P and S Mach Waves Generated by the Detonation of a Cylindrical Explosive Charge - Experiments and Simulations

During blasting operations in a competent rock mass without open joints or faults, the structure of the wave fields generated by the detonation of a cylindrical charge depends mainly on the relation between the velocity of detonation ( c d ) and the velocity of the P and S waves, c P and c S , respectively, in the medium. If c d is larger than c P , detonation is supersonic and Mach P and S waves appear. If c d is between c P and c S , detonation is transonic, and only an S Mach wave is generated. If c d is less than c S , subsonic detonation occurs. In this paper, we describe an experiment conducted at the Andina mine (Chile) in order to demonstrate the differences between the wave fields generated by supersonic and transonic detonation. We also present a simulation of the detonation of a cylindrical charge using the finite differences Itasca software FLAC3.4. In particular, we show how important it is to secure a good adjustment of the rheological behaviour of the medium, in our case, a strain softening elasto-plastic model.