A Case Study of Dimensional Stone Blasting in Korea

Chang-Ha Ryu
Controlled Blasting Lab.
Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources
Daejon, Korea
Byung-Hee Choi
Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources
Daejon, Korea
Choon Sunwoo
Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources
Daejon, Korea

ABSTRACT
There are various methods available for the recovery of dimensional stone in open pit quarries.
Explosive blasting has more advantages in the economic point of view over the other methods but was
not widely used in Korea because owner was concerned about much economic loss when it failed.
Several years of efforts have been made in order to develop more effective cutting methods and to
spread to the quarries for strengthening the competitiveness in the market. Rock cutting by jet flame and
black powder was generally used in the early stage. Black powder was applied to cut the last horizontal
plane after forming other vertical planes using the jet flame. Jet flame operation, however, is time
consuming and produces excessive noise, and as the result, brings adverse effects on the operator as well
as the complaints from the residence adjacent to the quarry. Some mechanical methods such as the slot
drill, diamond wire saw or in-situ scale of diamond saw cutting were introduced. Most effective cutting
methods using the explosive blasting were developed and applied successfully. Black powder was
replaced with the detonating cord. A new air decking technique where plug was not used was developed.
This paper reviews the technology for dimensional stone cutting and case study in Korea.
.

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INTRODUCTION
The cutting methods consist in primary separation from the rock mass of a large block, in parallelpiped
form, which is subdivid ed afterwards to achieve sizes that are easily handled and within the ranges that
the transformation industries require. In order to form and extract a large block, vertical bench planes
were generally formed by jet flame and a horizontal plane was cut by blasting using black powder in the
early stage of stone quarries in Korea. Jet flame operation, however, is time consuming and produces
excessive noise, and as the result, brings adverse effects on the operator as well as the public hazards
causing residential complaints adjacent to the quarry. Some mechanical methods such as the slot drill,
diamond wire saw or in-situ scale of diamond saw cutting were introduced to replace the jet flame
cutting method. Most effective cutting methods using the explosive blasting were introduced and applied
successfully. The blasting techniques are a special type of presplitting or smooth wall blasting so as not
to damage the rock. Black powder was replaced with the detonating cord for more effective control. A
new air decking blasting technique was developed and tested in a granite quarry located in northern part
of South Korea [1].
TRADITIONAL CUTTING METHOD
The jet flame cutting technique had widely been used in the past and still used at some granite quarries
in Korea. In the traditional method, the vertical benching planes were formed using the flame torching
and the remaining horizontal plane was cut by drilling and blasting. Black powder of low detonation
velocity was used for the last horizontal plane of the cut as it generates a large volume of gases. It has
some major disadvantages. Firstly, the thermic method is incredibly noisy (see Table 1). All personnel
must be kept a very considerable distance from the work area. When there is a residential area near the
quarry, complaints associated with noise from jet flame work have often become a target of public
grievances. Secondly, the speed of cut is considerably slower than any other methods such as diamond
wire sawing or drilling and blasting methods. Another miscellaneous disadvantage is the loss of
resources. The cut width is about 10 cm and thermal damage is developed at both sides of the kerf due to
extremely high temperature of heat.
TWO-FACE SIMULTANEOUS BLASTING TECHNIQUES
Case Study 1: Two-Face Simultaneous Blasting Using Detonating Cord
Replacement of Jet Flame Cutting
The jet flame operation to form a vertical benching plane was replaced with diamond wire sawing. The
advantages of diamond wire sawing technique include:
- virtually 100% of blocks recovered can be used to produce building materials;
- minimal material wastage: the width of cut is limited to very small region, with no thermal damage at
either side of the kerf;
- very low labor costs: only one operator required and furthermore once sawing is in progress, there is no
need for constant supervision.
- high saw speed: compared with the jet flame technique, it is much faster and produces low noise in
operation(see Table 1).
Two-Face Blasting Using Detonating Cord

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After that the vertical two planes are cut by diamond wire sawing, a block is extracted by blasting the
remaining two - rear and bottom - faces simultaneously. Black powder used in the traditional method
was replaced with detonating cord. The charging holes are filled with water, which transfer pressure
effectively, and uniformly to the hole wall.
Calculation of charge
Through a statistical analysis of the parameters of a number of successful blasts, an empirical charging
formula was suggested, based on the powder factor concept as follows [2,3]:
C = a + b S/V + c s
(1)
3
where C is the powder factor (g/m ), S the cut surface area (m2 ), V the cut volume (m3 ), s the
displacement (m). The values for a, b and c in granite cutting were a = 10.52 g/m3, b = 26.47 g/m2, c =
28.74 g/m4, and displacement is 0.1 m.
If many parallel holes are exploded simultaneously, the fracture plane connecting the inter holes would
be produced by tensile stress developed in orthogonal to the plane. When tensile stress exceeds the
tensile strength of the rock, failure of the rock bridges occurs. The granite looks apparently
homogeneous, but does not. Table 2 shows the results of the Brazilian test. As shown in the table, the
values of the tensile strength of the specimen are found to be quite different depending on the loading
direction when testing the same rock. Loading direction 1 and 3 are orthogonal, and the widely
experienced person in a quarry can recognize it not by testing mechanically but just by touching the
surface of the rock. In this regard, the blast design for cutting should consider the tensile strength. The
empirical design formula improved by introducing the strength parameter is as follows.
C = 18.66 + St * (0.87 * S/V + 2.19 * s)
(2)
where St is a tensile strength in MPa.
Results and Discussion
Table 3 shows the summary of powder factor and the measured displacement of block for each test
blasting. The 'displacement' in the table denotes the average distance that the rock block actually moved
from its original location as a result of blasting. Table 4 shows the comparison of working time and
labor for two- face blasting and traditional 1 face blasting method. By applying the two- face blasting,
working time and labor are reduced by about 37% and 36%, respectively. Table 5 shows the comparison
of diamond wire sawing operation with jet flame. Working time and labor are reduced by about 22% and
21%, respectively.
Case 2: Two-Face Simultaneous Blasting Using New Air Decking Technique
Air decking is a charging method that has generally been used for the purposes of reducing the
detonation pressures in the fields of presplitting and controlled blasting [4]. A new air decking blasting
combines the known technique of air decking with the existing two- face simultaneous blasting method
to improve both the efficiencies and conveniences of the blasting. In the new method, two cartridges of
explosives are generally used for charging a blast hole such that one is placed in the bottom and the
other is put in some appropriate location of the upper part of the hole. Thus, a void, namely, an air deck
comes in between these two upper and lower cartridges. Since there are no restrictions on the number of
cartridges, the number of air decks can appropriately be determined according to the size and shape of
the rock block to be extracted. An ammonium nitrate explosive is generally preferred in this blasting
scheme because it has relatively low detonation velocity and high gas volume. All the charges in a round
should be initiated simultaneously by using instantaneous detonators or delay detonators with the same

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delay number. No plugs are needed.

Drilling and Charging
Figures 1 and 2 show the examples of drilling and charging pattern, respectively. The diameter of blast
hole is 38 mm and the spacing between two adjacent blast holes in a row is approximately 30 cm, except
that it is about 20 cm at both ends of the row. Two explosive cartridges, each of which weighs about 80
g, are used to charge a hole. One is located at the bottom of the hole and the other at some location
above it.
The procedures are as follows:
Step 1: Insert a detonator into each explosive cartridge, which is to be used as upper charges of vertical
holes in a round.
Step 2: Wrap each cartridge with a plastic bag.
Step 3: Connect two cartridge bags together using a thread of appropriate length such that one of the pair
could be inserted into one hole and the other an adjacent hole. The two cartridges are then suspended by
a thread connecting them. The length of the string should be determined by the stemming length and the
spacing.
Step 4: Stem the charged pair of holes by using sands or rock debris.
Step 5: Repeat the steps 3 and 4.
Test Blasts
Test blasts have been conducted in order to compare the efficiencies of the new air decking blasting
method (Test blasts II and III) and the two- face blasting using detonating cord (Test blast I). The two
side faces of the rock blocks were cut by diamond wire saw. Figures 3 and 4 show the drilling and
charging operations for the horizontal holes in the bottom of a block for test I, respectively.
Results And Discussion
Table 6 shows the results of test blasts. The displacements of the blocks in Test blasts I, II, and III were
found to be 23, 52, and 60 cm, respectively. Figure 5 shows the example views of displacement of the
separated block. The rear cutting faces of all the blocks appeared to be relatively smooth, and blast
induced cracks into rock were rarely found. But relatively small sizes of rock fragments were found in
the upper corner parts of blocks. These phenomena may be resulted from the tension failure in the
vicinities of the upper free surfaces of the blocks or the development of the potential cracks created from
the previous blasts. Such problems may be controlled by changing the powder factor or the length of
stemming in a given round.
The charge, c, for Test blast III was calculated suing the empirical equation to assess the efficiency of
the new air decking blasting method with ammonium nitrate explosive. As shown in the Table 6, the
displacement of a block d is 0.60m, the area sum of the cutting face A, 399.8 m2, and the volume of the
block V, 1,276.6 m3. Hence, if these values together with the constants c1, c2, and c3 for granite are
substituted into the equation (1), then the empirical powder factor for Test blast III, c, becomes 36.1
g/m3 from the equation.
The calculation shows that the actual powder factor used in the test blast, 25.5 g/m3, is less than the
empirical one, 36.1 g/m3. It means that the new two face simultaneous blasting techniq ue using air
decking may be very effective method for dimensional stone quarrying. A similar result was also
observed in Test blast II.

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CONCLUSION
In order to improve the dimensional stone cutting method, the two- face simultaneous blasting methods
were introduced. A new air decking technique was developed. The traditional jet flame cutting for
vertical benching planes was also replaced with diamond wire sawing. The methods were shown to be
very effective in reduction of noise, working time and labor. The two- face simultaneous blasting using a
new air decking technique was especially found to be promising method.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A part of this work was supported by the Ministry of the Science and Technology in Korea. The authors
also would like to thank all the workers in quarries for their help and interests during the test blasts.
REFERENCES
1. Ryu, C., S. Chung, S., C. Sunwoo, M. Kim, J. Synn, B. Choi, & D. Chun, 2002, Development of
Controlled Blasting Techniques for Structure Demolition, MOST rpt. 2000-N-NL-01-C-183 , KIGAM
KR-02-(T)-02, 241 pp.
2. Langefors, U. & B. Kihlstrm, 1978, The Modern Technique of Rock Blasting, John Wiley & Sons,
438 pp.
3. Manchini, R., Fornaro, M., Cardu, M., 1993, No-fragmentation Blasting: The Detonation Cord
Quarrying Method for Dimension Stoned, Rock fragmentation by blasting, Rossmanith(ed), Balkema,
pp.431 436.
4. Chironis, N.P., 1990, Air-Shock Idea Blasts Riprap, Rock products, pp.50-54.
Table 1. Noise level from jet flame and diamond wire sawing operation measured at granite quarry
distance from source (m)

jet flame operation

117.0
115.0
104.2
99.0
98.0
95.2
92.7

3
5
10
20
30
40
50

noise level (dB)

diamond wire sawing operation
91.9
90.4
87.9
83.9
79.6
75.8
73.4

Table 2. Tensile strength of the granite specimen by Brazilian test

Quarry

dia./length of
specimen (cm)

3/1.5

3/3

SB

3/3

number of specimen

loading direction

14
12
7
7
5
5

3
1
3
1
3
1

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2003G Volume 1 - A Case Study of Dimensional Stone Blasting in Korea

tensile strength
(kg/cm2 )
42.2
51.7
49.8
58.6
67.8
93.4

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Table 3. Summary of displacement of block and powder factor

No.

L (m)

W
(m)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

3.7
3.7
17
14
16.7
19.5
39
11.65
20.75
5.75
31

3.8
5.2
7
7
10
8.6
8.5
7
7
7
7.1

9
10

45
45
36
36
36
27 30

1,032.5

40 45

0.52

25.0

34.0

1,277

40 45

0.60

25.5

36.1

H(m)

V (m )

4.4
4.4
4
4
7
7
6.8
8
6
4
5.8

61.9
84.7
476
392
1,169
1,173.9
2,254.2
652.4

hole
spacing
(cm)
15 17

powder factor (g/m3)

displace
ment
(m)
0.10
0.10
0.01
0.05
0.19
0.10
0.385
0.225

16.5 18

practice

empirical

31.1
25.7
28.6
33.7
23.5
24.0
22.9
19.1

26.4
24.5
21.2
22.4
22.7
19.8
28.6
24.1

Quarry
(cutting
method)
TW
detonating cord
(wire saw)
detonating
SR
cord & Finex (jet flame)
explosive

detonating
cord

DA
(jet flame)

detonating cord

ammonium

DH
(wire saw)

Table 4. Comparison of working time and labor for one and two-face blasting
1 face blasting (A)
Operation

rear
2 sides
subtotal
vertical
drilling
horizontal
subtotal
charge & blasting
jet
flame

total

265.2 m2
115.6 m2
106 holes
106 holes

working
time (hrs)

labor
(man-days)

190
83
(273)

48
20
(68)

69
(69)
8
350

18
(18)
2
88

2 face blasting (B)

working
time (hrs)

labor
(man-days)

83
(83)
59
69
(128)
8
219

20
(20)
16
18
(34)
2
56

(%)

Decrease (B-A)
working
time (hrs)

labor
(man-days)

131
37.4%

32
36.4%

Note: block size: 39m(l) x 8.5m(w) x 6.8m(h), volume: 2254.2m3

Table 5. Comparison of working time and labor for diamond wire sawing and jet flame cutting
operation
left side
right side
subtotal
vertical
drilling
horizontal
subtotal
charge & blasting

cutting of
2 faces

total

28 m2
42 m2
64 holes
68 holes

diamond wire saw (A)

working
labor
time (hrs) (man-days)
9
2
13
4
(22)
(6)
32
8
38
10
(70)
(18)
8
2
100
26

jet flame (B)

working
Labor
time (hrs) (man-days)
20
5
30
8
(50)
(13)
32
8
38
10
(70)
(18)
8
2
128
33

(%)

decrease (B-A)
working
labor
time (hrs) (man-days)

28
21.9%

7
21.2%

Note: block size: 26.5m(l) x 7 (w) x 4m(h, for left side; 6m for right side)

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Table 6. Test results

Parameters
length(m)
width(m)
height(m)
rock block
cutting area(m2)
volume(m3)
displacement(m)
vertical holes
drilling
horizontal holes
charge weight g)
powder factor
empirical(g/m3)
actual(g/m3)

remark

Test blast
11.65
7.0
8.0
174.75
652.4
0.23
38
38
10,840
24.1
17.0

Test blast
20.75
5.75
7.0
7.0
6.0
4.0
333.0
1033.0
0.52
64
68
25,781
34.0
25.0

Test blast
31.0
7.1
5.8
399.9
1276.6
0.60
72
75
31,875
36.1
25.5

Vertical hole charge: 2

strand/hole 7.3 m/strand =
14.6 m/hole
Horizontal hole charge: 2
strand/hole 6.3 m/strand =
12.6 m/hole
Water stemming

Figure 1. Drilling pattern

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Figure 2. Charging pattern

Figure 3. Drilling operation

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Figure 4. Charging detonating cords

Figure 5. Displacement of block after blasting

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