Numerical modelling of destress blasting – A state-of-the-art review

Shuting Miao, State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Petr Konicek, Department of Geomechanics and Mining Research, Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Peng-Zhi Pan, State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, ChinaFollow
Hani Mitri, Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Author ORCID Identifier

Shuting Miao: 0000-0001-6033-8984

Petr Konicek: 0000-0003-2852-8619

Peng-Zhi Pan: 0000-0002-2833-4964

Hani Mitri: 0000-0002-6482-7424

Abstract

As a proactive mine safety measure against the occurrence of rockburst, destress blasting has been applied to numerous mining conditions to precondition highly stressed rock mass to mitigate the risk of rockburst occurrence in deep mines as well as in deep underground constructions. However, the application of destress blasting mostly depends on engineering experience, while its mechanism and efficiency have not been well understood. Rapid advances in computer technology have made numerical simulation an economical and effective method to study the rock blasting effect. Enormous research efforts have been made to numerically investigate the blasting fracture mechanism, optimize blasting design, and assess the efﬁciency of destress blasting. This review focuses on the state-of-the-art progress in numerical modelling associated with destress blasting over the last two decades. Some commonly used modelling approaches for destressing blasting are compared and reviewed. Currently, two different ways of modelling based on static and dynamic modes are typically used to study the effect of blasting. In the static method, destress blasting is simulated by modifying the rock mass’s stiffness and strength properties to obtain the post-blast stress state in the destressed zone. The dynamic modelling technique focuses on the dynamic fracture process of coals and rock masses, during which the predetermination of the damage induced by blasting is not necessary. Moreover, the extent of damage zones around the blast hole can be precisely estimated in the dynamic modelling method by considering time-varying blast pressure and strain rate dependency on the strength of rock mass but at the cost of increased computation and complexity. Besides, different destress blasting modelling methods, generally classified into continuum-based, discrete-based, and coupled methods, are compared and reviewed. The fracture mechanism of blasting in the rock mass is revealed, and the destressing efficiency of the existing destress blasting design is assessed and compared with classical results. The factors that may affect the efficiency of destress blasting are summarized. Finally, the difficulties and challenges associated with the numerical modelling of destress blasting are highlighted briefly.

Recommended Citation

Miao, Shuting; Konicek, Petr; Pan, Peng-Zhi; and Mitri, Hani (2022) "Numerical modelling of destress blasting – A state-of-the-art review," Journal of Sustainable Mining: Vol. 21 : Iss. 4 , Article 3.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.46873/2300-3960.1366