly led the way to the elevation of the mining engineer to the most broadly trained product of the engineering profession. A noteworthy feature of the cyanide process was its completeness when introduced. Over thirty years have elapsed and the use of the process has been worldwide, but no suggested improvement has stood the test of time. The extension of the process to the beneficiation of silver ores—containing far more metal per ton and thus requiring the employment of stronger solutions—has brought us the Merrill and Crowe improvements in precipitation and the Nipissing desulfurization process for certain silver-hearing minerals. Roasting apparatus, fine crushing, filtration, and settling equipment have all aided the extension of the process in and from its original field. As Hennen Jennings put it,, the cyanide process today is essentially that of 1890. This self-containedness of the cyanide process arose from no mere chance; it was directly due to MacArthur. It was he who personally investigated every known method of precipitation and then every form of zinc from sheet, punchings, filings, millings, rods and shaving down to fume; it was he who investigated the effect of protective alkalies, of so-called accelerators, and of the addition of lead salts; he was determined to leave nothing to chance.

Jan 1, 1921

By C. C. Harris Discussion by B. K. Loveday

B. K. Loveday (National Institute for Metallurgy, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa) - The paper and subsequent technical note' describing a method of determining the parameters of the three-parameter size-distribution equation developed in the paper were read with much interest. This equation was also used at National Institute for Metallurgy (NIM) to describe size distributions in grinding tests, because it was necessary to have a single equation to describe the size distribution at any time during a test. A graphical method also was used to determine the three parameters, and the use of this method as an alternative to Professor Harris's latest method is discussed here. The three-parameter model can be expressed as follows: Eq. 1 can be rearranged and transformed to Yield a linear reiationship between Y and X (transformed) log

Jan 1, 1970

This paper was developed as part of an effort by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to identify risk factors associated with bumps in the prevention of fatalities and accidents in highly stressed, bump-prone ground conditions. Changes of failure mechanism with increasing confinement, from extensional- to shear-dominated failure, are widely observed in the rupture of intact specimens at the laboratory scale and in rock masses. In the previous analysis conducted in 2018, both unconfined and triaxial compressive tests were conducted to investigate the strength characteristics of some specimens of a Utah coal, including the spalling limits, the ratio of apparent unconfined compressive strength (AUCS) to unconfined compressive strength (UCS), the damage characteristics, and the post-yield dilatancy. These mechanical characteristics were found to be strongly anisotropic as a function of the orientation of the cleats relative to the loading direction.

Jan 7, 2020

By R. M. Oliver

THE Falconbridge property is almost completely covered with over-burden to a depth varying from 60 to over 200 feet. This overburden consists of grave], sand, and boulder, with bands of very fine silt, and there is usually a layer of water-bearing quicksand adjoining the r:ock surface. In previous shafts sunk at Falconbridge, this water-bearing quicksand had given considerable trouble, and further difficulties were expected in sinking No. 5 shaft, due to its greater size. The method described in this paper is the one adopted in sinking this shaft, after the matter had been carefully considered. No. 5 shaft is located 2,400 feet east of the old main No. l shaft, and is sunk in norite in the hanging-wall of the ore-body, which is, however, ? practically vertical to the deepest known intersection. The greatest depths of overburden prevail on the south side, or footwall, of the ore-body, and this, together.. with the fact that the footwall is wet and more badly fractured, swayed the final decision to sink in the hanging-wall. After the shaft site had been chosen and cleared, a diamond drill was set up a few feet away and a hole bored to a depth of 405 feet to test the over-burden and character of the norite bedrock. The depth of overbudren indicated by the hole was Ill feet, with the last 10 feet water-bearing. The norite was rusted and broken up for only a few feet below bedrock. A steel sinking shield (Figure l) was assembled at the shaft location, and consisted of 5/8-inch plate, 5 feet deep, built around a frame of 6 inch by 6 inch angle-iron, and braced at the corners with the same material. Twelve-inch I-beams held the shield as rigid as possible. In order to reduce binding against pebbles to a minimum, the shield was constructed with a 1-inch batter on all sides.

Jan 1, 1938

By Robert Vergie

Like most of you, I would rather work on a job than talk about it. But it is fruitful to spend some time taking stock of important developments in the heavy construction field. One of the strongest recent movements affecting the industry has been the push for safety. I regret that it is a recent development. Not that builders were against safety. Too often though, it was easier to continue with dangerous old work methods than to try something new. Too often, it was easier for equipment manufacturers to build production tools with little consideration for worker safety. And too often, accidents and gruesome disasters occurred. The ultimate result of on-the-job injuries in construction and other industries was the Federal Government's Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Individual states were required either to accept OSHA or pass updated regulations at least as stringent as the Federal requirements. These new rules must be strictly obeyed -- not just because they carry civil and criminal sanctions -- but because they correct unsafe conditions and reduce hazardous acts. Though some OSHA measures have been criticized as superfluous, most of them do in fact save lives and limbs. Equally important, the tunneler who follows the new safety regulations can be fairly certain of an efficient, uninterrupted operation. Regulations do sometimes bring rewards.

Jan 1, 1974

By J. B. Cheatham, C. E. Murphey

Presently, computer control of Borobolic direction cannot be obtained during drilling, and most straight-holc drilling methods attempt to resist hole deviation rather than control direction. Many of the theories advanced as possible explanations of the cause of hole deviation are Summarized berein. A new correlation of physical partables is introduced to indicate bow factors such iis drill collar stiffness clearance and hit weight influence borehole deviation, .A methord is proposed for predicting the rate of change of hole angle when drilling conditions are changed. INTRODUCTION Control of borehole direction during drilling can be difficult and costly. Unintentional crooked holes are often lrilleti in dipping formations and many times directional drilling is required when the surface location is not directly above the target area —- for example, at offshore and mountainous locations. Prilllng progress can be greatly hindered in either air or liquid drilling when it be comes necessary to use low bit weight to prevent excessive hole angle build-up. If hole inclination becomes too great, drill pipe drag becomes excessive and fishing risks are increased, logging is more difficult and problems of differential sticking, key seating and fatigue failures may be encountered. Dog-legs and key seats are more serious problems than steep inclination angles: therefore, reducing rate of direction change is preferred to attempting to maintain absolutely vertical holes. Consequently, a straight inclineti hole is preferable to a nearly vertical crooked hole containing numerous dog-legs. In this paper, theories of the cause of hole deviation and analyses of drill string behavior under down-hole conclitions are summarized. Methods for computing hole deviation are presented und systems for resisting deviation as well as neans for provic!ing control of holt- direction are iliscusseI. A new correlation of physical variables is introduced tu indicate how factors such as drill collar stiffness, clearance and bit weight influence borehole deviation. A method is oroposeti for predicting the rate of change of hole anFrle when drilling conditions are clianged. IIEVIEU' OF PREVIOUS WORK ON HOIaE DEVIATION Significant progress in the theoretical analysis of hole deviation problems has been made in the past 1 5 years. The pioneering work has been primarily a result of the efforts of Lubinski and Woods.l-5 In 1950, Lubinski 1 considered the buckling of a drill string in a straig:rt vertical hole, a problem also considered by Willers6 in 1941. It wns concluded that very low bit weights must be used to prevent hole deviation resulting from drill collar buckling. The use of conventional stabilizers was proposed2 in 1951 by Mac Donald and Lubinski as a method for permitting greater Sit weights to he carried without drill collar buckling. These authors pointed out that a 2° nearly vertical spiral hole can cause severe key seatinp, and drill pine near, wilereas n 3 straight inclined hole with deviation all in one direction, while not vertical, will not result in serious drillirig or producing problems. Studies were continued with an investigation of straight inclined holes by Lubinski and Woods3 in 1953. In this paper they concluded that perfectlv vertical holes cannot be drilled even in isotropic forriations unless extremely low bit P-eights are used. .l'l~ey postulated that constant drilling conditions produce holes of constant inclination angle and varying conditions cause the hole to drill at a neiv equilibrium angle. This analysis was not concerned with drill string buckling since it was based on an equilibrium solution in which the ~irill string Was presumed to lie along the lower side of the hole abcrve the point of tangency. Weight of the drill collars below the point of tangency tends to force the hole toyard the vertical, whereas the weight on hit tends to force the hole aurav from the vertica l. The concept of an anisotropic formation Lvas introduced as an empirical method for explaining actual drilling data and as a means for extrapolating known deviation data to otiier conditions of hit

Jan 1, 1967

By Jaime Tumialán de la Cruz

El presente trabajo describe las pautas para la selección del equipo de la operación minera subterránea como guía de referencia a futuro. Para ello, se utiliza una metodología en la selección del equipo minero que comprende el análisis de las características del depósito, análisis de los requerimientos de producción y las condiciones de trabajo, selección del equipo más adecuado a la determinación del trabajo, análisis de las características de los equipos y el cálculo de los costos de operación por hora y costo unitario. Asimismo se describen otros factores que influyen en la selección de equipo como standarización, mantenimiento, servicios, resultados de performance, etc.

Oct 14, 1980

By William Reisz

Over the years as surface mining operations have become more sophisticated, angle drilling has become a more popular blast design technique, especially in areas where overburden and stripping ratios have increased. Another method of blast design is the staggered pattern, which greatly improves explosives distribution within the blast. While both methods present some engineering challenges, this paper will discuss how the two methods can be combined to enhance fragmentation, improve cast percentage, drill production ratios and highwall control. A practical engineering approach will be presented as well as a discussion on the discipline required to maintain a quality blasting plan.

Jan 1, 2002

By W. F. Drinkard

Many in the environmental movement have focused on this element. But, nothing they or anyone does will change the amount of arsenic in the world. This report is on actual commercial plants that we developed and operated to recover or stabilize arsenic values from metallurgical dusts from gold and copper pyro operations and arsenical gold bearing ores. When they were available gold and copper values were recovered. Our experience in arsenic extends over thirty years. My first corporation, Mineral Research & Development Corporation was the first in North America to manufacture the then new CCA (copper-chrome-arsenic) wood preservatives. This class of wood preservatives proved to be so effective that it made wood into an entirely new material of construction. It is not uncommon for wood properly treated with arsenical CCA preservatives to last for thirty; forty, and sixty years. Over a hundred years have been projected in some field tests. Hundreds of thousands of trees have been saved. Millions more trees would have been saved had environmentalists not decided that their arsenic phobia was more important than trees. There are several variations of CCA. The most popular is CCA-C. Its formula is: CrO3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.5% CuO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.5% As2O5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.0% Until recent restrictions were placed on the consumption of arsenical wood preservatives, annual consumption in North America was about 150,000,000 lbs./yr. About 64,500,000 of arsenic as the pentoxide was safely consumed this way. World CCA consumption has been about double the above figures or 300,000,000 lbs. as 100% CCA and 129,000,000 lbs/yr as As2O5. Close to 100% of all the arsenic used in wood preservatives is derived from gold or copper processing. The valence of arsenic required for CCA wood preservatives and many other markets is the same valence that is required for stabilization. The economic challenge is how to get there. We have built and operated eleven plants to oxidize arsenic trioxide to its pentavalent form. Most of these have been classic in that they used a common oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid to achieve this.

Jan 1, 2005

By Bradford P. Simser

Increasingly sophisticated rock mechanic tools are becoming more and more available for today?s ground control specialist. However many problems are still beyond our ability to explicitly calculate or measure. There is often a gap between the ?art? and the ?science? of rock mechanics. This paper focuses more on the ?art?, giving relatively simple examples of underground observations and micro-seismic records to help explain ground control issues. Ground support techniques such as in cycle shotcrete with high pressure water scaling, mesh and bolting, pumpable resin bolts/cablebolting, and yielding bolts with load spreading straps are discussed. The use of primary/secondary type blasthole sequences in moderate to high stress situations is also discussed with several examples of the micro-seismic response to the stoping. Relatively erratic geology with high material strength contrasts is currently being mined with blasthole methods at Nickel Rim South. Although the mine is still in its? ?early? days, over 1 million tonnes has been extracted and some empirical experience is highlighted with potential longer term issues also being discussed.

Oct 1, 2010

By Adrian J. Mathias

For many years excavations were made in rock exclusively by conventional blasting methods, and without concern for damage to the rock surfaces which remained after the excavation was completed. Recently, however, there is an increasing awareness for the importance of making rock excavations with as little damage as possible to the remaining rock surfaces; consequently, several revolutionary new precision blasting techniques have been developed during the past few years. These techniques, variously known as cushion, smooth- wall, perimeter, pre-shear, and pre-split blasting, basically involve the creation of a fracture plane in the rock between a series of blasted holes. The variations in each of these techniques are largely due to the differences in hole diameters, hole spacings, methods of charging, and sequence of blasting used to achieve certain specific results. The development of these precision blasting techniques was initiated by Canadian Industries Limited in 1953 at the time the Sir Adam Beck No. 2 Hydro-electric Project was under construction by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Since then, these techniques have been somewhat advanced, and they have been applied with varying degrees of success to a number of projects. These projects include railroad and high- way cuts, dam spillway channel excavations, canal excavations, tunnel driving, shaft sinking, and other underground applications.

Jan 1, 1965

By Francesco Chiappalone, Daniele Nebbia, Lance Waddell, Greg Colzani

As part of the 3RPORT Project, a 5-mile tunnel is being excavated underneath the three rivers of Fort Wayne using a 19-foot diameter Slurry Tunnel Boring Machine. The groundwater pressure at the tunnel axis ranges from 4.5 to 5.3 bar. The rock mass hydraulic conductivity is very high with water inflows up to 10,000gpm imposing significant challenges to the project. After excavating 1,550-feet of the TBM tunnel, major leaks between the tailskin and the segmental lining were observed, indicating the potential deterioration of the tailskin brushes and the need for inspection and eventual replacement. The first part of the paper describes the planning of the intervention, including the design of the polyurethane grouting campaign, the procedures developed for the execution and the controls established during construction to timely assess the presence of potential hazards. The second part of the paper focuses on the experience gained during execution and lesson learned to prevent future occurrences of this nature.

Jun 13, 2021