Professional Documents
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Rock Excavating and Blasting (c1913)
Rock Excavating and Blasting (c1913)
EXCAVATING
AND BLASTING
By
J. J. COSGROVE
Author of
Published by
Rational 3?trc proofing Company
Pittsburgh, U. S. A.
in rock excavating.
A copy of this book should be found on the
shelves of every library. It will also be found
invaluable at mines and quarries, in the class room
of engineering colleges, and in the offices of en-
gineers, architectsand contractors.
J. J. COSGROVE.
Philadelphia, Pa., September, 1913.
PUBLISHERS' NOTE
HIS is an age of vocational training. The
old system of apprenticeship having passed
away left a lack of skilled workers without
which no nation can be truly prosperous.
Schools and colleges have been established
to supply this lack of technical training,
but schools and colleges can help only those
who come to their doors, thirsting for knowledge.
The great host of workers, however, the very back-
bone of the industrial Commonwealth, are left to shift for
themselves, and carve out of the hard rocks of experience
their own futures and fortunes. Such a system injures
not only the worker, but the employer and State as well;
and within recent years large industrial concerns have
turned their attention toward providing vocational training
for those interested in their calling.
all
Railroads not only have traveling instructors and
courses of study for the trainmen, but some of them have
schools for apprentices in their shops; and most of the
railroads do not stop at that, but reach out to help the
farmers, manufacturers and tradesmen along their lines to
produce bigger crops, increase their output, and in every
way improve their methods and make greater profit.
Manufacturers of type-setting machines maintain free
schools to teach the care and operation of their machines.
Manufacturers of plumbing and heating goods have text-
books and free publications of an educational nature pre-
pared, to help and instruct those connected with their call-
ing; and all along the line is found the same awakening
to the importance, the duty, and the benefit of a like course.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, we, as the
pioneer manufacturers of fire-proofing materials for build-
ings, and the largest manufacturers in the world of
NATCO hollow tile building blocks, have accepted the re-
sponsibility thus imposed upon us, to do our share towards
furnishing reliable and readily-available information re-
garding all phases of building construction. In carrying
out this undertaking our monthly magazine, BUILDING
PROGRESS, was started, and the work, "Rock Excav-
ating and Blasting," first appeared in its pages as a serial
article. The value of the information contained in the
series prompted us to put it out in more
enduring form,
suitable for ready reference; and this we do just as it left
the author's hands, without one word of advertising any-
where in the book.
PAGE
FORCE AND DIRECTION OF A BLAST 1
TUNNEL DRIVING 23
HAMMER DRILLS 69
STONE CHANNELERS 75
POWDER 91
DYNAMITE 117
TABLE. PAGE
I. Size of Drill Holes ........................ 12
FIG. PAGE
1. Hole Made by "Grip" Shot .................. 2
2. Inclination of Drill Hole for "Grip" Shot ..... 3
3. Effect of Blast in Rock Having Two Free Faces 5
4. Effect when Charge is Equal Distance from Two
Free Faces ............................... 6
5. Showing Terms Used in Blasting .............. 8
6. Bench Work in a Quarry .................... 9
7. A "Chambered" Drill Hole .................... 11
8. Effect .of Multiple Blasts .................... 13
9. Rock Removed by Multiple Blast .............. 15
10. Arrangement of Drill Holes in Shaft Sinking. . 18
11. Deep Drill Holes for Shaft Sinking ........... 20
12. Rock Drilling in Small Tunnel Soft Rock ..... 24
13. Diagram of Drill Holes in Tunnel Soft Rock. . . 25
14. Drill Holes for Small Tunnel in Hard Rock ..... 26
15. Drill Holes Near Fissures or Faults ......... 29
16. Method of Working Large Tunnel ........... 31
17. Rock Drill on Tripod ....................... 36
18. Rock Drill on Quarry Bar .................... 40
19. Mining Column or Shaft Bar ................. 42
20. Sand Pump ................................. 47
21. Perspective View of Rock-Drill Steel .......... 52
22. Drill Steel for Hard Rock .................... 52
23. Drill Steel for Soft Rock ..................... 53
24. Length of Rib on Drill for Soft Rock .......... 53
25. Cutting Edge on Drill Steel for Soft Rock ...... 54
26. "X" Bit Drill Steel .......................... 55
27. A Swage ................................... 62
28. A "Sow" .................................... 62
29. Cross-Shaped Dolly .......................... 62
30. X-shaped Dolly .............................. 62
31. A Flatter ................................... 62
32. Spreader ..................... 62
33. Swage for Anvil 62
34. Swage for Hammer 62
35. Hammer Drill 72
36. Steel for Hammer Drill 73
37. Method of Using Hammer Drill 74
38. Simplex Channeling Machine 77
39. Duplex Channeling Machine 79
40. Channeler Steels for Marble 81
41. Three-piece Gang Steels for Channeler...
Drill 81
42. Gang Drill Steels for
Channeling Slate 81
43. Z-Shaped Channeling Steel for Fissured Rock.. 81
.
PART I.
DRILL HOLES
* *
CHAPTER I.
4
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 3.
' -
f c
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
TABLE I.
Fig. 8.
Effect of Multiple Blasts.
- -. -*--IT !!
Fig. 9.
16
CHAPTER II.
Fig. 10.
Arrangement of Drill Holes in Shaft Sinking.
Fig. U.
Deep Drill Holes for Shaft Sinking.
22
CHAPTER III.
TUNNEL DRIVING.
Fig. 12.
Rock Drilling in Small Tunnel. Soft Rock.
Fig. 13.
Diagram of Drill Holes in Tunnel. Soft Rock.
the shot has not only to rend the rock, but lift
it as well.
Fig. 14.
Drill Holes for Small Tunnel in Hard Rock.
28
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 15.
Drill Holes Near Fissures or Faults.
31
Rock Excavating and Blasting
34
PART II.
Fig. 17.
Rock Drill on Tripod.
36
Rock Excavating and Blasting
40
Rock Excavating and Blasting
1
Rock Excavating and Blasting
44
CHAPTER V.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.
In soft ground in both wet and dry holes the
drill may cut into the rock faster than it can
throw the cuttings out of the hole, causing mud-
ding or clogging. In these cases always throttle
the air to reduce the hardness of the blow and use
the longest possible stroke.
50
CHAPTER VI.
Fig. 23.
Drill Steel for Soft
Rock.
Fig. 25.
up. The wings are five-
Cutting Edge on Drill Steel eighths of an inch thick,
for Soft Rock.
for the size shown in
Figs. 22 to 25, and should never be less than that
for this size of bit and steel. They should be
the same thickness throughout to allow free
return of the cuttings. If gauge less than 2*4
inches is desired make the bit correspondingly
shorter.
TABLE III.
62.
Rock Excavating and Blasting
-^ 0000 LO i
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rt ID
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Rock Excavating and Blasting
(M
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42
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CiOOT IT I
66
Rock Excavating and Blasting
68
CHAPTER VII
HAMMER DRILLS.
* *
N blasting work, a charge of explosive
generally throws out or breaks down
blocks of rock too large and heavy
for removal. When such is the case,
"pop" holes must be drilled in them,
and the rocks broken up into convenient sizes for
handling by blasting them with small charges of
explosives. Hand drilling was formerly employed
for this purpose, but machine hammer drills, op-
erated by one man, and using compressed air, are
now generally used.
Hammer drills are handy not alone for breaking
TABLE VI.
Capacities of Hammer Drills.
Class of Drill
Rock Excavating and Blasting
71
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 37.
Method of Using Hammer Drill.
74
CHAPTER VIII.
STONE CHANNELERS.
76
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 38.
Simplex Channeling Machine.
77
Rock Excavating and Blasting
si
79
Rock Excavating and Blasting
81
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 44.
Channeled Walls of Chicago Drainage Canal.
83
Rock Excavating and Blasting
The
sizes, weights and specifications of Sullivan
stone channels can be found in Table VII.
luauidmba
CO CO CN Cv OO rHt>OO
UJH jad y
no '8jnssaj,j
8 qi DOT
oo oo x to > o w eo o o o to c o to c
: o
uaq.il s;no jo
C- C- C- CO CO CO Oi OS CO CO CO OO OOCOtOtO T}I
50 CO to CO CO 50 CO CO 50 50 COCOeOCO r-f
g^
CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO 5O CO CO CO CO
X
Hi
III,
-= II
111
-c
Jj-c
^-2^3-^^^
--5
> S-g > > > >
fill
'* 'i
=5
Si"!* '^ 'S I!K
^^J"
tOCOCO >
85
Rock Excavating and Blasting
B &
> "
s i
^3 C^
<
Rock Excavating and Blasting
90
PART III.
CHAPTER IX.
POWDER.
Parts
Potassium nitrate ....................... 75
Charcoal ............................... 15
Suphur ................................ 10
Fig. 46.
Group of '.'A" Powders.
Fig. 47.
Group of "B" Powders.
94
Rock Excavating and Blasting
In which
P =weight of powder in pounds and decimals
of pounds.
R =cube
3
of line of least resistance in feet and
decimals of a foot.
C ^coefficient for use in determining amount
of powder required.
Example. What is the coefficient required for
determining the amount of powder to be used, in
subsequent blasts with greater lines of least re-
sistance, when in the trial blasts, with a line of
least resistance of 2 feet, the powder used was
1-3 pound?
Solution.Substituting in the formula the
values given,
1-3 pound=.33 pounds, and 2 3 =2x2X2=8; then
P .33
= = .04125
R 3
8
Having determined the coefficient, it may be
used to find the charge of explosive required by
the following rule :
RS x C =B
in which
R 3
cube of line of least resistance.
C = coefficient obtained as explained above.
B = charge of explosive required.
103
>\ Rock Excavating and Blasting
in which
C = weight of charge of explosive in pounds.
g =specified gravity of explosive.
d = diameter of hole in inches.
TABLE IX.
Size of Drill Holes for Different Weights of Explosives.
Name of Explosive
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 48.
Method of Charging Drill Hole.
110
Rock Excavating and Blasting
113
Rock Excavating and Blasting
TABLE X.
Size
CHAPTER XL
HIGH EXPLOSIVES.
DYNAMITE.
ITROGLYCERINE. There are a
number of high explosives used for
different purposes, but so far as or-
dinary rock blasting is concerned
dynamite and blasting gelatine are
the only ones that need be considered in detail.
It will be well, however, to explain the nature of
Fig. 49.
Cartridge of Dynamite.
TABLE XI.
Sizes and Weights of Dynamite Cartridges.
Diameter of Cartridge
@^\>\ Rock Excavating and Blasting
126
CHAPTER XII.
Kettle f r
heat, and when the water Dynamite.
129
Rock Excavating and Blasting
Fig. 51.
Thawing Box for Dynamite.
Fig. 52.
Thawing House for Dynamite.
137
Rock Excavating and Blasting
V,
Rock Excavating and Blasting
146
CHAPTER XIII.
Fig. 55.
Blasting Cap.
TABLE XII.
Sizes of Blasting Caps.
Name and
Number of
Caps
Rock Excavating and Blasting
grains respectively.
TABLE XIII.
Name and Use of Fuses.
154
Rock Excavating and Blasting
G/anf
tance and a wedge of
, Fig. 60.
giant pOWder mtro- Fuse Primed for Lighting.
duced into the split.
155
Rock Excavating and Blasting
156
CHAPTER XIV
r
Fig. 62.
Section of Electric Fuse.
Fig. 63.
Waterproof Fuse for Submarine Work.
Fig. 66.
Two Wire Circuit for Multiple Blasts.
Fig. 67.
Three Wire Circuit for Multiple Blasting.
Fig. 68.
Joint for Electric Wires.
Fig. 60.
Two-Post Blasting Machines.
Fig. 70.
Three- Post Blasting Machines.
first half inch or so, and then with all his force,
until the rack attached to the handle reaches the
bottom of the box and sends the current through
the outer circuit to the fuses.
When operating the blasting machine the han-
dle or rack bar should never be churned up and
down, but should simply be given the one vigorous
downward push for the "push-down" machine, or
a similar upward pull for the "pull-up" machine.
172
CHAPTER XV.
Fig. 71.
Portable Dynamite Magazine.
179
INDEX
Page. Page.
Blasting Powder, Drying. 114
Active Base, Dynamite Blasting Powder, Tests of 113
with an 121
Blasting Powders, Com-
Air Reheaters 84 position of 92
Air Required for Drilling Blasting Powders, Prop-
Machines 61 erties of 96
Air, Running with Com- Blasting Powder, Storing
pressed 45 and Handling 174
Amount of Explosive Re- Blasting Powder, Under-
quired 101 ground, Handling 114
Appearance of Dynamite. 122 Blasting, Some Precau-
tions in 171
Blasting, Terms Used in. 7
Blast, Force and Direction
of a 1
Base 121
Fuses in One 161
Drill Holes . . 1 Dynamite with an Inactive
Base 120
Drill Holes, Charging with
Powder 107 Dynamites and Powders.
Tses for 112
Drill Holes. Diameter and
Depth of 10
Drill Holes, Dry 46
Drill Holes for Tunnel
Driving 23 Effect of Multiple Blasts.. 13
Drill Holes, Inclination of 2 Electric Fuses 157
Drill Holes in Shaft Sink- Electric Fuses in One
ing 17 Drill Hole, Two 161
Drill on Mining Column, Electric Fuse, Placing the 158
Rock 41
Connec-
Electric Wires,
Drill on Quarry Bar, tions for 164
Rock 39
Electricity, Firing Blasts
Drill on Tripod, Rock... 35 by 157
Drill Steels for Channel- Exploding Charges, De-
ing Machines SO tonators for 147
Drill Steels. Sizes and Explosion, Mechanical
Weights of 55 Work of an 100
Page. Page.
Initial Force
H
Explosions,
of 98
Hammer Drills 69
Explosive Required, Handling and Storing
Amount of 101
Blasting Powder 174
Explosives, Handling and and
Storing 173 Handling Storing
Explosives 173
Explosives, High i?l
Handling Blasting Pow-
Explosives, High 117 der Underground 114
Holes, Drill 1
Fuse, Placing the Electric 159 Lighting the Fuse ........ 155
Fuses, Electric 157 Low Explosives ......... 91
Machine, Capacity of a
Blasting 168
Gelatine, Blasting 144
Machine, Firing with a
Guncotton 143 Blasting 169
Page. Page.
Machine, Testing a Blast- Powder, Storing and Han-
ing 170 dling Blasting 174
117
Running with Compressed
Nitroglycerine Air 45
Nitroglycerine, Proper- Running with Steam 47
ties of . . 118
W
Tamping Bags 115
Weights and Sizes of Drill
Tamping, Depth of 100 Steels 55
OVERDUE.
LD 21-100m-7,'33
YC 13421
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