Developing a model for prediction of blast induced ground vibrations :

Abstract

The increased development within countries in terms of infrastructure has created a high demand for the production of materials such as stone aggregate and sand for the infrastructure construction. This is basically achieved by blasting which has been proven to be an economical and viable method for rock excavation, however, its associated with negative effects such as ground vibrations, air blast and fly rock thus endangering the surrounding environment. This research addresses a model which actually predicts the amount of ground vibrations produced during blasting. The case study area was Seyani international company limited. Seyani International Company Limited deals with extraction of granite for commercial purposes where by its processed to make slabs, stone dusts etc. it is located in Buntaba (Off – Gayaza Kayunga Road) 35km from Kampala capital city. The coordinates of the quarry are 00 39 36N, 34 09 18E (Longitude: 0.6600; latitude:34.1550). Through research, literature reviews, consultations around 142 datasets from 142 different previous blasting days were got and used in the development of the model. These datasets included parameters like bench height, hole diameter, burden length, spacing, sub-drill length, charge length, stemming length, powder factor, delay time and uni-axial compressive strength of the rock in question. The study also involved taking samples to the laboratory at Makerere university to test for rock strength and it was found to be 149.33Mpa The regression algorithm was used in training the model and the programming language used was python.