Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock

Abstract The method of drilling and blasting with explosives is widely used in rock fragmentation applications in the mining industry for mine development and ore production. However, the use of explosives is associated with rigorous safety and environmental constraints as blasting creates toxic fum...

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Main Authors: Kelly-Meriam Habib, Isaac Vennes, Hani Mitri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2022-09-01
Series:International Journal of Coal Science & Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40789-022-00547-4
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author Kelly-Meriam Habib
Isaac Vennes
Hani Mitri
author_facet Kelly-Meriam Habib
Isaac Vennes
Hani Mitri
author_sort Kelly-Meriam Habib
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The method of drilling and blasting with explosives is widely used in rock fragmentation applications in the mining industry for mine development and ore production. However, the use of explosives is associated with rigorous safety and environmental constraints as blasting creates toxic fumes, ground vibrations, and dust. This study is focused on the use of Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents (SCDA) as a more environmentally friendly method for rock breakage and a potential replacement of explosives. In this paper, the results of a series of experimental tests are reported to identify the effect of SCDA on hard rock breakage under no load and under uniaxial loading conditions. Stanstead granite prismatic specimens of 152.4 mm (6ʺ) × 152.4–203.2 mm (6–8ʺ) × 406.4 mm (16ʺ) are used to test the influence of borehole size on the time to fracturing with SCDA borehole size of 25.4 mm (1ʺ), 31.75 mm (1.25ʺ) and 38.1 mm (1.5ʺ). It is shown that the fracturing time decreases with increasing borehole size. It is also shown that specimens subjected to uniaxial compression of 5 MPa fracture as early as 7 h after SCDA mixing. A borehole spacing to borehole diameter ratio of 12.8 to 14.6 is suggested for practical applications.
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spelling doaj.art-b276e1f982264b5cabd47e64b2bce3e92022-12-22T03:18:09ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of Coal Science & Technology2095-82932198-78232022-09-019111010.1007/s40789-022-00547-4Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rockKelly-Meriam Habib0Isaac Vennes1Hani Mitri2Department of Mining and Material Engineering, McGill UniversityDepartment of Mining and Material Engineering, McGill UniversityDepartment of Mining and Material Engineering, McGill UniversityAbstract The method of drilling and blasting with explosives is widely used in rock fragmentation applications in the mining industry for mine development and ore production. However, the use of explosives is associated with rigorous safety and environmental constraints as blasting creates toxic fumes, ground vibrations, and dust. This study is focused on the use of Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents (SCDA) as a more environmentally friendly method for rock breakage and a potential replacement of explosives. In this paper, the results of a series of experimental tests are reported to identify the effect of SCDA on hard rock breakage under no load and under uniaxial loading conditions. Stanstead granite prismatic specimens of 152.4 mm (6ʺ) × 152.4–203.2 mm (6–8ʺ) × 406.4 mm (16ʺ) are used to test the influence of borehole size on the time to fracturing with SCDA borehole size of 25.4 mm (1ʺ), 31.75 mm (1.25ʺ) and 38.1 mm (1.5ʺ). It is shown that the fracturing time decreases with increasing borehole size. It is also shown that specimens subjected to uniaxial compression of 5 MPa fracture as early as 7 h after SCDA mixing. A borehole spacing to borehole diameter ratio of 12.8 to 14.6 is suggested for practical applications.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40789-022-00547-4Explosive-freeHard rock fragmentationSoundless chemical demolition agentsUniaxial loading
spellingShingle Kelly-Meriam Habib
Isaac Vennes
Hani Mitri
Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
International Journal of Coal Science & Technology
Explosive-free
Hard rock fragmentation
Soundless chemical demolition agents
Uniaxial loading
title Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
title_full Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
title_fullStr Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
title_full_unstemmed Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
title_short Laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
title_sort laboratory investigation into the use of soundless chemical demolitions agents for the breakage of hard rock
topic Explosive-free
Hard rock fragmentation
Soundless chemical demolition agents
Uniaxial loading
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s40789-022-00547-4
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