ISSN: 1945-7545
CODEN: GTJODJ
Page Count: 13

Canadian Liquefaction Experiment (CANLEX): Blast-Induced Ground Motion and Pore Pressure Experiments

Al-Qasimi, EMA
Assistant Professor, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah,

Charlie, WA
Professor, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Woeller, DJ
Geotechnical Engineer, ConeTec Investigations, Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia

(Received 26 December 2002; accepted 15 June 2004)

Abstract

As part of the Canadian Liquefaction Experiment (CANLEX), single and multiple explosive charges were detonated in a level deposit of loose, saturated, sand-size mine tailings. Empirical equations were developed from pore pressure and ground motion recorded at several locations. A condition of zero effective stress was induced at a depth of 6 m when peak particle velocity exceeded 0.65 m/s for single detonations and 0.13 m/s for twelve detonations having millisecond delays. Little or no excess pore pressure was induced from single or multiple detonations when peak particle velocity or peak compressive strain was less than 0.01 m/s or 0.001 %, respectively. The blasting experiments were conducted and analyzed to determine blast-induced ground motion and pore pressure response in a level deposit and to determine the possibility of using explosives to trigger flow-liquefaction in tailings located below an embankment, while keeping peak particle velocities within limits set by Syncrude Canada, Ltd.

Keywords:
blasts, CANLEX, dynamic test, explosives, liquefaction, particle velocity, pore pressure, sand, Syncrude, tailings, velocity

Paper ID: GTJ11848
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ11848
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