A Review on the Prediction and Assessment of Powder Factor in Blast Fragmentation

Authors

  • George Agyei Department of Mining Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, GHANA.
  • M. O. Nkrumah Department of Mining Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, GHANA.

Keywords:

powder factor, intact rock properties, post-blast conditions and comminution theory, artificial neural networks

Abstract

Powder factor can be defined as the quantity of explosives (kg) required to break a unit volume or tonne (t) of rock. The prospect of excavating rocks by blasting is characterized by a specific consumption of explosives. In the past decades, researchers have come up with several precise approaches to predict powder factor or specific charge in blast operations other than through trial blast. Research in this area has focused on the relationship between rock mass properties, blasting material and blasting geometry to establish the powder factor. Also, the interaction between specific energy and particle size embodied in the theory of comminution that is less dependent on local conditions has been studied. In this paper, the various methods for powder factor estimation based on empirical and comminution theory modelling, as well as machine learning approaches in both surface bench blasting and underground tunnel operations, have been reviewed. The influence of intact rock properties on powder factor selection and the influence of powder factor selection on post-blast conditions have also been discussed. Finally, the common challenges that have been encountered in powder factor estimations have been pointed out in this regard.

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v40i2.13

Downloads

Published

2021-04-28

How to Cite

Agyei, G., & Nkrumah, M. O. (2021). A Review on the Prediction and Assessment of Powder Factor in Blast Fragmentation. Nigerian Journal of Technology, 40(2), 275–283. Retrieved from https://nijotech.com/index.php/nijotech/article/view/2406

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 2 (2021): NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 40 NO. 2, MARCH 2021

Section

Chemical, Industrial, Materials, Mechanical, Metallurgical, Petroleum & Production Engineering

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Nigerian Journal of Technology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The contents of the articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and not of NIJOTECH.

NIJOTECH allows open access for distribution of the published articles in any media so long as whole (not part) of articles are distributed.

A copyright and statement of originality documents will need to be filled out clearly and signed prior to publication of an accepted article. The Copyright form can be downloaded from http://nijotech.com/downloads/COPYRIGHT%20FORM.pdf while the Statement of Originality is in http://nijotech.com/downloads/Statement%20of%20Originality.pdf

 

For articles that were developed from funded research, a clear acknowledgement of such support should be mentioned in the article with relevant references. Authors are expected to provide complete information on the sponsorship and intellectual property rights of the article together with all exceptions.

 

It is forbidden to publish the same research report in more than one journal.