Design and Development of stemming plug to enhance

blast performance
Supervisor: Dr. Zaka Emad
Presenter: Atta ur Rehman (2015-MS-Min-04)
 Outline

1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Objectives
4. Scope of work
5. Methodology
6. Experimentation
7. Timeline

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Introduction

1) Blasting Operation
2) Reasons for Blasting
3) Vibration
4) Mean particle size
5) Flyrock
6) Muck pile
7) Number of Rows
8) Charge Per Delay

3
Literature Review

Types of Stemming plugs in practice

Cement/Plaster of Paris grouting
Hardened Plastic balls
Air filled bags (Inflatable balls)
Plastic cones
Foam Plugs
Blast bags

4
Literature Review

Outcomes of using stemming plugs

More gas retention
Better fragmentation
Lower powder factor
Decreased flyrock
Lesser operational cost
Increased overall efficiency
Better than conventional material

5
Objective

Design and development of

new stemming system
or
improvisation of existing system
for
better productivity and economics

6
 Scope of Work

The scope of this work will mainly focus

on limestone, gypsum and sandstone
quarries of cement industries in Chakwal
region, Punjab province of Pakistan.

7
 Methodology

Data Stemming Plug

Literature Collection Designing and Lab & Field Economic
Review and Analysis Numerical Experimentation
Modeling
Analysis

8
Literature Review

Increasing previous knowledge

Any Stemming practice in target zone if not reported

Any Stemming manufacturing or marketing firm in Punjab, Pakistan

Any further related information related to mining activity in target zone

Any unforeseen or unpredictable condition encountered

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Data Collection

Field tour will be conducted to know about experimental parameters

such as
Bench heights
Geology
Drill hole lengths
Hole geometry
Powder factors
Availability of experimentation
Powder factor utilization
Any specific problem faced that can be incorporated into research work

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Stemming Plug Designing and Numerical Modeling

After data collection load bearing capacities will be calculated which

stemming plug will have to bear. Following information will help in
designing
Gas pressure generated
Retention required
Top column load
Blast diameter
Flowing clearance
Blast geometry
Unforeseen condition and stucking solution

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Lab Testing and Field Testing

All of the properties such as

Retention required
Top column load
Blast diameter
Flowing clearance
Blast geometry
Materials durability
Unforeseen condition and wall sticking solution
Will be tested in laboratory, and once stemming system passes the
test it will be tested in fully experimental situation in field.

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Economic Analysis

Once Experimentation is done in field following graphs will be

plotted in between different stemming system
Fragmentation
Mean particle size
Machine efficiency
Power requirement of crusher
Flyrock distance
Operators ease and utility (based on operators feedback)
Operational time
Any other parameter worth comparing at the spot

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 Experimentation

Plastic bottles, Hardened balls, inflatable rubber balls ( with CaO + water), plaster of paris grouting
and conventional system of stemming will be studied.
Quarry face will be colored to distinguish the pile differences if fired simultaneously with different
stemming devices.
Fragmentation will be calculated by Wipfrag Software
Distance of flyrocks (2 inches or greater) will be calculated by using GPS and distance formula.
All parameter will be kept constant for all the 5 blasts apart from Powder factor.

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 Timeline

Activity Apr May June July Aug Sept

2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016
Research Proposal
Literature Review
Field Trip
Numerical modeling
Lab Testing
Field Testing
Fragmentation Study
Economic Analysis
Thesis writing
Final presentation and thesis submission

15
Explanation to missing links

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