Book Description

Decoupling explosive energy by detonating charges in cavities larger than the charge is an effective method for reducing ground shock magnitudes over those of fully contained bursts. The report presents an analysis of ground motions generated by decoupled explosions in rock cavities. A simplified elastic solution is used to calculate particle motion magnitudes and time histories produced by an explosion in rock as a function of the initial cavity radius and the loading density of the explosive. Loading density is defined as the total explosive weight divided by the initial cavity volume. (Modified author abstract).