System for automated blast design planning and related methods

Abstract

To solve the problem in which blasting can vary on the basis of a plurality of factors including blast hole spacing, blast hole load, blast hole depth, blast hole pattern, number of blast holes, geologic characteristics, type of explosives, and amount of explosives; thus, even for highly skilled blasting engineers, the number of possibilities makes blasting planning difficult.SOLUTION: A system, method or device for generating a blasting plan that can receive blasting data including geologic properties of a blasting site, blast hole parameters and available explosive products are provided. A pattern blasting zone can be identified on the basis of the relationship between face height, specific energy of available explosive products, and geologic characteristics of a bench. Loads and spacing can be identified from the pattern blasting zone.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 801,312, filed February 5, 2019, and entitled "SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATED BLAST DESIGN PLANNING AND METHODS RELATED THERETO," the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to explosives and, more particularly, to methods, systems and apparatus for designing blasting schemes. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The embodiments disclosed herein will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the drawings primarily depict generalized embodiments, and in which the embodiments are described with more specificity and detail. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0004] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a network diagram of a blast planning modeling system according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a personal electronic device displaying a drone scan path according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a blast design system according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for generating a blast design according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for generating a blast design by running multiple simulations for multiple possible permutations, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6]1 illustrates an example of a method for generating a multiple permutation data set from blast data, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an example of a method for simulating permutations of a data set according to one embodiment. [Figure 8A] 1 illustrates a first portion of a method for generating blast level details according to one embodiment. [Figure 8B] 1 illustrates a second portion of a method for generating blast level details according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a method for finding a preferred distance for a blast site according to one embodiment. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a method for generating hole level details at a given minimum resistance line and spacing according to one embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates a method for testing the validity of a planned blast design, according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates a method for calculating certain properties of a valid design, according to one embodiment. [Figure 13] 1 shows a graph of an exemplary blast plan result scored based on vibration. [Figure 14] 1 illustrates a method for editing the minimum resistance line and interval according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0005] Explosives are commonly used in the mining, quarrying and drilling industries to break up rocks and ores. Generally, a hole called a "blast hole" is drilled into a surface such as the earth's surface. Explosives may then be placed within the blast hole. Typically, multiple blast holes are used to break up large volumes of rocks and ores. The use of multiple blast holes introduces complexity into blast planning. For example, blasts may vary based on multiple factors including blast hole spacing, blast hole line of least resistance, blast hole depth, blast hole pattern, number of blast holes, geological characteristics, explosive type and explosive quantity. The number of possibilities makes blast planning difficult, even for highly skilled blast engineers.

[0006] Described herein are embodiments that generate a blast plan. The embodiments may receive blast data including geological characteristics of the blast site, blast hole parameters, and available explosives. Based on the received blast data, the embodiments herein may identify the lines and intervals of least resistance and generate a blast plan.

[0007] The blast design or plan includes the placement of blast holes, the geometry of the blast holes and the explosives to be used.

[0008] It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments outlined below and illustrated in the Figures herein can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. For example, the steps of the methods need not necessarily be performed in any particular order or sequentially, and steps need not be performed only once. Thus, the following more detailed description of various embodiments as described below and illustrated in the Figures is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but are merely representative of various embodiments. Various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, which, unless otherwise noted, are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0009] The embodiments and implementations of the blast planning system and method described herein may include various steps that may be embodied in machine-executable instructions executed by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components that contain specific logic for performing the steps, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0010] The embodiments may be provided as a computer program product including a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that can be used to program a computer system or other electronic device to perform the processes described herein. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, a hard drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a ROM, a RAM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic or optical card, a solid state memory device or any other type of medium / computer readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

[0011] Computer systems and computers in computer systems may be connected via a network. Networks suitable for configuration and / or use as described herein include one or more local area networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, and / or Internet or IP networks such as the World Wide Web, private Internets, secure Internets, value-added networks, virtual private networks, extranets, intranets, or even standalone machines communicating with other machines by physical transport of a medium. In particular, suitable networks may be formed in part or in whole from two or more other networks, including networks using discrete hardware and network communication technologies.

[0012] One suitable network includes a server and several clients, other suitable networks may include other combinations of servers, clients and / or peer-to-peer nodes, and a given computer system may function as both a client and a server. Each network includes at least two computers or computer systems, such as servers and / or clients. The computer systems may include workstations, laptop computers, disconnectable mobile computers, servers, mainframes, clusters, so-called "network computers" or "thin clients," tablets, smartphones, personal digital assistants or other handheld computing devices, "smart" consumer electronic devices or appliances, medical devices, or combinations thereof.

[0013] Suitable networks may include communications or networking software such as software available from Novell®, Microsoft®, and other vendors, and may operate using TCP / IP, SPX, IPX, and other protocols over twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber optic cables; telephone lines; radio waves; satellites; microwave relays; modulated AC power lines; physical media transport; and / or other data transmission "wires" known to those skilled in the art. A network may encompass smaller networks and / or be connectable to other networks through gateways or similar mechanisms.

[0014] Each computer system includes one or more processors and / or memory, and computer systems may also include various input and / or output devices. Processors may include general purpose devices such as Intel®, AMD®, or other “off-the-shelf” microprocessors. Processors may include special purpose processing devices such as ASICs, SoCs, SiPs, FPGAs, PALs, PLAs, FPLAs, PLDs, or other customized or programmable devices. Memory may include static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one or more flip-flops, ROM, CD-ROM, disk, tape, magnetic, optical, or other computer storage media. Input devices may include keyboards, mice, touch screens, light pens, tablets, microphones, sensors, or other hardware with associated firmware and / or software. Output devices may include monitors or other displays, printers, speech or text synthesizers, switches, signal lines, or other hardware with associated firmware and / or software.

[0015] The computer system may be capable of using a floppy drive, tape drive, optical drive, magneto-optical drive or other means of reading the storage medium. Suitable storage media include magnetic, optical or other computer readable storage devices having a particular physical configuration. Suitable storage devices include floppy disks, hard disks, tapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, PROMs, RAM, flash memory and other computer system storage devices. The physical configuration represents data and instructions that cause the computer system to operate in a particular predefined manner as described herein.

[0016] Suitable software to assist in the practice of the present invention can be readily provided by one of ordinary skill in the art using the techniques presented herein and programming languages ​​and tools such as Java, Pascal, C++, C, PHP, .Net, database languages, APIs, SDKs, assembly, firmware, microcode, and / or other languages ​​and tools. Suitable signal formats can be embodied in analog or digital form, with or without error detection and / or correction bits, packet headers, network addresses in specific formats, and / or other supporting data that are readily provided by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

[0017] Aspects of certain embodiments may be implemented as software modules or components. As used herein, a software module or component may include any type of computer instructions or computer executable code located in or on a computer-readable storage medium. A software module may include one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may be organized as a routine, program, object, component, data structure, etc. that performs one or more tasks or implements a particular abstract data type. A particular software module may include discrete instructions stored in different locations of a computer-readable storage medium that together perform the functionality of the described module. In fact, a module may include one or more instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, among different programs and across several computer-readable storage media.

[0018] Some embodiments may be practiced in a distributed computing environment where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, software modules may be located in local and / or remote computer readable storage media. In addition, data that is linked together or provided together in a database record may reside in the same computer readable storage medium or may reside across several computer readable storage media and may be linked together in fields of records in a database across a network. According to one embodiment, a database management system (DBMS) allows a user to interact with one or more databases and provides access to the data contained in the databases.

[0019] 1 shows a network diagram of a blast planning modeling system 100 according to one embodiment. The blast planning modeling system 100 receives images of a blast site, generates a three-dimensional model of the blast site, and generates a blast plan. In the illustrated embodiment, the blast planning modeling system 100 includes a personal electronic device (PED) 102, a drone 104, and a blast design system 106.

[0020] The PED 102 may be any number of different types of devices, including, without limitation, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a portable computing device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a palmtop computer, a handheld computer, a portable navigation device, a personal navigation assistant (e.g., a portable Global Positioning System (GPS) unit), a drone controller, and the like. The PED 102 communicates with and controls the drone 104. The PED 102 may provide a flight plan and blast site perimeter and / or provide manual instructions to the drone 104. In some embodiments, the PED 102 and the blast design system 106 may be the same device. In some embodiments, there may be no PED 102 and the blast design system 106 may control the drone 104.

[0021] The drone 104 may capture images as it follows the scan path. The drone 104 may provide a live feed to the PED 102. The drone 104 may also provide images and associated location coordinates and altitude to the blast design system 106. In some embodiments, a camera, cell phone, or other electronic device may be used to capture the images.

[0022] The blast design system 106 may receive the images and generate a three-dimensional model. The blast design system 106 may also receive user-defined parameters such as the geological characteristics of the blast site, blast hole parameters, and available explosives. Based on the user-defined parameters, the blast design system 106 may identify the lines of least resistance and spacing for the blast plan. The blast design system 106 may overlay the blast plan onto the three-dimensional model and present the overlaid model to an engineer. The engineer may make modifications and send the final blast plan to the field equipment 108 and operators of the field equipment 108 for implementation.

[0023] In some embodiments, the drone 104 or other image capture device captures post-blast images. The blast design system 106 may perform a post-blast analysis and use the results in planning the next blast. Such artificial intelligence feedback may further optimize subsequent blasts. The post-blast analysis may identify the size and location of debris from the blast.

[0024] 2 shows the PED 102 displaying a scan path 202 of a drone 104 according to one embodiment. The scan path 202 is designed to allow the drone to capture images within the perimeter 204 of the blast site. In some embodiments, a technician may manually input the scan path 202. The PED 102 may optimize the manually input scan path 202 or design the scan path 202 based on the perimeter 204 of the blast site.

[0025] Figure 3 shows a block diagram of the blast design system 106 of Figure 1 according to one embodiment. The blast design system 106 may include electronic memory 310, one or more processors 312, a network interface 314, and an I / O interface 316 in electrical communication via a system bus 318.

[0026] The electronic memory 310 may include static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one or more flip-flops, or other electronic storage media. The electronic memory 310 may include a number of modules 330 and data 340.

[0027] The modules 330 may include all or a portion of the other elements of the device. The modules 330 may perform multiple operations sequentially, simultaneously, or in parallel by or on one or more processors 312.

[0028] In some embodiments, portions of the disclosed modules, components and / or facilities may be embodied as executable instructions embodied in hardware or firmware or stored in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. The instructions may include computer program code that, when executed by a processor and / or computing device, causes a computing system to perform certain process steps, procedures and / or operations disclosed herein. The modules, components and / or facilities disclosed herein may be implemented and / or embodied as drivers, libraries, interfaces, APIs, FPGA configuration data and / or firmware (e.g., stored in EEPROM), etc. In some embodiments, portions of the disclosed modules, components and / or facilities may be embodied as machine components such as general purpose devices and / or special purpose devices, including, but not limited to, circuits, integrated circuits, processing components, interface components, hardware controllers, storage controllers, programmable hardware, FPGAs and / or ASICs, etc.

[0029] The modules 330 may include a pattern blasting area calculator 332, a minimum resistance line and spacing calculator 334, a borehole designer 336, and a blast verifier 338. The pattern blasting area calculator 332 may execute operations by one or more processors 312 to identify a pattern blasting area that defines an area around a hole in a blasting plan. The pattern blasting area represents an area that can be adequately fragmented by available explosives in a blast hole placed on a bench. Identifying the pattern blasting area may be based on a relationship between the face height, the specific energy of the available explosives, and the geological properties of the bench. The minimum resistance line and spacing calculator 334 may identify a minimum resistance line and spacing of a hole in a blasting plan based on the pattern blasting area. The borehole designer 336 may identify borehole design details. The blast verifier 338 may identify whether a blast meets certain criteria.

[0030] The data 340 stored in the electronic memory 310 may include received data and data generated by the blast design system 106, such as module 330 or other modules. The stored data 340 may be organized as one or more memory registers / addresses, files, and / or databases.

[0031] The data 340 may include user-defined blasting parameters 342, blasting constraints 344, site-specific data 346, and blast design 348. The user-defined blasting parameters 342 may include face height, pattern type (e.g., rectangular, staggered, square), and wet hole designation. The blasting constraints 344 may include explosives weight, weight of material to be blasted, volume of material to be blasted, and number of holes. The site-specific data 346 may include available drill diameters, geological data, available explosives, and seismometer information. The user-defined blasting parameters 342, blasting constraints 344, and site-specific data 346 may be input by a user via the I / O interface 316 or may be received from another device through the network interface 314. The module 330 may generate a blast design 348 based on the input. In some embodiments, the data 340 may include post-blast analysis that may be used by the module 330 to output a more optimized blast design 348.

[0032] The one or more processors 312 may include any computing circuit. The one or more processors 312 may include general purpose and / or special purpose processors. The network interface 314 may facilitate communication with other computing devices and / or networks, such as the Internet and / or other computing and / or communication networks. The network interface 314 may include a conventional network connection. The network interface 314 may be a wireless network interface with conventional wireless network connection technology. In some embodiments, the network interface 314 may be used to communicate with current and voltage sensors that measure power consumption in the area where the processing circuit (not shown) is located. The I / O interface 316 may facilitate interfacing with one or more input devices and / or one or more output devices.

[0033] The system bus 318 may facilitate communication and / or interaction between other components of the blast design system, including the electronic memory 310 , the one or more processors 312 , the network interface 314 and the I / O interface 316 .

[0034] As can be appreciated, in other embodiments, processing circuitry 350 may be simpler than shown or described. For example, a particular design may dispense with one or more components, such as memory, processors, interfaces, etc., and instead execute instructions in a near-bare-metal fashion or at bare metal (e.g., execute instructions directly in logical hardware without an intervening operating system or other software layer).

[0035] Figure 4 shows a flow chart of a method 400 for generating a blast design output 408 according to one embodiment. The method 400 may be used by the blast design system 106 of Figures 1 and 3 to generate a blast design 408. To perform the blast design calculations 410, the blast design system receives a set of data inputs (e.g., blast specific data 402, blast constraint data 404, and location data 406). In some embodiments, these inputs fall into different categories: geological characteristics, blast area characteristics, drill characteristics, available products and blast constraints, and seismometer characteristics.

[0036] For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the blast design system receives blast specific data 402, blast constraint data 404, and location data 406. The blast specific data 402 may include the face height of the blast, the desired pattern type (e.g., square, rectangular, staggered), and whether the hole is wet or not.

[0037] The blasting limit data 404 may include one or more limits set by a user. For example, a user may have limits on explosive weight, material weight, material volume, or number of holes. In some embodiments, the blasting limit data 404 may include the distance from the blast hole to the mine face.

[0038] In the illustrated embodiment, the location data 406 includes available drill diameters, geological data, available explosives, seismic data, and other parameters collected from measurements during drilling (drill data).

[0039] The geological data may represent geological properties, geological features, and geological coefficients of the site. Non-limiting examples of geological properties include mineralogy (elements and / or minerals), petrography (primary, secondary, and / or texture, porosity, hardness, attenuation, Young's modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson's ratio, P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity, rock density, rock type, rock strength, rock condition, rock description, joint condition, joint angle, joint orientation, standard deviation of joint spacing, cohesion, vertical joint spacing, horizontal joint spacing, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), sound velocity, borehole size, and the like. These include standard deviation, impact velocity, rock fracture toughness, rock reflectivity, rock tensile strength, internal friction angle, Hugoniot data (e.g. Up min, Up max, Us min, Us max) and geostresses (σ1, σ2, σ3, stress orientation, dip, direction and roll). "Texture" refers to the size, shape and arrangement of the interlocking mineral crystals that form the rock or other material. Geological data can be used to identify further geological features such as friability and crushability.

[0040] Geological properties may be identified directly or indirectly from sources such as seismic data, borehole data, drill cuttings, core samples, or combinations thereof. For example, drill cuttings and / or core samples may be analyzed using x-ray or gamma ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and other spectroscopic and / or microscopic techniques.

[0041] The seismometer data may include vibration requirements at a particular distance. In some embodiments, geological properties may be identified from the seismometer data. For example, the processing circuitry may compare seismic vibrations at the source (e.g., drill or test charge) with seismic vibrations at one or more receivers. Based on at least the delay, frequency, and amplitude of the seismic vibrations, the processor circuitry may identify geological properties (e.g., fracturing, complex density, composition, rock impedance, hardness value, Young's modulus, shear strain, or other such properties).

[0042] The drill data may include information on a continuous basis or on an incremental basis such as by the foot. The drilling data may include drill bit size, drill bit rotational speed, drill bit torque, penetration rate, bit vibration, pulldown pressure, baling air pressure, hole location, hole number, and hole length or depth. The drilling data may be correlated to geological properties along the length of the blast hole. Thus, the drilling data may be used to generate hardness values ​​(i.e., a hardness profile) along the length of the blast hole.

[0043] In some embodiments, the blast design system may receive a subset of the set of data inputs or additional information. For example, not all calculations use vibration checks. Thus, attenuation and seismometer data may be optional inputs.

[0044] In some embodiments, the blast specific data 402 may include a desired breakout. For example, the blast specific data 402 may include a desired average breakout size.

[0045] The blast design system uses a set of data inputs to calculate 410 a blast design 408. The calculation 410 includes identifying a pattern blast area 412, identifying a minimum resistance line and spacing 414, identifying a borehole configuration 416, and identifying the number of holes required to meet the constraints 432. The calculation 410 also includes a blast validity check to identify if the blast design meets certain criteria. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the validity check includes an energy check 420, a minimum resistance line stiffness check 422, and a vibration check 424.

[0046] In some embodiments, the blast design system may specify the distance from the blast hole to the face based on desired frangibility, desired rock pile, or other user-defined or geographic parameters.

[0047] When identifying the pattern blast zone 412, the blast design system defines the area around the holes in the blast design 408. The pattern blast zone value is the product of the line of least resistance and the spacing, in other words, represents the recommended area around any hole. The pattern blast zone takes into account several factors (e.g., geology, product, and hole diameter) and the results affect all other calculations in the process. The pattern blast zone represents the area that can be adequately fragmented with the available explosives in the blast holes placed on the bench. Identifying the pattern blast zone can be based on the relationship between the face height, the specific energy of the available explosives, and the geological properties of the bench.

[0048] The pattern blast area may be the product of a first factor based on geological properties and a second factor based on the specific energy of the available product. For example, the specific energy may be a correlation between the ANFO (e.g., 94% porous sprill ammonium nitrate and 6% fuel oil) and the available explosives (e.g., the relative bulk strength (RBS) of the available explosives), and the third factor may be based on the diameter of the available explosives.

[0049] In some embodiments, the blast design system calculates the first factor by calculating the result of multiplying a first geology factor by the natural log of the blasthole height dividend of the face height divided by the diameter of the available product (or blasthole diameter if the product is a bulk explosive). The result can be reduced by a second geology factor. If one or more decks are present, the distance between the one or more decks and / or the top or bottom (end) of the blasthole can be used as the face height to calculate the pattern blast area of ​​the portion of the face hole. The first factor is therefore:

number

[0050] The geological coefficients or geological constants (i.e., A and B) may include empirical variables that correlate geological properties with geometric properties of the blast hole. Equation 1 uses the ratio of face height to diameter of available explosives as variables in an equation with geological constants that are empirically fitted to previous blast data from previous blasts that resulted in adequate spalling of the particular bench material of the previous blast to identify the type of explosive to use or the amount of explosive to use. Previous blast data may also be used to identify what type of explosive should be used or the amount of explosive to use. Previous blast data includes actual explosive charge data from field equipment used to charge the borehole with explosives in the previous blast. Field equipment may include equipment that automatically charges the blast hole. Previous blast data may include pattern blast area, line of least resistance, spacing, actual mass of explosives and / or volume of explosives charged in the blast hole. In this example, the equation includes a first order polynomial, for example, Table 1 includes example geological coefficients. The geological coefficient may have a linear relationship. In some embodiments, the geological coefficient may be a relationship between the natural logarithm of the blast hole height and depth and the geological properties.

[0051] [Table 1]

[0052] In some embodiments, the blast design system calculates a second factor by adding a correction factor to the specific energy. The second factor may also be limited to be less than a certain amount. For example, the second factor may be:

number

[0053] RBS is the specific energy used in this example calculation. RBS can be scaled by 157.7 to scale the RBS value. In Equation 2, the second factor can be limited to be less than or equal to 1.2.

[0054] In some embodiments, the blast design system calculates the third factor by dividing the diameter by a unit of measurement factor that puts the hole diameter measurement into the desired interval units. The resulting dividend may be squared. For example, the third factor may be:

number

[0055] Therefore, the pattern blasting area is

number

[0056] The formulas and Table 1 provided above were imperial versions. Similar formulas can also be used for metric units, as shown below. Formula 5 and Table 2 can be used wherever metric units can be used.

number

[0057] [Table 2]

[0058] The pattern blast area can be used to identify the minimum resistance line and spacing 414 and perform an energy check 420. The minimum resistance line and spacing represent the length and width of the pattern blast area and are variable based on the selected blast shape or pattern and geology. For example, the minimum resistance line can be identified by multiplying the square root of the pattern blast area by a constant derived from the rock class from the geological characteristics of the blast site and the shape of the desired blast pattern type. Equation 6 and Table 3 provide an example of an equation and constants that can be used to identify the minimum resistance line.

number

[0059] In Equation 6, C is a constant derived from the rock class from the geological characteristics of the blast site and the shape of the desired blast pattern type. Table 3 contains example values ​​of C for squares and rectangles.

[0060] [Table 3]

[0061] The blast design system can calculate the spacing by dividing the pattern blast area by the line of least resistance as shown below.

number

[0062] In some embodiments, the minimum resistance line and spacing may be rounded to the nearest 0.5 foot (0.1 m in meters) increment.

[0063] In some embodiments, the blast design system performs a constraint check after identifying the spacing and the line of least resistance. For example, for a square or rectangular pattern in imperial units, the blast design system may identify whether the distance between holes is greater than 1.5 times the diameter of the holes used. In some embodiments, if the spacing is less than 1.5 times, the check fails, the current blast design is not valid, and no further calculations should proceed. For a staggered pattern, the check is:

number

[0064] The blast design system may perform an energy check 420 to determine whether the generated blast has an energy within the target range. To determine the mass of explosives in the column, the blast design system may use Equation 8.

number

[0065] The mass energy of the explosive may then be determined as shown in Equation 9.

number

[0066] The blast design system may check the mass energy of the blast against a minimum energy mass threshold and a maximum energy mass threshold, as shown in Equation 10. Energy Mass lower <MassEnergy<EnergyMass upper Formula 10

[0067] In some embodiments, the blast design system can also check that the mass energy of the blast is within the parameters set forth in Equation 11.

number

[0068] If the mass energy of the blast is not within any of the target ranges, the current blast design is not valid and the blast design system does not need to proceed with the remaining processes.

[0069] The minimum resistance line and spacing are used in the minimum resistance line stiffness check 422 and the borehole details calculation 416. The borehole details 416 describe the structure of one borehole. To find the sub-drill depth of a borehole, the blast design system may multiply the minimum resistance line by 0.3. The top stemming may be determined by multiplying the minimum resistance line by 0.7. The factor 0.7 may be changed for the hole being checked. The powder column may be determined by subtracting the top stemming from the blast hole depth.

[0070] The blast design system can also use the minimum resistance line and spacing to perform a minimum resistance line stiffness check 422. The minimum resistance line stiffness can be the hole height divided by the minimum resistance line as shown below.

number

[0071] The blast design system compares the minimum resistance line stiffness to a minimum resistance line stiffness minimum threshold. In one embodiment, the minimum resistance line stiffness minimum threshold is 2. In some embodiments, if the minimum resistance line stiffness is less than 2, the blast design system may stop proceeding with the calculations. In some embodiments, the blast design system may continue generating the blast design and may flag the user if the minimum resistance line stiffness check concludes that the minimum resistance line stiffness falls below the minimum resistance line stiffness minimum threshold.

[0072] The blast design system may complete a vibration check 424 to verify that the generated blast design passes seismometer constraints. The vibration check 424 may check what the maximum amount of explosive that can be detonated in an 8 millisecond time frame is. Using a maximum explosive mass limit, the blast design system may check if the maximum mass limit has been exceeded. For example,

number

[0073] [Table 4]

[0074] The blast design system may identify the number of holes required to meet the blast restriction data 404. In some embodiments, the blast design system may calculate the number of holes required to meet the blast restriction data 404 by inputting one of four restrictions from the optional blast restriction data 404. Depending on which restrictions the user inputs, the calculation process performs different calculations. The end result of each calculation should be the same. The end result is the number of holes required to meet the given restrictions. Depending on which input is provided, one of the following four formulas is used. The result of the following formulas may be rounded to the nearest integer to find the number of holes that meet the blast restriction data 404.

[0075] If the blast limit data 404 is the total weight of the explosive, the blast design system may use Equation 13.

number

[0076] If the blast constraint data 404 is the total volume of rock, the blast design system may use Equation 14. Volume of rock to be blasted from a borehole = Line of least resistance * Spacing * Face height Equation 14

[0077] If the blast constraint data 404 is the volume of rock to blast, the blast design system may use Equation 15.

number

[0078] If the blast constraint data 404 is the total weight of rock to blast, the blast design system may use Equation 16.

number

[0079] If the blast limit data 404 is a number of holes, then this blast limit data is used.

[0080] The blast design system may perform a metric evaluation 430 to identify useful statistical data for purposes of presentation to a user. In one embodiment, the blast design system may identify the following factors during the metric evaluation 430:

number

[0081] The blast design system may output a blast design 408. The blast plan may include the line of least resistance and spacing, borehole details, predicted vibration power factor, number of holes, pattern details, drill length, volume of material to blast, weight of explosives, and / or weight of material to blast.

[0082] In some embodiments, identifying the pattern blast area includes calculating a geometric relationship of face height to diameter of available explosives that is specific to the geological characteristics of the bench to identify the raw pattern blast area. In some embodiments, the blast design system adjusts the raw pattern blast area based on the difference between the specific energy of the available explosives and the specific energy of the explosives used in the previous blast from which the previous blast data was used to generate the formula. In some embodiments, the blast design system adjusts the raw pattern blast area based on the volume of available explosives.

[0083] In some embodiments, the blast design system may perform blast design optimization by generating a data set including multiple permutations of the received blast data (see FIG. 5). The blast design system may simulate a blast for each of the multiple permutations to identify multiple simulation results and base the blast plan on the highest scoring simulation result. In some embodiments, the blast design system may perform post-blast analysis of images of the debris and adjust future blast plans based on the size and location of the debris.

[0084] In some embodiments, the blast design system may vary the density of emulsion explosives within a simulated permutation to identify an optimal energy profile for each blast hole. For example, the blast design system may identify segments within a blast hole having different geological properties. The multiple permutations may include different explosive densities, products at the blast hole, and / or segments within the blast hole. In some embodiments, the multiple permutations may include different densities of emulsion explosives or ammonium nitrate oil (ANFO) within segments within a blast hole having different geological properties.

[0085] In some embodiments, the blast design system may output a spall prediction. For example, based on past blasts, the blast design system may predict blast size and provide that prediction to a user.

[0086] Figures 5-13 illustrate various aspects of generating a blast design by running multiple simulations of multiple possible permutations. Generating a blast design using multiple permutations, as described in Figures 5-13, can be used by the blast design system 106 of Figures 1 and 3.

[0087] 5 shows a flowchart of a method 500 for generating blast designs by running multiple simulations of multiple possible permutations, according to one embodiment. The method runs the simulations of the permutations as independently solvable problems.

[0088] A blast design system performing this method 500 receives blast data from a user 502. The blast data may include blast site dimensions, blast site geology and available explosives types and / or other data inputs (e.g., blast specific data 402, blast restriction data 404 and location data 406 of FIG. 4). The blast design system generates a data set of multiple possible blast design permutations from the received blast data 504. The blast design system simulates the blasts of the multiple permutations to identify multiple simulation results 506. The simulations may be run in parallel on multiple machines, processors, cores or threads to improve efficiency.

[0089] The simulation results are stored 507, scored and compared 508. The design system may generate a blast plan based on the highest scoring simulation results and present the results to the user 510. The blast plan identifies the locations of the blast holes to be drilled and the type and amount of explosives to be used. In some embodiments, the blast plan may be scored based on one or more of cost, number of decks, number of holes, minimum line of resistance stiffness ratio and vibration score.

[0090] Figure 6 shows an example of a method 600 for generating a dataset of multiple permutations from blast data (see, e.g., generating a dataset 504 in Figure 5). A blast design system performing this method 600 identifies 602 possible permutations of the blast data. For example, the blast design system may use available hole diameters, selected products, and deck counts to identify possible permutations. The blast design system generates 604 a record for each permutation and combines 606 the records for each permutation to generate a dataset.

[0091] For example, the blast data may include an indication that there are a maximum of three decks, two hole diameters are available (e.g., 89mm and 102mm), and the selected product is Dynomix poured. In this example, the blast design setup is reduced to a set of all permutations of the blast data. For example, if there is no default product, the permutations are: [Hole diameter=89mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=1] [Hole diameter=89mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=2] [Hole diameter=89mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=3] [Hole diameter=102mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=1] [Hole diameter=102mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=2] [Hole diameter=102mm, Product=dynomix poured, Hole configuration=3] Includes.

[0092] The total number of permutations can be calculated using Equation 18. In this particular example, there are 6 possible permutations. Number of tasks = (selected product + default product) * |hole diameter| * max number of decks Equation 18

[0093] In some embodiments, the permutation may also include different densities of explosives within segments of a blasthole. For example, a blasthole may have a variety of hardness profiles, and the permutation may apply an explosive of a particular density to segments of the blasthole having a similar hardness value, an explosive of a second density to segments of the blasthole having a different hardness value, an explosive of a third density to segments of the blasthole having yet another different hardness value, etc.

[0094] FIG. 7 shows an example of a method 700 for simulating permutations of a data set (see, for example, performing simulation 506 in FIG. 5). A blast design system performing this method 700 generates blast level details 702, including the pattern blast area, the minimum resistance line and spacing. In the illustrated embodiment, the blast design system also generates hole level details of the minimum resistance line and spacing 704. The blast design system may perform a validity check to identify whether the blast design meets the target criteria for a valid blast 706. The method may then calculate the characteristics of a valid blast 708. Further details of these steps are provided in the following figures.

[0095] 8A and 8B show a method 800 for generating blast level details (see, for example, generating blast level details 702 in FIG. 7). The method 800 generates potential blast design solutions from given inputs. The blast design system can calculate the pounds of mass per delay for each permutation and seismometer from the diameter, product, and number of decks 802, and identify the permutation from the lowest seismometer and most severe pounds of mass per delay 804.

[0096] The blast design system calculates 806 the initial pattern blast area. This may be done using Equation 4 and Table 1 or Equation 5 and Table 2, as described with reference to Figure 4. The blast design system calculates 807 the initial minimum resistance line and spacing from the initial pattern blast area. The initial minimum resistance line may be calculated using Equation 6 and Table 3, and the spacing may be determined using Equation 7, as described with reference to Figure 4.

[0097] The blast design system determines whether the initial minimum resistance line and spacing is less than or equal to the length and width of the blast site 808. If the initial minimum resistance line and spacing exceeds the length and width of the blast site, then no solution is possible and the method ends. If the initial minimum resistance line and spacing is less than or equal to the length and width of the blast site, then the method continues by calculating a minimum minimum resistance line and spacing 810, where:

number

[0098] The blast design system may round the initial minimum resistance line 812. For example, the blast design system may round the initial minimum resistance line to one decimal place or 0.5 in feet.

[0099] The blast design system calculates 814 a new blast design: New Pattern Blast Area = Preferred Distance * Non-Preferred Distance. The preferred distance can be the line of least resistance or the spacing, depending on whether the user wants to better match the length of the blast or the width of the blast. For example, if the preferred distance is the line of least resistance, the non-preferred distance would be the spacing.

[0100] The blasting design system checks whether the new pattern blasting area is within the target range 816, where the range is 0.9 * Pattern Blasting Area < New Pattern Blasting Area < 1.1 * PattF. If the new pattern blasting area is not within the target range, the blasting design system attempts to find a matching priority distance as described in Figure 9 822. If the new pattern blasting area is not within the target range, the blasting design system checks whether the priority distance is a perfect match (e.g., the length or width of the blast is equal to the priority distance) 818.

[0101] If the priority distance is not a perfect match, the blasting design system attempts to find a matching priority distance as described in Figure 9 822. If the priority distance is a perfect match, the blasting design system attaches the new addition and spacing to the final result list 820 and then attempts to find other wired distances that match 822. The blasting design system sorts the approximate results in order from best fit to worst fit 824.

[0102] In Figure 8B, the blasting design system iterates through the approximate result list 826 and selects the priority distance from the current result. The blasting design system selects the potential minimum burden and spacing configuration from the approximate result list. The blasting design system selects and examines the potential minimum burden and approximate spacing according to the sizing rules 830. The blasting design system calculates the maximum non - priority distance and the minimum non - priority distance from the initial pattern blasting area and the potential priority distance 832. The blasting design system can calculate the maximum and minimum non - priority distances based on Equation 19 and Equation 20. Spacing ≤ Minimum Burden ≤ 1.4 * Minimum Burden Equation 19 Minimum Burden ≤ Spacing ≤ 1.4 * Distance Equation 20

[0103] The blast design system advances the non-preferred distance by 0.1 (or 0.5 if feet are used) 834. After advancing, the blast design system checks if the potential non-preferred distance < maximum non-preferred distance 836. If the potential non-preferred distance is not less than the target range, the blast design system selects the next preferred distance from the current result 828. If the potential non-preferred distance is less than the target threshold, the blast design system calculates a new pattern blast area equal to preferred distance * potential non-preferred distance 838. The blast design system checks to see if the new pattern blast area is within the target range 840. For example, the target range may be Min PattF < New PattF < Max PattF. If the new pattern blast area is within the target range, the new pattern blast area result is appended to the final list of results 842. If the new pattern blast area is not in the target range, the blast design system adds a step to the potential non-preferred distance 844.

[0104] The blast design system checks to see if all preferred distances have been tried 846. If not, the blast design system selects the next preferred distance from the current results 828. If all preferred distances have been tried, the blast design system sorts the final results list for best fit 848 (e.g., least remaining first) and the blast design performs the method of generating hole level details as described in FIG.

[0105] FIG. 9 is a method 900 that a blast design system may use to try to find 902 a preferred distance that fits a blast site. In this method, the blast design system tries to find the best fit to the preferred distance (e.g., the line of least resistance or spacing). The best fit means that there is minimal overflow or underflow (i.e., the remainder approaches or is equal to zero). For example, in a blast site having a width of 50m, if the line of least resistance is 5m, there is no remainder because 10 holes spaced 5m apart = 50m. As another example, a line of least resistance of 4.9m will result in a remainder of 1m underflow for 10 holes, or an overflow of 3.0m for 11 holes.

[0106] The blast design system rounds 904 the minimum resistance line and may generate a step (e.g., 0.1 for meters, 0.5 for feet) 906. The rounded minimum resistance line is adjusted by adding the step to the minimum resistance line 908. The blast design system checks 910 whether the rounded minimum resistance line is within the target range, specifically whether it is greater than the minimum resistance line and less than the maximum minimum resistance line. If the rounded minimum resistance line is not within range, the blast design system returns to FIG. 8A and attempts to find a matching preferred distance. If the rounded minimum resistance line is within range, the blast design system uses the minimum resistance line to identify the remainder of the site plan length 912. For example, if the blast width is 50m and the minimum resistance line is 5m, there is nothing remaining since 10 holes * 5m = 50. In another example, if the minimum resistance line is 4.9m and the blast width remains at 50m, then for 10 holes there is a remainder of 1m underflow, or for 11 holes there is an overflow of 3.9m. The system appends 914 the remainder and the minimum resistance line to the approximate results list.

[0107] FIG. 10 shows a method 1000 for generating hole level details (e.g., deck configuration, subdrill, topstem, interstem, and powder column length) at a given minimum resistance line and spacing. The powder column length is the length of the portion of the blast hole that is filled with explosives. A blast design system using the method 1000 iterates 1002 through potential minimum resistance lines and spacings, looking at preferred distances, non-preferred distances, pattern blast areas, and the remainder. The blast design system determines 1004 whether all potential minimum resistance lines and spacings have been used. The blast design system selects 1006 the next item from the list of potential minimum resistance lines and spacings. The system checks 1008 that the minimum resistance lines and spacings are not too large for the blast area, and calculates the powder column length, subdrill, and topstem and interstem.

[0108] The blast design system may build 1010 the deck and calculate the explosive mass. The blast design system may build 1010 the deck based on the following criteria: The top deck and inter-deck have the same powder column and explosive mass. The inter-deck and bottom deck may have the same height (bottom deck height does not include sub-drill). The bottom deck may have a different explosive mass due to the sub-drill. The top deck has a different height due to the top stemming.

[0109] 11 shows a method 1100 for testing the validity of a planned blast design. A blast design system using method 1100 may perform a series of validity checks. For example, the blast design system may perform an energy and mass check, an energy per volume check, and a minimum resistance line-stiffness check.

[0110] In the energy and mass check, the blast design system checks to see if the deck explosive mass is less than the primary seismometer mass pounds per delay and the minimum energy check per mass per deck is less than the deck energy and the deck energy is less than the maximum energy check per mass per deck 1104. The deck energy calculation is

number

[0111] An energy per volume check may be used to check whether the minimum energy per volume is less than the deck energy and the deck energy is less than the maximum energy per volume 1106.

[0112] If the energy per volume is within the blast design, the solution is added to a potential solutions list 1108. The blast design system calculates the minimum line-to-stiffness ratio from all decks 1110 and returns the result with the worst minimum line-to-stiffness ratio for the hole. A minimum line-stiffness check may be used to identify if the minimum line-to-stiffness ratio is >2.

[0113] 12 illustrates a method 1200 for calculating certain characteristics of a valid design. The method 1200 tests the validity of a planned blast design. The blast design system calculates 1202 the dominant vibration. In some embodiments,

number

[0114] FIG. 13 shows a graph 1300 of blast plan results scored based on vibration with a curve fitted by vibration. There are best scores 1306, 1312 and OK scores 1308, 1310 and 1314. In some embodiments, the highest score is not selected, but the score at the point of 80% 1304 of the highest vibration is selected. Once the results are fitted according to a polynomial, the score is on the y-axis, to achieve that the blast design system fits the vibration results according to a polynomial similar to the graph 1300. To score the blast plan results, the blast design system may score based on one of the following methods: 1) least number of decks, 2) least number of holes, 3) least resistance line stiffness ratio, or 4) vibration score. The first three methods sort the results by the selected criteria.

[0115] 14 illustrates a method 1400 for editing the minimum resistance line and spacing. In some embodiments, a user may be able to edit the minimum resistance line and spacing using this method. A user may input a desired minimum resistance line and / or spacing.

[0116] For example, this method 1400 may be used to edit the minimum resistance line and spacing identified using the methods outlined in Figures 8A-9. Because the minimum resistance line and spacing are calculated as a step in generating the blast design, adjusting these parameters may require partial execution of the method of generating the blast design (e.g., in Figure 7, the method may generate hole level details at a given minimum resistance line and spacing 704, perform validity checks 706 (e.g., energy check, minimum resistance line stiffness check, and vibration check), and calculate the characteristics of the valid blast (e.g., explosive weight, material weight, material volume, number of holes, fragment size) 708).

[0117] A system using this method 1400 checks 1402 whether the pattern blast area is locked. Locking the pattern blast area indicates that the pattern blast area will remain the same after the minimum resistance line or spacing is edited. If the pattern blast area is locked, the system receives input indicating either the minimum resistance line or spacing 1412. If spacing is entered, the system calculates the minimum resistance line based on the spacing 1414. If minimum resistance line is entered, the system calculates spacing based on the minimum resistance line 1416. If the pattern blast area is not locked, the system receives input indicating the minimum resistance line and spacing 1404 and outputs the pattern blast area 1406.

[0118] The system may further perform a pattern blast area check 1408. For example, the system may check that the pattern blast area is greater than or equal to the original pattern blast area and less than or equal to 110% of the original pattern blast area.

[0119] The system may further perform a pattern ratio check 1410. For example, the system may check that spacing >= 1.5 x hole diameter and spacing <= 1.5 x minimum resistance line.

[0120] The examples and embodiments disclosed herein should be construed as merely illustrative and exemplary, and in no way as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the disclosure herein.

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method for generating a blast plan, comprising: receiving geological characteristics of a blast site from one or more sources; identifying a rock class that correlates to the geological characteristics of the blast site; identifying a pattern for a plurality of blast holes based on the rock class of the blast site; identifying explosives for each of said blast holes by varying emulsion explosive densities based on said geological characteristics; 23. A computer-implemented method comprising:

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the geological properties are received from at least one of seismic data, drilling data, drill cuttings, and core samples.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a pattern for the plurality of blast holes comprises identifying a line of least resistance and spacing for the plurality of blast holes.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising optimizing a pattern for the plurality of blast holes based on the geological characteristics.

5. 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein optimizing comprises generating a data set comprising generating a plurality of permutations of blast data and simulating the plurality of permutations of the blast data.

6. 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein optimizing includes varying emulsion explosive density within permutations of the simulated blast data to identify an optimal energy profile for each blast hole.

7. generating a model of the blast site; overlaying a pattern of the plurality of blast holes onto the model of the blast site; The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

8. 1. A computer-implemented method for generating a blast plan, comprising: receiving geological characteristics of a blast site from one or more sources; Categorizing the blast site based on the geological characteristics; identifying a pattern for a plurality of blast holes based on rock class at the blast site; identifying explosives for each of said blast holes by varying emulsion explosive densities based on said blast site divisions; 23. A computer-implemented method comprising:

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the geological properties are received from at least one of seismic data, drill hole data, drill cuttings, and core samples.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein identifying a pattern for the plurality of blast holes comprises identifying a line of least resistance and spacing for the plurality of blast holes.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising optimizing a pattern for the plurality of blast holes based on the geological characteristics.

12. 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein optimizing comprises generating a data set comprising generating a plurality of permutations of blast data and simulating the plurality of permutations of the blast data.

13. 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein optimizing includes varying emulsion explosive density within permutations of the simulated blast data to identify an optimal energy profile for each blast hole.

14. generating a model of the blast site; overlaying a pattern of the plurality of blast holes onto the model of the blast site; The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising:

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a pattern for the plurality of blast holes includes identifying a borehole configuration for each blast hole.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a pattern for the plurality of blast holes comprises identifying a number of holes required to meet a blasting constraint.

17. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying an explosive for each of the blast holes includes identifying a powder coefficient for the explosive calculated by dividing a total weight of the explosive by a total volume of rock.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying an explosive for each of the blast holes includes identifying a weight of the explosive.

19. 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein identifying a pattern for the plurality of blast holes includes at least one of identifying borehole details for each blast hole and identifying a number of holes required to meet blasting constraints.

20. 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein identifying an explosive for each of the blast holes includes at least one of: identifying a powder coefficient for the explosive, the powder coefficient being calculated by dividing a total weight of the explosive by a total volume of rock; and identifying a weight of the explosive.

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