1

RATIONAL PARAMETER SELECTION OF

BLASTING VIBRATION SAFETY CRITERION
Chen Shihai
1,2
Wang Mingyang
2
Qian Qihu
2

(1.Civil Institute, Shandong University of Science and Technology
2.Engineering Institute of Engineering Crops, PLA Univ. Of Sci.&Tech.)
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the view that it is rational and reliable for particle vibration velocity to be regarded
as blasting vibration safety criterion parameter, starting from energy criterion of medium dynamic
damage referring to the vibration force and action time, propagation reliability and convergence of
vibration velocity in different media and use circumstances of vibration safety criterion at home
and abroad, has been explained.
KEYWORDS: blasting, vibration, safety criterion, vibration velocity

As is well known, there are three main parameters of blasting vibration: endurance period,
frequency and amplitude. They are the main influence factors of different type buildings or
structures damage that caused by blasting seismic effect, and blasting vibration strength can be
measured by each physical quantity of medium particle movement, such as particle vibration
displacement, velocity and accelerated velocity. In recent years, during the blasting engineering,
geotechnical engineering and engineering of disaster reduction and prevention and protection,
many accidents caused by blasting earthquake took place frequently, such as structure
destabilization, landslide, dehiscence and deformation and so on. In order to judge the damage
degree of structure and ensure the safety of blasting, one of vibration physical quantities is needed
as damage-judging reference. But which physical quantity is the best; there are many different
viewpoints at home and abroad. One considers that vibration velocity of medium particle is better.
The reason is, through a lot of observations, that the correlation between damage degree of
blasting vibration and vibration velocity is comparatively closed. Moreover, when explosive
quantity, the distance between explosive charges centers and the minimum resist line are equal,
rock medium that spreads seismic wave changing, thought vibration velocity has some extent
varying, comparing to other physical quantities, there is comparatively stabile correlation between
vibration velocity and rock property and the regularity is fine. The other one considers vibration
acceleration velocity as judge criterion. Because it can reflect the value of the loads acting on the
foundation of building or structure, sufficiently reflect dynamic response characters of structure.
At the same time, the vibration acceleration velocity is considered to be criterion in
earthquake-resistant structure design. Exactly, which parameter (displacement, velocity or
accelerated velocity) can be used as safety evaluation criterion is not clear at present. Through
discussing and analysis, this paper explains that it is rational for vibration velocity to be regarded
as blasting vibration safety criterion parameter.
1. Vibration velocity as criterion parameter implicates blasting vibration force and
endurance period, which is in conformity with dynamic-failure energy criterion.
It can be settled from solid-strength criterion.
Various solid-strength criterions have been widely used in practice. Among all of them,
there is one point in common. It is that solid comes to damage when it has reached the critical
state, which is called the statics criterion, and it has no relationship to the endurance period of
external force. However, a lot of facts are not conformed to the so-called statics criterion. It has
already been found that, when the speed of loading increases sharply, various material
characteristics increase correspondingly, and the ultimate strength varies more clearly. The time
should be considered firstly in the process of medium deformation and damage. It is quite logical
and according with the objective law to introduce time into strength theory. Time is spent in not
only when wave spreads, but also beginning and during the process of damage and movement of
the medium. During this period, macroparameters of stress and strain reach a certain limit, acting
on the structure of material, causing and accumulating dislocation, microgap and microcrack of
the structure, leading to the change of material from originally undamaged condition to damaged
condition. So in dynamic problems, time factor must be considered in the course of deformation
and damage for medium. The difference between dynamic and static conditions is that dynamic
conditions involve action time besides the limit critical state of external forces.
That is to say, time is extremely important factor in damaging process. In order to damage
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some part of the medium, it is inadequate to make critical pressure condition there. It has to be
fixed in period of time, and the value of stress needed is greater when action duration is shorter.
From 1950s, about the failure time of material under the action of external force,
systematic researches have been done in the strength physics laboratory of Leningrad Technical
and Physical Research Institute of the former Soviet Union. As to single-axle tensile stress, the
(Zhurkov) formula [1] has been got by .. et al to fix the
failure time of material under external load. It is:

=
kT
U

0
0
exp (1)
In the formula, U
0
activation energy, single-axle tensile stress, activation volume, 10
to 1000 atomic volume usually, kBoltzmann constant, Tabsolute temperature,
0
*parameter of atomic Debye-vibration-period order, about 10
-12
second.
In the reference [1], more than one hundred estimated value of have been given, such
as semiconductor crystal, glass, polymer, composite, rock and so on.
The former formula shows that the dependence to time is a common property of solid.
The conclusion that time factor plays a decisive role in damage phenomenon is the foundation of
solid micro-dynamic damage conception.
Under the action of shear stress, a similar formula to (1) can be used
[2]
:

=
kT
G

0
0
exp (2)
The meaning of each symbol is similar to corresponding one in formula (1).
.. and . . (Nikiforovsky,Shemyakin)
[6]
have put forward
another fracture criterion, which does not think material destroyed when the time integration of
local stress, namely, the whole impulse of local force is less than a critical value. The expression
is:
( )
c
t
J dt t

0
(3)
This criterion is especially suitable for the damage that induced by short-time external impulse.
And it can release the increased strength quantitatively when the velocity of loading is increased.
Thought it can be explained in different ways, the formula (3) is only an assumption, and it
governs macrofracture of no-wear solid. But the disadvantage is that the criterion can not be
transited to static situation. Another advantage of the criterion is that the whole loading history can
be involved, and a series of phenomena can be explained when solid is damaged on fast dynamic
force.
Seeing from deformation of material and microphysical dynamic mechanics of damage
evolution, Zhurkov formula is of macroscopic phenomenon about inner structure state changing.
In the creep test of material, Alexandrov got the expression of deformation rate at different
loading velocity. It is
[1]
:

=
kT
U

0
0
exp & & (4)
In the formula,
0
&limit deformation rate, the meanings of other symbols are same to
corresponding ones in formula (1).
Multiply formula (1) and (4), a formula can be got:
const
st
= = =
0 0
& & (5)
Experiments show that,
st
depends little to temperature, stress and loading velocity when
it changes in a relatively large range, and it can be considered as a constant, which have been
proved that there are close relationship between the two macroscopic procedures----deformation
and failure. Experiments show that
[1]
, formula (5) is still suitable in case of shearing and triaxial
compression, complex stress and strain, such as varying-stress single loading, cyclic loading,
complex loading on complex stress state, loading on radiation and corrosion, failure time
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offsetting the formula Zhurkov. So the formula (5) is always approximately right for material of
different property and loading in large variation range. Though time variable is not explicit in the
formula (5),
st
reflects macroscopic effect of damage for internal structure of material with
changing time under the action of external force, which has involved time factor indirectly.
In Nikiforovsky-Shemyakin impulse criterion, for shock wave:
Dv =
In the formula, v particle velocity, material density. So there is:
( )
0
0 0
J Du Dvdt dt t
t t
= = =


(6)
In the formula, u is displacement.
The former formula shows material will failure when macroscopic displacement of
material reaches to a certain limit. If the influence range of shock wave is L, then displacement can
be described by strain as:
L u =
So the formula (6) turns to:
( )
0
0
J DL dt t
t
= =

(7)
The formula shows material will failure when displacement of material gets to a certain limit.
So the Zhurkov formula, Nikiforovsky-Shemyakin impulse criterion and the sencond
strength theory (the maximum strain theory) are close. All of them reflect the final result of
changing time process for internal structure of material under the action of external force.
For the formula (6) and (7), there are something to be discussed. Macroscopic seismic
phenomenon of low strain ratio caused by earthquake or blasting can damage buildings on the
earth. Present anti-seismic design is based on bearing ability or strength, but through researches
and analysis of previous damage and hazard caused by earthquake, we find that, in some certain
period of seismic motion, velocity and displacement, not inner force, govern the damage of
structure. In early 1990s, J.P.Moehle put forward the anti-seismic design theory on the basis of
structure performance
[12]
. According to this theory, plastic deformation capability of material
should meet the deformation requirement under the action of predefined seismic force, which
means the limit of interbedded offset should be controlled under the action of big seismic force. It
is correspondent to the formula (6) and (7). The anti-seismic design theory on the basis of
structure performance has involved the final result of changing time process for inner structure of
material under the action of seismic load.
For earthquake motion, if the angular frequency of shock is , then the relationship
between velocity v and displacement u is:
v =u
So velocity can be regarded as control variable, and it is true in fact. The results of mass
observation by different researchers show that, under the case of same foundation condition, same
location, same type of structure, the damage degree is same when the speed of foundation exceeds
a certain value that characterizes a certain specific type of building
[11]
.
2.The decay rate of velocity propagation in different material shows stability and
easy-measurement.
Similarity theory of blasting and experimental researches shows that
[13]
, for same relative
distance r , the more explosive energy, the more maximum stress caused in rock. The
phenomenon is apparent near satchel charge especially. With the increase of distance, the
differences of this aspect decrease sharply. For example, when TNT and PETN blast in granite, the
stress caused by them is nearly equal at the point of 50 times of charge radius. The tress of
relatively far place depends on the properties of rock, and the explosive factor can be ignored.
The maximum particle velocity caused in rock or soil medium can be got from the
relation
p m m
c v / = (
m
the maximum stress in rock or soil, the density of rock or soil,
p
c the longitudinal wave velocity). Through calculation we find that the particle velocity is equal
for all of rock or soil, and it only depends on relative distance r and the kind of explosive. But
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the particle velocity is same for all kinds of explosive when r >50 .
In fact, the maximum particle velocity in rock is a constant. So it can be regarded that
there is little relationship between seismic velocity and rock property, then it is suitable to judge
the blasting seismic effects by velocity value.
Also large quantities of experiments (Fig.1) show that, at a certain distance r from the
blasting center, the particle velocity presents a triangle with time changing. The positive pressure
duration of stress wave changes little in the whole transmission process. If introducing two
nondimensional distance symbols
0 0
R r r = and
0 * *
R R r = , we can get a expression about
the maximum velocity of particle with the changing of distance
[17]
:

>
<
=

* 0 0 0
* 0 0 0
0
,
,
0
r r r b
r r r a
v
p
n

*
r the radius of failure zone


Fig.1 the vary of the maximum particle velocity following proportional distance in sodium
thiosulfate and soft glass (Imaginary line is the data of transparent turpentine)
3.The kinetic energy of speed is the main energy to structure destroy. Seeing from the
deformation and destroy characteristic, the speed can reflect the characteristic of the
explosion effect mostly.
Under the action of explosion, the deformation and destruction of the rock medium can be
divided into the broken district, the radial crack area and the elastic district. The characteristic of
the broken district is that the medium receiving the exploding extrusion will destroy and become
loose material. Considering that the medium will be destroyed in very small shear deformation,
the energy share consumed in the material destroy is extremely small. In fact, making medium to
destroy under the compression stress, it is equivalent to relative linear deformation 1 << .
The order of magnitude for destruction energy for unit volume absorbed is .While the order of
magnitude consumed on the movement of medium is .In this casethe order of magnitude for
energy share pointed out above is 1 << .So it can be concluded that the movement of loose
medium in broken district plays a main rolejust like the movement of the fluid. But different
from the fluidloose friction-type medium of concrete in broken district has some certain
resist-shearing property.
The characteristic of the radial crackle area is that the medium is destroyed by the crack, and
forms similar radial post pole. It mainly carries out the pressure from the broken area to the elastic
district medium. Because the pressure in the crackle district of the radial is a constant, the inertia
effect of the crackle district of the radial medium cannot be considered. The characteristic of the
elastic district is the elastic medium with original nature. In the two districts the deformation
belongs to the elastic range, small strain deformation theory, that is 1 << . The movement of the
particle is primary.
In fact, while the structure is destroyed under the action of blasting vibration, seismic energy
turns into deformation potential energy of the structure and the kinetic energy of structure particle.
Take one-dimension motion for example, it can be shown as
[14]
:
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d s z
W W W + = =
2
0 0
2
1
2
1
v +
In the formula:
z
W
s
W
d
W are separately blasting vibration energy, deformation potential
energy and kinetic energy,respectively;
0

0
are the stress and strain of structure medium; v
stands for the velocity of the medium particle.
For elastic deformation, there is cv = , in which the velocity has embodied the value of
stress.
The maximum deformation and permanent deformation (Fig.2) have demarcations, work
done by force has limitations, and the main consumption of energy is in the movement of broken
district.

Fig.2 The vary of the maximum conversion displacement (1-4) and permanent deformation (5)
following proportional distance (Label is same to Fig.1)
On the other side, the destroy deformation of the structure medium is relatively small, thats
s
W is relatively small. Relatively speaking, the velocity of the particle is relatively larger.
d
W
has embodied primarily the energy of the blasting vibration. Thats, the vibration speed reflects the
value of energy and the essence of the structure destroy.
4The velocity has function of forming a connecting link between the preceding and the
following.
It is well known that, displacement, velocity and accelerated velocity have simple calculus
relations. If u v a separately stand for vibration displacement, velocity and acceleration
then
v
dt
du
= a
dt
dv
=

= = u vdt adt
In the tests , particles movement lawusually, variable regularity of other parameters can be
deduced by the waveform of a certain movement parameter of particle. Apparently, it comes down
to differential and integral calculus transform of waveform. Generally, the dynamic waveform
measured cannot be described in curvilinear-function-type expression, so numerical method is
usually used in waveform transform. In waveform transform, value precision is higher by
approximate integration, and error is comparatively larger by approximate differential calculus.
In practical application, measuring the acceleration or the velocity waveform are usually used
to get displacement waveform
[15]
. Considering the part of inertia force in structural dynamic
calculus, it is rational to accept vibration velocity as evaluation parameter which forms a
connecting link between the preceding and the following.
5.Velocity as judging parameter both at home and abroad.
The standards of USMBE and OSMRE have given the relation curve between vibration
frequency and safety vibration velocity of particle for building or structure. The German DIN4150
standard has divided the building or structure into three categories. And the maximum vibration
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velocity of particle and the frequency of seismic wave caused by blasting are considered
synthetically
[18]
. The standards of Finland and Sweden are similar to it
[16]
. In China,NewBlasting
Safety Regulationswhich has been revised comes out the corresponding relationship between the
maximum vibration velocity and master frequency of particle, which at the location of protected
object, can be used as blasting vibration safety criterion for building and structure. Vibration
velocity can be determined by frequency domain of master vibration frequency, and effects of
time-delay interval is involved.
6. Conclusions
Synthesizing all analysis above, adopting blasting vibration velocity as blasting vibration
safety criterion is better than vibration acceleration or displacement energy. It can sufficiently
reflect the effects of blasting force and duration to structure damage degree. Also it is stable and
easy-measured, so it is rational criterion parameter. Then, when establishing standards of blasting
vibration safety criterion, vibration velocity in the frequency range of different type buildings is
enough.

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