Monitoring of Dynamic Borehole Pressures

G. Teowee and B. Papillon

Austin Powder Company
Cleveland, OH 44122 USA.

Abstract

Dynamic pressures during blasting can affect performances of both electronic and non-electronic
detonators. Boreholes can develop tremendous amount of pressures during blasting. The effect of such
elevated pressure especially during electronic delay countdown is probably more acute in electronic
detonators. Measuring the pressures during blasting can aid to understand the relationship between
magnitude of the pressure developed and the multitude of blasting conditions.
Conventional techniques to measure pressure consist of carbon resistors, strain gauges or piezoelectric
sensors. These sensors change their electrical properties (e.g. resistance, capacitance, charge etc.) with
pressure. Carbon resistors and strain gauges are piezo-resistive i.e. the resistance changes with external
pressure and they usually require constant current source and the proper voltage divider. Typical
piezoelectric sensors are expensive and require complex charge amplifier and filtering electronics to
acquire the signals. This paper shall describe the use of an APS (Austin Piezo Sensor) consisting of a
modified piezoelectric sensor and the supporting electronics which can be employed to measure such
borehole pressures during blasting. The notable features of this measurement system are the relatively
low cost (sensor is consumed during blasting) and ease of set-up in the field rather than bulky
electronics on-site or complicated pre-calibration procedures.

Using a water hammer testing, the system was compared with respect to a commercial pressure sensor
inside a water tank where an underwater testing of standard output detonators were utilized; close
agreement between the measurements of both systems were obtained in the 5 20 kpsi range. The
actual outputs also compared well with the SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit
Emphasis) simulation results. Results will be presented on several blasts where non-electric and
electronic detonators were used, in dry and wet boreholes, and in decked and non-decked shots.

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Introduction
The highlight moment in a blast is when the detonators are initiated or the FIRE command issued in
electronic detonators. The resulting detonation results should be close to what is expected; however
during blasting some excessive pressures may develop in the boreholes, especially for decked shots
which may impair the adjacent detonators in the same boreholes. Such dynamic pressure may be more
critical in electronic detonators since in the digital countdown, the electronics are still functioning and
may be susceptible towards electrical or mechanical shocks. In some extreme cases, misfires may occur,
leading to undesired blasting performances. In addition to decked shots, waterlogged holes see figure 1
may pose excessive pressures form adjacent borehole detonation due to excellent mechanical coupling
in the fluid medium. Therefore a low cost and easy to use method to measure actual pressure in situ as
developed in the boreholes during blasting would certainly prove helpful. An additional benefit is
correlating the pressure topology map as a function of blasting conditions and/or rock geology.

Figure 1: A wet borehole prior to dewatering and loading.

Conventional methods to measure pressure include piezo-resistive sensors, e.g., carbon resistors (
Austing et. al., 1991 & 1995) and piezoelectric transducers ( Gautschi 2002 and Wand et. al. 2010).
There are many sensors and techniques to measure pressure during blasting, such as carbon resistors or
gauges(Mencacci and Farnfield 2003, Lee et. al. 2000) and piezoelectric transducers (Lee etl. Al 1990,
Brent and Smith 1996, Hempen and Keevin 2007). Carbon resistors and gauges are piezo-resistive i.e.
the resistance changes with external pressure and these changes are directly correlated to the sensed
pressure. Typical piezoelectric sensors together with their supporting electronics are expensive and
complex (e.g., Karki 2000).

Piezoelectric Measurement Technique

One such modified piezoelectric measurement technique using Austin Piezo Sensor (APS), including the
calibration using a standard pressure sensor was previously reported (Teowee and Papillon, 2012).
While these actual sensors will be destroyed during the blast, the pressures can be measured up to the

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moment of detonation in the vicinity of the sensor location and in the magnitude up to 25 - 30 kpsi. A
typical singe shot pressure wave performed, for example, in an underwater environment measured
30mm from a donor detonator, can produce a voltage trace as shown in figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Representative voltage trace from a single underwater pressure wave.

Using the piezoelectric charge generation equation , the peak pressure in psi can be calculated from the
values of the voltage transition, storage capacitance and d33( piezoelectric charge voltage coefficient)
see Figure 3. For the trace in figure 2 above, the peak pressure is calculated to be 27 kpsi.

d33 655 pc/N

Cap of piezo 5 nF
Cap of Storage cap 5 nF
Peak Voltage 780 V

Peak Pressure 27,284 psi

Figure 3. Excel calculator to convert voltage into peak pressure in psi.

SPICE Simulation
SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) is widely used as a versatile tool to
simulate mainly analog circuitries and to some extent digital ones for many years (Kielkowski 1994,
Tuinenga 1995). For this particular study, SPICE simulations were done on the Linear Technologys
LTSpice v4.15o (Linear Technology website 2012) on a 64-bit 2.2 GHz Intel i3-2330M with 6 GB of
RAM. The raw analog data consisting of voltages as a function of time generated by LTSpice were
further number-crunched by a Visual C++ program and/or Excel. SPICE was used towards analyzing
electronic detonators in blasting circuits; they were published in previous ISEE conference proceedings (
Teowee 2006, 2007, 2010).

The piezoelectric sensor and its interface and operation are simulated using the circuit shown in Figure
4. Upon being hit with pressure waves, the piezoelectric sensor produces piezoelectric charges which are
then sensed into voltages across the storage capacitor. The model of the piezoelectric sensor is a
simplified and based on a piecewise linear current source.

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 Figure 4: SPICE circuit to simulate piezoelectric charge upon impingement of a single
pressure wave

Result of a single pressure wave based on the circuit in figure 4 is shown in figure 5. A single pressure
pulse yields a single voltage step output; in real circuit due to finite resistance in the capacitor and
leakage, the voltage will slowly decrease with time.

1000
800
Voltage(V)

600
400
200
0
0.00E+00 5.00E-05 1.00E-04 1.50E-04 2.00E-04
Time(s)
Figure 5: SPICE simulation results of resulting voltage sensed from a single pressure
pulse.

For multiple pressure pulses, the resulting voltage output is a staircase with each step magnitude a
function of the pressure wave intensity and the time when it hits the piezoelectric sensor as shown in

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figure 6. The time where the voltage steps occur also correspond to the relative time delay of the
detonator functioning in the boreholes or in the decks in the specific borehole.

Voltage(V) 3

0
0.0E+00 2.5E-02 5.0E-02 7.5E-02 1.0E-01

Time(s)
Figure 6: SPICE simulation results of multiple pressure waves impinging on the
piezoelectric sensor.

The sensors were prepared (see figure 7) enclosed within wooden plates with an opening on top of one
electrode face of the piezoelectric sensor. Epoxy was fixed along the sides and silicone grease was
generously applied to render the sensor water-proof, necessary in waterlogged boreholes. Legwires are
then used to connect the piezoelectric sensor to the interface circuitries, usually located next to the
blasting machine , a safe distance away from the blast array.

Figure 7: Piezoelectric sensor assembly.

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The piezoelectric sensors can be located anywhere inside the borehole to measure the pressure
developed during blasting. They are directional and it is appropriate to locate them facing the pressure
wave of interest. These sensors have been placed on the bottom of booster or along the sides of the
booster as shown in figures 8 and 9 respectively.

Figure 8: Piezoelectric sensor attached to the bottom of a booster and lowered into the
borehole of interest.

Figure 9: Piezoelectric sensor mounted on the side of the emulsion cartridge.

A data acquisition board was developed to capture the live voltages being outputted by the interface
circuits connected to the individual piezoelectric sensors. Such board is shown in figure 10. A USB flash
drive was utilized to store the data which may be subsequently opened in a laptop or computer to study
the data. An ADC (analog to digital conversion) was performed at a sampling rate of 10 kHz to
adequately capture any fast transient in the voltage outputs.

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 Figure 10: Data acquisition board with a USB flash drive to record data.

Field Testing Results

Results of applying these piezoelectric sensors in actual blasts were previously reported (Teowee and
Papillon, 2012) for decked shots and in wet /dry boreholes where shock tube and electronic detonators
were used. In these measurements, the piezoelectric sensors were placed on the bottom of the boosters
containing the detonators see figure 8. Pressures of 35 and 66 MPa (5100 and 9500 psi) were
measured in dry and wet boreholes respectively while Lee et. al.(2000) had reported pressure
measurements ranging from 780 to 9500 psi in decked shots.

In another blast with E-Star electronic detonators on 6/13/2102 arranged in 2 rows of 4 boreholes ( 2.25
ft diameter, 27 ft deep) each row (see figure 11) with both burden and spacing of 3.0 ft without any
relief. The piezoelectric sensors were placed on the side of cartridges see figure 9, and not on the
bottom of the cartridge facing the pressure wave from the underlying decks. The sensors were
specifically loaded in borehole #3 in the top deck and in the undecked borehole #4. Each cartridge was
1.5" in diameter and 12" long; it contained a detonator sensitive emulsion. All holes were decked (4.5
lbs emulsion cartridge, 3 ft stone between decks each with 6 ft of stemming) except hole number 4
(1000ms) which was a solid column of approximately 15 lbs., again no relief or free face. Programming
of delay time for each electronic detonator was performed using the logger; a blasting machine was then
used to fire the blast after verification and arming. Just before the FIRE button was pushed, the data
acquisition system was triggered to initiate data capture. The resulting data on the USB flash-drive was
then transferred to a laptop for analysis.

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 Figure 11: Borehole array of blast. Piezoelectric sensors mounted in hole # 3 and #4.

The data recorded for this specific test blast are shown in figure 12. Series 2 ( Borehole # 4) shows the
voltage output from a piezoelectric sensor mounted in the single shot borehole. Note for series 3
(Borehole #3) which shows the voltage output from the piezoelectric sensor mounted in the decks, there
is a step function after 400ms which is exactly the time difference of the between deck firing ( 2850
2450 ms). From the voltage steps, the maximum pressures calculated in the boreholes are 4100 and 2300
psi respectively in borehole # 4 and #3. Borehole #4 measured the radial pressure from the neighboring
hole #3; the pressure wave was perpendicular to the piezoelectric sensor face and expected to be high.
The piezoelectric sensor on borehole # 3 measures the radial pressure from the decked shots below it;
the pressure front is along the piezoelectric sensor face and the effect was expected to be lower. Note
also the gradual decline in the peak voltage due to finite resistance in the sensing circuits which depletes
the capacitor voltage.

1.5
Voltage(V)

1
Series2

0.5 Series3

0
1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5
Time(s)
Figure 12: Voltage outputs of 2 piezoelectric sensors mounted in the boreholes (Series
2 for Borehole #4 and Series 3 for Borehole #3).

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Conclusions
Piezoelectric sensors were successfully employed to measure dynamic pressure in boreholes for a
particular blast in this study; the voltage outputs not only indicated the magnitude of the pressure wave
but also the relative timing when the pressure wave impinged on the piezoelectric sensors. The sensors
were placed on the sides of the explosive cartridges and therefore radial pressures were measured. These
radial pressures ranged from 2300 to 4100 psi as measured on the side of the cartridges loaded in the
boreholes. The same sensors and technique had also been used to measure the axial pressure intra-decks
as well as in wet and dry boreholes. Such technique is an excellent diagnostics tool to measure pressure
waves especially in blasts with difficult geodynamics or configuration where excessive pressure may
lead to detonator damage or worse, malfunction. These piezoelectric sensors are destroyed during the
blast but since they are low cost and easy to use, pressure measurements can be made up to the point of
detonation.

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