Blast Engineering
The experience of SubTerra, Inc. and its team of associates offer a broad range of services at each stage in the investigation, design, and construction of surface and underground excavation projects. Our blasting-related services for civil construction and mining applications include:
Preliminary Investigations
Preliminary Investigations to identify critical engineering issues, define design information needs, assess overall project feasibility, and develop preliminary cost estimates
Blast Designs
Blast Designs for quarries, underground mines, civil construction, shafts, and tunnels, including perimeter control techniques to limit vibration and blast damage. Designs are prepared using industry software or specialized “in-house” spreadsheet-based software, depending on our client’s needs and preferences.
Blast Permitting
SubTerra has been involved with permitting blasting activities at numerous urban and suburban quarries and construction sites. This has included preparing analyses for input to both SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) Checklists and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). Analyses typically address potential impacts to structures, residents, water quality and quantity, landslide hazards, and wildlife. They may also include predictions of impacts to gas pipelines, fish, and fish habitats, if circumstances warrant..
Development of Regulations
SubTerra personnel have been involved with the development and revision of state blasting regulations.
Blast Optimization Programs
Blast Optimization Programs have been developed for both large-scale mining and smaller-scale drift and tunnel blasting applications. The purpose is to reduce drilling and explosives consumption, improve muckpile geometry and fragmentation, and control ground vibrations. The techniques used in diagnostic monitoring enable the detonation sequence to be analyzed in detail, especially in the cut, where most problems occur. Blast design problems such as sympathetic detonation and misfires can be quickly identified and corrected. Following analysis, twenty-to-thirty percent reductions in both explosive consumption and drilling times are typical.
Preliminary Investigations
Preliminary Investigations to identify critical engineering issues, define design information needs, assess overall project feasibility, and develop preliminary cost estimates.
Blast Design
Blast Designs for quarries, underground mines, civil construction, shafts, and tunnels, including perimeter control techniques to limit vibration and blast damage. Designs are prepared using industry software or specialized “in-house” spreadsheet-based software, depending on our client’s needs and preferences.
Blast Permitting
SubTerra has been involved with permitting blasting activities at numerous urban and suburban quarries and construction sites. This has included preparing analyses for input to both SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) Checklists and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). Analyses typically address potential impacts to structures, residents, water quality and quantity, landslide hazards, and wildlife. They may also include predictions of impacts to gas pipelines, fish, and fish habitats, if circumstances warrant..
Development of Regulations: SubTerra personnel have been involved with the development and revision of state blasting regulations.
Blast Optimization
Blast Optimization Programs have been developed for both large-scale mining and smaller-scale drift and tunnel blasting applications. The purpose is to reduce drilling and explosives consumption, improve muckpile geometry and fragmentation, and control ground vibrations. The techniques used in diagnostic monitoring enable the detonation sequence to be analyzed in detail, especially in the cut, where most problems occur. Blast design problems such as sympathetic detonation and misfires can be quickly identified and corrected. Following analysis, twenty-to-thirty percent reductions in both explosive consumption and drilling times are typical.
Compliance Monitoring
Far-Field and Compliance Monitoring: We provide standard compliance monitoring relative to USBM/OSM limits, owner-specified limits, or other damage criteria. Regression analyses of test or production blast data are used to generate new “site laws” for use on future blasts.
Near-Field Blast Monitoring is currently carried out using our fleet of Instantel Vibration Monitors. This equipment can be coupled to a wide range of sensors, including accelerometers, geophones, hydrophones, and specialized pressure sensors for monitoring near-field blast effects.
Warning Systems and Remote Data Access
Warning Systems and Remote Data Access: We have developed wireless and internet based data acquisition systems that allow individual users to access their data from off-site and to receive both on site visual and off-site cell or e-mail notification when vibration thresholds are exceeded.
Monitoring Equipment Sales and Rentals: SubTerra, Inc. is a licensed distributor for Instantel® Blast Monitoring . This instrumentation has been supplied for a broad range of uses ranging from standard compliance monitoring at quarries to specialized near field blast monitoring at Yucca Mountain and dynamic pore pressure monitoring in dam foundations. We offer both sales and rental of Instantel equipment.
We also work with Instantel to customize other instrumentation for use with the Instantel Micromate, Minimate Plus, BlastmateIII, and Minimate Pro products.
Far-Field and Compliance Monitoring
We provide standard compliance monitoring relative to USBM/OSM limits, owner-specified limits, or other damage criteria. Regression analyses of test or production blast data are used to generate new “site laws” for use on future blasts.
Near-Field Blast Monitoring
Near-Field Blast Monitoring is currently carried out using our fleet of Instantel Vibration Monitors. This equipment can be coupled to a wide range of sensors, including accelerometers, geophones, hydrophones, and specialized pressure sensors for monitoring near-field blast effects.
Warning Systems and Remote Data Access
We have developed wireless and internet based data acquisition systems that allow individual users to access their data from off-site and to receive both on site visual and off-site cell or e-mail notification when vibration thresholds are exceeded.
Monitoring Equipment Sales, Planning, and Rentals
SubTerra, Inc. is a licensed distributor of Instantel® Blast Monitoring Equipment. This instrumentation has been supplied for a broad range of uses ranging from standard compliance monitoring at quarries to specialized near field blast monitoring at Yucca Mountain and dynamic pore pressure monitoring in dam foundations. We offer both sales and rental of Instantel equipment.
