In recent times Jamaica has experienced an increase in infrastructure and mineral resource (bauxite) developments. As a result, quarrying activities have also increased to supply the needed construction material. Blasting has been the main technique for loosening insitu rock before transporting to construction site. Consequently there is a growing concern of the effects of blasting activities on the environment. These effects are normally nuisances to the neighbouring residence as they come in the form of: dust, toxic gases, noise, fly rocks and ground vibration. Of the set of nuisances the one that is of most concern is ground vibrations which can cause damage to structures. In most cases worldwide, after blasting activities there are the usual complaints about damage to residence, which is also a focus of the thesis. There have been researches on the subject of ground vibrations to help refute some of these complaints. The works of Lewis Oriard and Charles Dowding are the foundation on which standards and regulations are built as guides to assist blasters in the prevention of creating unnecessary nuisances. Most countries have developed their own regulations with respect to blasting and parameters are set according to the geological conditions. This is of importance as the rock structures determine the transmission of the peak particle velocity. However, most countries in the west adopt standards similar to ones put forward by the United States Bureau of Mines or The Office of Surface Mining. It is my opinion that a whole scale adoption should not take place, as the criteria used may not be suitable for other countries’ geological conditions. For this thesis the aim was to identify a vibration level that will not cause damage to structures close to a quarry. Based on the literature review it was revealed that there are a number of parameters that needed to be considered. These ranges: construction material, age of structures, distance from structures, geology of the location, type and quantities of explosives and the blast design. There was also the review of standards to building threshold with respect to the level of ground vibration. The case study with its main focus on vibration levels at structures in close proximity to the Bengal quarry revealed that a tolerable level can be determined which will not result in any form of damage to the structures. However, having established a PPV limit using the USBM and OSM standards that appears reasonable there is the need for criteria similar to those of the USBM and OSM using blasting and geological conditions in Jamaica. Due to the time constraints (20 wks) it is recommended that future research is carried out in this area especially in relation to assessing the performances of the structures. / <p>Validerat; 20101217 (root)</p>

In this thesis, ground vibrations induced by bench blasting from the Tun&ccedil / bilek Coal Mine, Panel BYH, were measured to find out the site-specific attenuation and to assess the structural damage risk. A statistical approach is applied to the collected data, and from the data analysis an attenuation relationship is established to be used in predicting the peak particle velocity as well as to calculate the maximum allowable charge per delay. The values of frequencies are also analyzed to investigate the damage potential to the structures of Tun&ccedil / bilek Township. A new approach to predict the peak particle velocity is also proposed in this research study. A neural network technique from the branch of the artificial intelligence is put forward as an alternative approach to the statistical technique. Findings of this study indicate, according to USBM (1980) criteria, that there is no damage risk to the structures in Tun&ccedil / bilek Township induced by bench blasting performed at Tun&ccedil / bilek coal mine, Panel BYH. Therefore, it is concluded that the damage claims put forward by the inhabitants of Tun&ccedil / bilek township had no scientific bases. It is also concluded that the empirical statistical technique is not the only acceptable approach that can be taken into account in predicting the peak particle velocity. An alternative and interesting neural network approach can also give a satisfactory accuracy in predicting peak particle velocity when compared to a set of additional recorded data of PPV.

A method for numerical simulation of train induced track vibration and wave propagation in subgrade has been proposed. The method uses a mass to simulate the bogie of a train and considers the effect of rail roughness. For this method, rail roughness is considered as a randomly generated signal and a filter is used to block the undesired components. The method predicts the particle velocity around the track and can be applied to many kinds of railroad trackbeds including traditional ballast trackbed and modern Hot mix asphalt (HMA) trackbed. Results from ballast and HMA trackbeds are compared and effects of HMA layer on damping track vibration and dissipating wave propagation are presented. To verify the credibility of the method, in-track measurements were also conducted. Site measurements included performing geophysical tests such as spectral analysis of surface wave test and seismic refraction test to determine the subsurface conditions at the test site. Ballast and HMA samples were tested in the laboratory by resonant column test to obtain the material properties. Particle velocities were measured and analyzed in the frequency domain. Results from in-track tests confirm the applicability of the numerical method. The findings and conclusions are summarized and future research topics are suggested.

La presente investigación se desarrolló en Compañía Minera Cerro de Pasco (CMCP) donde se busca aplicar el uso del Plasma como agente de fragmentación de macizo rocoso en sectores productivos de la mina cercanas a zonas de expansión urbanas. La finalidad del estudio consiste en comparar los valores de Velocidad Pico Partícula (VPP) entre el uso de Plasma Frag Be vs el ANFO a una distancia promedio igual en ambos casos. En tal sentido, se construye el modelo matemático Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) – linear, el cual permite estimar valores de VPP y a su vez modificar las variables de entrada como el burden, el espaciamiento, la longitud de taco, el factor de carga, la cantidad máxima de Plasma por disparo y la distancia entre el punto de fragmentación y la ubicación del sismógrafo. El modelo ICA-linear queda validado mediante la aplicación de 4 indicadores de rendimiento estadísticos los cuales son: el coeficiente de determinación, el error cuadrático medio, el error absoluto medio y el error porcentual absoluto medio cuyos resultados son 0.817, 5.001, 1.979 y 14% respectivamente. Los resultados de comparar los valores de VPP a una distancia promedio de 172 metros como se determinó según el estudio, en el caso del Plasma Frag Be los valores estimados son nulos, es decir no se registrarán valores a dicha distancia, mientras que en el caso del ANFO los registros muestran un valor promedio de 8.802 mm/s para la misma distancia mencionada, lo cual demuestra que los valores de VPP en el caso del uso del Plasma como fragmentador de macizo rocoso son considerablemente menores que cuando se utiliza ANFO. / The present research was developed at Compañía Minera Cerro de Pasco (CMCP) where the aim is to apply the use of Plasma as a rock fragmentation agent in productive sectors of the mine close to urban expansion areas. The purpose of the study is to compare the values of Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) between the use of Plasma Frag Be vs ANFO at an equal average distance in both cases. In this sense, the Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) - linear mathematical model is built, which allows estimating PPV values and in turn modifying the input variables such as the burden, spacing, stemming, power factor, maximum charge of Plasma per delay and the distance from the blast-point to the seismograph. The ICA-linear model is validated by applying 4 statistical performance indicators which are: the determination coefficient, the mean square error, the mean absolute error and the mean absolute percentage error whose results are 0.817, 5.001, 1.979 and 14% respectively. The results of comparing the PPV values at an average distance of 172 meters as determined by the study, in the case of Frag Be Plasma the estimated values are zero, that is, no values will be recorded at that distance, while in the case of ANFO the records show an average value of 8,802 mm/s for the same distance mentioned, which shows that the PPV values in the case of the use of Plasma as a rock mass fragmentation device are considerably lower than when ANFO is used. / Tesis