Explosives Industry News
 

Top 3 Papers Announced

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We would like to thank all the authors from around the world who took the time to submit abstracts and papers for the 49th Annual ISEE Conference. We would also like to thank our reviewers who worked hard to review all the papers that were submitted. It was a rigorous peer review process with over 140 abstracts and papers reviewed by 26 dedicated reviewers across 4 continents, 61 papers were chosen for presentation.
 
We are pleased to announce the top 3 papers by merit:
 
1st-Anisometric Blast Wave Propagation of Geometric Charges in Breaching Applications by Mark Herman

Summary: Minimum safe distance (MSD) calculations are used widely in military applications. These calculations are often based on spherical charges in open air. However, some applications, including explosive breaching, use other geometries. These other geometries exhibit a shock wave profile that has different values when measured in different directions, thus making the current spherical models inaccurate.
 
2nd-Mining Cost Optimization Strategy Based on Adaptive Blast Design by Paul Couceiro

Summary: This paper describes the application of a heuristic cost optimization approach, where blast parameters are used as decision variables to evaluate the potential impact of several blasting scenarios on subsequent operations. This can be done while continuously modelling, measuring and calibrating the resultant operational performances throughout the mine cycle.
 
3rd-Encounter with Potentially Acidic Sulphate Soils (PASS) and Bulk Emulsion Reaction in a South Africa Iron Ore Mine by D. Scott Scovira

Summary: Recently a mine reported a decline in blast performance: the bulk emulsion was breaking down inside blast holes that had been left to sleep while the rest of the blast was loaded. Tests conducted with a mixture of the bulk emulsion and mine water from the bench, along with the inclusion of drill hole cuttings, revealed a new mechanism for bulk emulsion breakdown driven by a reaction with Potentially Acidic Sulphate Soils (PASS).
 
Congratulations to all three who will be recognized at the ISEE conference in San Antonio!