Damage Characteristics of Surrounding Rock Subjected to VCR Mining Blasting Shock

For limiting the damage range caused by explosive shock loads in vertical crater retreat (VCR) mining, the blasting damage characteristics of surrounding rock were studied by two methods: numerical simulation and ultrasonic testing. Combined with the mining blasting in Dongguashan Copper Mine of China, the VCR blasting shock characteristics under different conditions are obtained by using LSDYNA. Based on statistical fracture mechanics and damage mechanics theories, a damage constitutive model for rock mass subjected to blasting shock load was established. Then by using the fast Lagrange analysis codes (FLAC3D), the blasting damage characteristics of surrounding rock were analyzed by applying the blasting shock loads obtained from the VCR mining and the damage zone is obtained. At last, the relationship between the amount of explosives and the radius of damaged surrounding rock mass was discussed, and its formula was also derived. The research provides a theoretical basis for rationally controlling stope boundaries and optimizing mining blasting parameters.