Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Mining Engineering, Si.C., Islamic Azad University, Sirjan, Iran
2 Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.
3 Researcher, The Department of Mining and Geology of Research and Technology Management of Gol-e-Gohar, Sirjan, Iran.
Abstract
Blast-induced ground vibration is a major concern in surface mines located near sensitive infrastructures. Although many empirical and artificial intelligence models have been developed for predicting peak particle velocity (PPV), the physical definition of charge per delay in multi-row blasting has received limited attention. This study comparatively evaluates six charge-per-delay estimation methods under relatively uniform geological and operational conditions in the overburden of Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore Mine No. 1, Iran. Thirty-two field vibration records were used to develop site-specific PPV attenuation relationships based on scaled distance. Model performance was assessed using R², RMSE, MAD, MSE, MAPE, residual analysis, and prediction-error indices, followed by independent validation using six additional blasts. Among the tested approaches, a spatially selective dominant-hole method, in which one representative hole per row is selected based on maximum charge and minimum distance to the monitoring point, provided the best overall performance for the power-law attenuation model (R² = 0.8387). Comparison with the classical USBM and Ambraseys–Hendron models showed that the improvement mainly results from a more physically representative definition of effective charge per delay rather than a change in attenuation form. Validation errors ranged from 0.12% to 11.37%, with a MAPE of 5.63%, confirming practical reliability under similar site-specific conditions. Using a 95% confidence regression framework and a permissible PPV limit of 25 mm/s, a charge-per-delay zoning map was developed. Field mitigation measures, including pre-splitting and blast-direction modification, reduced PPV by 55–57% and 20–50%, respectively, supporting safer vibration-controlled blasting near critical mine infrastructures and operational zones.
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