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SCHECK, D.E., CHATI'ERJEE, P.K. and WEI SUN, M.S. Surface mille blast design and consultant system.
APCOM 87. Proc«dings of the Twen tieth In tcrn"liona l Symposium on the Application of Computers and
Malhematies in the Mineral Industries. Vo lume J: Mining. Johannesburg, SAIMM, 1987. pp . 181- 188.
Surface Mine Blast Design and Consultant System
D.E. SCHECK, P.K. CHATIERJEE and M.S. WEI SUN
Department of industrial Systems an d Design Engineering, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA
A computer-aided blast design collsultanL system has been developed. The
software consists of two modules: one uses theoretical and empirical formulae
and pro cedures to design a blast based on user supplied geological Hnd mechan
ical data, while the other is an expert sys lem that analY7.es blast vibration pro
blems and recom mends remedial ac tion using k.no wledge based rules. The
system is currently undergoing field eva luation.
Introduction
The me thods of b la s t ing overburden
i n surface coa l mines vary with the
charac te r i s t ic s of the formation,
i t s depth, an d the type of mechani-
ca l equipment ava i l ab l e fo r i t s
s ubsequent removal. Since the s i ze
and depth of dr il l holes , d r i ll ing
pat te rn , grade and type of explo
s ives , and the load i ng and f i r ing
techniques wi l l have a s i gni f ican t
impact on the overa l l product ivi ty
of the min ing operat ion as well as
the adve rse effec ts on the sur round
ing env i ronment , the need ex i s t s for
a system to des ign b las t s in accor
dance with good pra c t i ce and to
identi fy solut ions to blas t ing prob
l ems .
Blas t design procedures have been
reduced to formulae and an a lgor i th -
~ i c process1 ,2 wh ich can be pro
grammed fo r a computer using conven
t ion a l procedural language, Since
the procedures are based on i deal -
ized condi t i ons, the re wi l l always
be some d is crepancy b etween design
expec ta t ions an d the observed
resul t s . When th i s discrepancy i s
s ign i f i can t , blas t problems may
become severe , fo r examp l e , vibra
t ion levels and a i rb l a s t l evels can
exceed ac ceptable l eve ls . I f th i s
s i tua t ion occurs , ad jus tments to the
bla s t design must be made . Relat ing
bl as t e f fec t s to spec i f ic des ign
parame te rs may be d i f f icult s ince
some resu lts such as excessive back
break or poor fragmentation can only
be desc r ibed subject ively_
In te rp re t ing these observed
res ul t s , iden t i fy i ng the cause and
suggest ing remedial act ions of ten
requi res th e advice of a n exper
ienced , professional blas t ing engi-
neer. 3 since such persons may no t
be readi ly avai lable or too expen -
sive
t he
a continual bas is ,o use on
poss i b i l i t y of captur ing the
reducing it to com
very ap pea l i ng. The
of recent l y developed
expert ise and
puter code i s
ava i l ab i l i ty
a r t i f i c i a l in t e l l igence (AI) s o f t
ware too l s has made such a task a
feas ible e n d e a v ~ r 4 / 5Numerous p rac t ic3 1 appl ica t ions of
AI techno l ogy have emerged
SU RFACE MINE BLAST DES IGN AND CONSULTANT SYSTEM ISI
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recen t ly . 6 Of th e th ree bas ic AI
categor ies (exper t systems, natura l -
language systems, and
sys tems fo r
touch) , exper t
ing p rac t i ce .
vi s ion ,
systems
Expert
percept ion
speech , and
are the lead
systems areprograms t h a t use humanl i k e reason
ing processes to solve problems in a
p a r t i cu l a r appl ica t ion area . These
programmed reasoning processes a re
const ruc ted from experie n t i a l human
knowledge or exper t i se which i s
encoded in a program s t ruc tu re
ca l led
encoded
a knowledge base. This
knowledge and
mechanism are reduced
reasoning
to a se t of
ru le s t h a t could be programmed in a
conventiona l high l eve l language,
but spec ia l purpose languages, such
as LISP or Prolog, make program
development a much eas i e r task .
This paper out l ines the use of a
higher l eve l language (Golden LISP)
to develop an exper t system fo r
su r fa ce mine b l a s t design.
Objective
The objec t ive of th i s inves t iga -
t ion was to develop an in te rac t ive
b l a s t des ign program t h a t guides the
user through the var ious b l a s t
des i gn s t eps and provides a n
' exper t '
r e s u l t s
system to evaluate the
of p o s t -b l a s t vibra t ion anda i rb l a s t observa t ions . The t h ree
major subgoals of t h i s pro jec t were:
1. To develop an i n t e rac t iv e compute r program to help the user
to design a b l a s t using empir i ca l formulae.
2. To obta in exper t knowledge to
bui ld a knowledge base fo r thediagnos is of b l a s t vibra t ion
problems .3. To cons t ruc t a consul ta t ive
exper t system which i s capableof using exper t knowladge to
discover def ic iences in a b l a s t
182
design and of fe r exper t advicebasedt ions .
The need
re la tes to
the b l a s t
Because the
on p o s t -b l a s t observa-
fo r the th i rd subgoal
the sub jec t ive nature of
evaluat ion process .
number of fac tors which
can cause poor blas t ing r e s u l t s i s
very la rge and each fac to r can have
many leve l s , a s imple procedure to
i d en t i fy the cause of a b l a s t prob-
lem i s not poss ib le . In addi t ion ,
symptoms of a poor b l a s t a re usual ly
described qual i t a t ive ly because of
the di f f i cu l ty of obta in ing quant i
t a t ive measures. Therefore , it i s
impract ica l to develop a t o t a l ly
mathematically based b l a s t evalua
t ion procedure.
s ince the diagnos is o f a blas t ing
problem r e l i e s heavi ly on personal
of annowledge and
exper t to reach a
experience
conclus ion, exper t
op inion i s probably th e only prac t i
ca l approach to solve such a mul t i
var iable problem. I f t h i s exper t i se
i s imbedded in an exper t system
program, the system could prompt the
user to descr ibe the b l a s t resu l t s
and the computer could reach conclu -
s ions based on the s tored informa-
t i o n . This process i s a consu l t a t ive
exper t sys tem, and the ru les form a
knowledge base.
System design
The system cons i s t s of tw o di s '
t i n c t modules as shown in Figure 1 .
One module i s an i n t e rac t iv e program
t h a t ass i s t s th e user in des igning a
blas t . Theore t ica l and empir ica l
formulae are the bas i s of the
des ign, and no knowledge based
exper t system i s required. The
other module i s a consu l tan t system
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SURFACE MINE BLAST DESIGN & CONSULTANT
SYSTEM
BLAST DESIGN EXPERT CONSULTANT FOR
r----- VIBRATION PROBLEMSBurden
Hole Diameter,
StemmingHole Depth
CHECK SEISMOGRAPHIC
READING
I ,PATTERN DESIGN BLAST DESIGN ANALYSIS
Layout, Spacing, Actual Values v.s.Time delay Theoretical Values
, , ,PRIMER & BOOSTER EXPERT DIAGNOSIS REDESIGN
Number, Location,Explosive
Initiation , Itemming
,PREDETERMINE
FRAGMENT SIZE
SpacingKNOW-
Stiffness RatioLEDGE
ExplosiveBurden
BASE
__
[SAVE D E S I G ~ FILEJ ,EXPERT DIAGNOSIS ADVICE
FIGURE I. SUrracc mine blast des ign and consultant system
to diag nos e apparent blas t ing prob
lems based on post - bla s t observa -
empir ical s tud i es which are well
documented in the l i t e ra tu re . A
t ions. The tw o module s can be used
independen t l y or sequent ially . I f
the blas t was designed outs ide the
program, the consu l tan t module wil l
ask th e use r t o en te r th e design
parameters and r e l a t ed da ta . Th e
system f i r s t checks to see wh e the r
the design fol lows good prac t i ce
before a t t emp t in g to resolve any
apparent prob l ems.
The b l a s t des ig n module uses gen
era l ly accepted ru l es t h a t have been
develop ed from t h eo re t i ca l and
t yp ica l menu from these modules i s
given in Figure 2 . After so l ic i t ing
t he requ i red informat ion f r om the
user, the system generates a r ecom
mended design such as the parameters
shown in Figure J . I nteract ive
graphics help the user in t erpre t th e
des ign.
The consul ta t ive modul e i s a t rue
ru l e-based exper t system and i s
d i f fe ren t f r om the design modul e .
Th e post-b l a s t analys i s system i s
l imi ted t o v ib ra t ion e f f ec t s . The
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184
PROGRAM MENU
1.BLAST DESIGN
2. PATTERN DESIGN
3. PRIMER AND BOOSTER SELECTION
4. PREDETERMINE FRAGMENT SIZE
5. SAVE THE DESIGN RESULTS
6. BLASTING PROBLEM CONSULTATION
7. ABORT THE SESSION
(PLEASE INPUT THE NUMBER OF DESIRED FUNCTION)
YOUR INPUT
FIGURE 2. A typical design menu
BLAST DESIGN PARAMETERS
ROCK TYPE: SHALE
EXPLOSIVE TO BE USED: POURED ANFO
BENCH HEIGHT: 120 (FT)
1. STIFFNESS RATIO = 4
2. BURDEN = 32 (FT)
3. CHARGE DIAMETER = 15 (INCHES)
4. STEMMING LENGTH = 22 (FT)NOTE: SMALLER STEMMING LENGTH COULD BE USED.
AVERAGE SIZE OF STEMMING MATERIAL = 0.75(INCHES)
5. BLASTHOLE DEPTH = 120 (FT)
6. SUBDRILL = 0 (FT)
IF NOT SATISFIED, ENTER <R> TO REDESIGN OTHERWISE,ENTER <M> TO RETURN TO THE MAIN MENU.
FIGURE 3. Recommended design parameters
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THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE PROGRAM. YOU WILL BE ASKED TO
ANSWER QUESTIONS TO RESOLVE YOUR BLAST PROBLEM.
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE OF VIBRATION?1. SEISMOGRAPH READING.
2. HUMAN COMPLAINTS.
»2
IS A SEISMOGRAPH READING AVAILABLE?
1. READING IS AVAILABLE.
2. READING IS NOT AVAILABLE.
»1
IS THE READING OK?
1. READING IS OK.
2. READING IS NOT OK.
»2
FIGURE 4. Vibration problem ques[ionaire
system f i r s t asks a se t of quest ion s
as shown in Figure 4, to iden t i f y
tha t a v i brat ion problem ac tua l ly
exis t s . I f t he data are not conclu-
s ive , the system recommends t hat the
user observe another blas t to ensure
t ha t val id seismograph readings are
obtained .
I f the da ta i nd i c a te t ha t a p r ob
lem does indeed ex i s t , the system
will ask fo r the design parameters
and then generate a recommended
des ign using the b las t design
mod u le . The actua l versus des igned
values are l i s t ed and s ign i f i can t
disc repanc ie s highl igh ted . Th e user
~ h e n has the option to modify the
design to meet the suggested values
and t ry another bla s t or proceed to
the diagnostic par t of the module.
A port ion of the vibrat ion problem
ver i f i ca t i on logic flow char t is
gi ve n in Figu 're 5, several steps in
the diagnosis
Figure 6 .
proces s are shown in
Typical suggestions
app ear on the
in Figure 7. A
screen such as given
hard copy of the
recommendations i s a lso provided.
Discussion
The b las t design and consul tant
system is programmed in Golden LIS P
for th e IBM PC/AT a nd compat i b l es .
s ix hundred an d forty
required to run the
co l or graphics monitor
communicate with t he
display the re su l ts .
Kbytes are
program and a
is used to
user and to
The current
version of the consul tan t module
incorporates only vibrat ion re l ated
ef fec t s but t he system i s designed
for expans ion. Work i s continuing
on a segment to ana1yze fragmenta-
t ion prob1ems. 7
At
not
the present time the
been f ie ld proven.
system has
A blas t ing
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186
VIBRATION PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS
What is the evidence of vibration?
r [ - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - [Human complaint Seismograph reading
1 I
Is a seismograph reading available? What s e i s ~ o g r a P h was used?
Ves _----'1'--_____ No I[
Is the reading ok?
1[
No_- ' j r . . ' - - -__ - '
Is there evidence of damage?
[
No[Do nothing
[
Ves[Is the damage severe?
Yes I No _ Do nothing
[
Analog
Tape
Vector sum
Bar graph
Trigger
Then: assume homogeneous rock and check for possibility of overlapping
waves.What is the distance between two holes? What Is the time delay?
If: the distance between two holes is less than the time delay between
the holes multiplied by the wave speed.
Then: the damage cannot be caused by the blast.
Otherwise: It is theoretically possible that overlapping waves caused
1he damage. Go to blast design analysis section.
FIGU RE 5. Vib ration logic chart
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The expert knowledge has the following decreasing
priority:
o ___ 1. Initiation t : : \2
\2..J 2. -Stemming \.V3. Spacing
f : \ ~ 4. Stiffness f'7\o /5. Explosive \..V
6. Burden
(0 ~If : tempeiaturechanges eitherbetween 0 deg.F.
or above 90 deg.f .and explosive has
been stored overa period of time
under high humiditycondition.Then: cycling ofexplosive mighthave occured.Check if explosiveare functioning
properly.
QExplosive property change
t
If: A ~ F O was used,and rust colorednitrous oxide was
observed in dry holes.Then: more fuel oil
should be added toANFO mixture.
If: for some reason,
the fuel oil portioncannot be increased,
(this abnormal eventmay be due to excessivebooster).Then: boostershould be used.
If: ANFO w ~ s usedand black coloredfumes were
observed.Then: less fuel
oil should be used,
If: fuel oil cannotbe reduced andboosters areused,Then: moreboosters should be
used.
If: ANFO was used and rust cola red fumes wereobserved, and holes may be wet. Go to part A andrefer to the wet hole subsection,
FIGURE 6. Steps in a diagnostic proCC$S
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expert provided informa t ion fo r the
knowledg e base and has subjec t ive ly
eva lua ted the system's recommend-
a t ions . The sys t em has been pro -
v i ded to a b l a s t i ng serv i ce for
t he i r use and eva luat ion .
References
1. KONYA, C. J . and WALTER, SR.,E . J . Rock blas t ing . U.S. Depa r t ment of Transpo r tat ion , 1985.
2. ATCH ISON, T.e . Fragmen ta t ionpr inc ip les . Surface Min ing.Ameri ca n Ins t i tu te of Mining,Me ta l lu rg i ca l , a nd Petroleum
Engineers , I nc . , 1968.
3. DUVALL , W. I . AND DEV I NE, J .F .Avoid i ng damage by a i r bla s t sand ground vibrat ions frombla s t ing . Sur f ace Mi ning .
RULE ID l ASSERTS:
American In s t i t u t e o f Mining,Me t a l l u rg i ca l , and Pe t roleum
Engineers , I nc. , 196B .
4 . BUCHANAN, B.G. and SHORTLIFFE,E .H . Rule - based Expert SYstems .
Addison-Wesley Pub l i shingCom-
pany, Inc . , 1984 .
5 . RAUCH-HINDIN, W.8. Ar t i f i c i a lIn te l l igence in BusinesS,sc ience , and Industry . New Y o r ~Pr en t ice -Ha l l . Inc • . 1985 .
6 . WINSTON, P.H. and BROWN, R .H .Ar t i f i c i a l In t e l l igence: An MlT.Perspect ive , vol . 1. Cam-bridge, Mass, The MIT PReSs ,1979.
7 . GOZON, J .S. BRITTON, R.R . andFODO, J.D . predeterminingav e r age fragment s i ze: a c a ~ estudy. Soc ie ty of Mining Engl. -nee rs , Denver, Coloardo, p re pr in t , 1986 .
(INPUT <WHY> TO CHECK THE INFERENCE, <ENTER> TO CONTINUE)
188
POWDER LOAD PER DELAY SHOULD BE REDUCED.
WHYBECAUSE:
PARTICLE VELOCITY READ IS LESS THAN TWICE THE PREDICTED VALUE.
RULE 102 ASSERTS :
(INPUT <WHY> TO CHECK THE INFERENCE, <ENTER> TO CONTINUE)
REDUCE THE POWDER LOAD PER DELAY TO THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT
WHICH IS EQUAL TO THE SQUARE OF THE SENSOR DISTANCE DIVIDEDBY 50.
RULE 106 ASSERTS:(INPUT <WHY> TO CHECK THE INFERENCE, <ENTER> TO CONTINUE)
TIME DELAY SHOULD BE USED IF APPLICABLE.
RULE IDB ASSERTS:
(INPUT <WHY> TO CHECK THE INFERENCE, <ENTER> TO CONTINUE)
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE PRIMER SHOULD BE GREATER THEN 1.2 AND
DETONATION VELOCITY GREATER THAN 15000 FEET PER SEC. PRIMER
DIAMETER SHOULD ALSO BE GREATER THAN THE CRITICAL DIAMETER OF
THE MAIN CHARGE.
FIGURE 7. ConS\lltant expert advice
MIN ING: EXPERT SYSTEMS IN MI.I""J1NG