Taking into account the fragmentation of the rock by explosives as the ultimate objective in mines and quarries, vibrations are definitely one of the main drawbacks facing the industry. If we can accurately predict the level of vibrations and frequencies, taking into account the complete set of the parameters involved, this will bring an important benefit for each of us, in our daily effort to optimize the production process.
The model presented in this document responds to this need thanks to a “holistic” approach to the vibration mechanism. By holistic, we mean that we approach the effect of vibration (wave propagation) as a whole, by understanding all the mechanisms that contribute to the process and understanding how they are connected.
The vibration effect is a complex mechanism, to the point that it is almost impossible to predict its overall behavior by understanding or predicting the mechanism of each elementary process involved. We can say that the value of the sum of each component is different from the sum of the value of each component.
The model is mainly based on physical equations that describe each elementary mechanism, called the “gene,” involved in the vibration effect. The model is linking genes, based on common parameter criteria. This provides a “holistic” and realistic rock fracture model, and, consequently, of the fragmentation distribution size, taking into account all the key parameters involved, such as geology, explosive characteristics, drilling pattern and timing sequence. Through the use of physics.
Mechanisms such as thermodynamics, rock mechanics, damage principles, ballistics, the modeled vibration effect is able to directly reflect the influence of changes in the value of the input parameters.