Analysis of the Effect of Borehole Size on Explosive Energy Loss in Rock Blasting

In this paper, studies were conducted on the effect of borehole size on explosive energy loss in rock blasting. Since most industrial explosives are nonideal ones, the charge size and the confinement condition have significant impact on the detonation performance of these explosives. Analyses indicated that smaller boreholes will cause more loss of explosive energy than larger ones. This is especially true for most industrial explosives. The paper presents the analyses of energy loss for a number of different explosives with various borehole sizes. Based on these analyses recommendations and guidelines were given for borehole size determination in rock blasting operations.