In mining engineering, blast-induced ground vibration has become one of the major concerns when production blasts are conducted, especially when the mining areas and the blast sites are near inhabited areas or infrastructure of interest. To comply with regulations, a vibration monitoring program should be developed for each mining operation. The vibration level, which is usually indicated by the peak particle velocity (PPV) of the vibration waveform, should fall below the maximum allowable values. Ideally, when blasting is near structures of interest (power towers, dams, houses, etc.), the vibration level (PPV) should be predicted prior to the actual production blasts. There are different techniques to predict the PPV, one in particular is the signature hole technique. This technique is based on signals and systems theory and uses a mathematical operation called convolution to assess the waveform of the production blast. This technique uses both the vibration waveform of an isolated hole and the timing function given by the timing used in the blast. The signature hole technique requires an isolated single-hole waveform to create a prediction. Sometimes this information is difficult to acquire, as it requires the synthesis of a single-hole vibration waveform from a production blast vibration signal. The topic of ground vibrations from mining blasts, and more specifically the synthesis of a single-hole vibration waveform, has been studied by researchers in past decades, but without any concrete success. This lack of success may be partially due to the complexity and difficulty of modelling and calculation. However, this inverse methodology can be very meaningful if successfully applied in blasting engineering. It provides a convenient and economical way to obtain the single-hole vibration waveform and make the prediction of a production blast waveform easier. This dissertation research involves the theories of deconvolution, linear superposition, and Fourier phases to recover single-hole vibration waveforms from a production waveform. Preliminary studies of deconvolution included spectral division deconvolution and Wiener filtering deconvolution. In addition to the adaptation of such methodologies to the blast vibrations problems, the effectiveness of the two deconvolution methods by the influence of delay interval and number of holes is also discussed. Additionally, a new statistical waveform synthesis method based on the theories of linear superposition, properties of Fourier phase, and group delays was developed. The validation of the proposed methodology was also conducted through several field blasting tests. Instead of synthesizing one normalized single-hole vibration waveform by deconvolution, the proposed statistical waveform synthesis methodology generates a different single-hole vibration waveform for each blast hole. This method is more effective and adaptable when synthesizing single-hole vibration waveforms. Recommendations for future work is also provided to improve the methodology and to study other inverse problems of blast vibrations.

As a part of the Dutch development program Geo-impulse, which aims to half the occurrence of geotechnical failures in civil engineering projects inside the Netherlands by 2015, this master thesis is investigating how to trace imperfections in bored piles at an early stage. The objective is to carry out literature study on suitable methods and then focus the research on one particular method. The basis of the research is the single-hole sonic logging method. Field and laboratory measurements are carried out with the aim to investigate the detection range of the method as well as try to apply more advanced post-processing techniques. Results from the measurements are discussed and also a comparison between single-hole sonic logging and the better standardized test cross-hole sonic logging is made. The results indicate that single-hole sonic logging has a small detection range inside a bored pile, especially compared to cross-hole sonic logging. Also more advanced post-processing techniques fails or make the test to advance to use on a daily basis. Finally the recommendation is to carry on research with other techniques which in scientific papers have showed some promising results.

Le sujet de ma thèse est l’étude de la diffraction par des trous sub-longueur percés dans des films métalliques, ainsi que la compréhension du rôle des plasmons de surface (SPs) dans la diffraction en champ lointain. Nous avons construit un goniomètre « fait maison » de haute qualité. Une série de trous unique percés dans un film opaque et variant continûment de k • r >> 1 à k • r << 1 ont été explorées. Ici, k est le vecteur d'onde de l'onde incidente et r est le rayon du trou. Les résultats expérimentaux indiquent que la diffraction de la lumière par un trou unique peut être séparée en quatre régimes, dépendant de la polarisation incidente. Une expression analytique simple révèle pour la première fois, l’implication de deux facteurs compétitifs: l'un lié aux plasmons de surface, et l'autre provenant du couplage du champ aux modes de guide d'onde de l'ouverture. Lorsque le trou est entouré par des corrugations concentriques (structure d'oeil de boeuf), et est illuminé avec les rainures sur le côté de sortie, l'effet de collimation est observé: la diffraction en champ lointain est confinée dans un très petit angle solide. L’influence des paramètres géométrique sur la figure de diffraction de l’œil de bœuf a été étudié et des motifs de diffraction dont la largeur est inférieure à 1 ° dans le champ lointain ont été atteints. Un autre mode de surface (CWs), différent des SPs, a été étudié sur des films de tungstène. Il a été démontré que les CWs permettent également d’obtenir un effet de collimation. À titre de comparaison, nous avons montré que la transmission exaltée est bien plus faible pour les CWs que pour les SPs sur nanostructures. / The theme of my thesis is to investigate the diffraction behavior of subwavelength holes in metal films, and to understand the surface plasmons’ (SPs) role in aperture far-field diffraction. We have built a home-made goniometer setup with high-level quality. A series of single hole continuously ranging from k•r>>1 to k•r<<1 in a flat opaque film were explored, where k is the wavevector of the incident wave and r is the radius of the hole. The experimental results indicated that the diffraction of single hole can be classified into four regimes, depending on the input polarization. A simple analytical expression reveals for the first time the subtle interplay of two competing factors: one related to surface plasmon excitation and the other originating in the coupling of the field to the waveguide mode of the aperture. When the hole is surrounded by concentric grooves (bull’s eye structure) and is illuminated with the grooves on the output side, the beaming effect occurs: far-field diffraction is confined in very small solid angle. The effects of geometrical parameters on bull’s eye diffraction have been studied and the diffraction patterns with the width less than 1° in the far field have been achieved. Another surface waves (CWs) different from SPs on tungsten films were studied. It was demonstrated that the CWs have beaming effect as well. By comparison we showed that CWs display much weaker enhancement in transmission than SPs through nanostructures.

The theme of my thesis is to investigate the diffraction behavior of subwavelength holes in metal films, and to understand the surface plasmons' (SPs) role in aperture far-field diffraction. We have built a home-made goniometer setup with high-level quality. A series of single hole continuously ranging from k*r>>1 to k*r<