A Study on the Attenuation Patterns of Underground Blasting Vibration and Their Impact on Nearby Tunnels

Abstract

The natural caving method, as a new technique in underground mining, has been promoted and applied in several countries worldwide. The destruction of the bottom rock mass structure directly impacts the structural stability of underground engineering, resulting in damage and collapse of underground tunnels. Therefore, based on the principles of explosion theory and field monitoring data, a scaled three-dimensional numerical simulation model of underground blasting was constructed using LS-DYNA19.0 software to investigate the attenuation patterns of underground blasting vibrations and their impact on nearby tunnels. The results show that the relative error range between the simulated blasting vibration velocities based on the FEM-SPH (Finite Element Method–Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) algorithm and the measured values is between 7.75% and 9.85%, validating the feasibility of this method. Significant fluctuations in blasting vibration velocities occur when the blast center increases to within a range of 10–20 m. As the blast center distance exceeds 25 m, the vibration velocities are increasingly influenced by the surrounding stress. Additionally, greater stress results in higher blasting vibration velocities and stress wave intensities. Fitting the blasting vibration velocities of various measurement points using the Sadovsky formula yields fitting correlation coefficients ranging between 0.92 and 0.97, enabling the prediction of on-site blasting vibration velocities based on research findings. Changes in propagation paths lead to localized fluctuations in the numerical values of stress waves. These research findings are crucial for a deeper understanding of underground blasting vibration patterns and for enhancing blasting safety.

Keywords

• numerical modeling
• blast vibration
• FEM-SPH algorithm
• explosion center distance
• in situ stress