PII:S0886--7798(96) 00023-5

Blasting Problems in Underground

Constructions through Deccan Trap
Formation: Some Experiences at
Koyna Hydro-Electric Project, Stage IV
A. K. Chakraborty. V. M. S. R. Murthy and J. L. Jethwa
Abs t r ac t - - The underground excavations of Koyna Hydro-electric
Project, Stage I V were carried out by drilling and blasting through
Deccan trap formations cc,nsistiag mai nl y of basalts and volcanic
braccia. Overbreak in the basaltic formation and underbeak in the
volcanic braccia increased the cost and time of construction
considerably. Modifications in the sequence and method of exeavation
and implementation of ~zmooth blasting practice improved the
produotivity substantially. The paper reports in details the rock
mass condition- nd the blastlng problems in the machine hall, the
head race turnnelm and fhe surge shaft, the reasons behind such
problems in retrospect Of rock mass-explosive interaction, the
modifications made in the blasting practice and the improvements
obtained thereby. The observations and the results reported herein
can help set guidelines for the pl anni ng and execution of future
construction work in the si mi l ar formations.
1.0 Introduction
C
onsidering t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f p o w e r sector in t h e
accelerating ag.ricultural a n d industrial production
a n d socio e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s , it w a s d e c i d e d to
construct K o y n a Hydro-electric Project ( K H E P ) , S t a g e I V to
convert t h e existing K o y n a S t a g e I a n d II p o w e r stations in
M a h a r a s h t r a , India, w h i c h currently serve a s b a s e load
stations, into p e a k statiLons b y installing a n additional four
t u r b o generators, e a c h w i t h a capacity of 2 5 0 M W each.
S t a g e I V is b e i n g constructed in t h e adjoining valley a l m o s t
a s a replica o f K o y n a Sl;ages I a n d II. T h e total tunnelling
involved in S t a g e I V is eLbout 1 6 kin. Alocation m a p of S t a g e
I V is s h o w n i n F i g u r e ',a); F i g u r e l(b) s h o w s t h e s c h e m a t i c
layout o f S t a g e s III a n d I V o f t h e project.
T h e u n d e r g r o u n d excavation o f t h e project w a s carried
o u t b y conventional d~illing a n d blasting, m a i n l y t h r o u g h
three t y p e s o f formations:
c o m p a c t basalt;
a m y g d o l o i d a l basalt; a n d
volcanic braccia.
T h e contrasting n a t u r e o f t h e rocks p o s e d t w o k i n d s o f
severe blasting p r o b l e m s d u r i n g u n d e r g r o u n d construc-
tion o n t h e project:
Present address: Centra]L Mining Research Institute, Regional
Centre, 5 4 B, S h a n k a r Nagar, N a g p u r 440010 India.
I. O v e r b r e a k p r o b l e m s a r e greater in t h e c o m p a c t basalt
t h a n i n t h e a m y g d o l o i d a l basalt, resulting in m o r e t i m e a n d
h i g h e r costs for t h e s u p p o r t a n d concrete lining; a n d
2. U n d e r b r e a k a n d p o o r f r a g m e n t a t i o n in t h e volcanic
braccia l e a d to l o w pull a n d s e c o n d a r y blasting in t h e floor.
T h e overall c o s t o f construction a n d rate of progress
w e r e a d v e r s e l y affected b y t h e s e factors.
T h i s p a p e r reports i n detail p r o b l e m s in t h e m a c h i n e
hall, h e a d race t u n n e l a n d s u r g e shaft; t h e i r effects o n
project productivity; r e m e d i a l m e a s u r e s adopted; a n d t h e
associated i m p r o v e m e n t s resulting f r o m t h e s e m e a s u r e s .
2.0 Geology
Dur i ng t he Upper Cret aceous to Lower Eocene period,
t r emendous volcanic act i vi t y occurred in t he I ndi an Peni n-
sul a, r esul t i ng in an out pour i ng f r om a seri es of l ava flows,
whi ch obl i t erat ed previ ous t opogr aphi c f eat ur es and bui l t
up an ext ensi ve volcanic pl at eau. The volcanic f or mat i on
t hus devel oped is called t he Deccan Tr ap in t he I ndi an
geological parl ance. Thi s f or mat i on covers a 5,000-kin 2
port i on of t he I ndi an peni nsul a (Fig. 2). Isol at ed out l i ers
scat t er ed bet ween Raj mahal to t he eas t and Si nd hill to-
war ds t he west i ndi cat e t ha t t he ori gi nal Deccan Tr ap
f or mat i ons mi ght have ext ended over a 1.5-million km 2
ar ea, i ncl udi ng an unknown s egment under t he Ar abi an
Sea in t he wes t of Bombay. Though flows of t he Deccan Tr ap
ar e most l y basi c in charact eri st i c, some occurrences of acidic
flows ar e noticed ar ound Bombay (Bhave and Tandal e
1992).
Tunnelling and Underground Space T~;chnology, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 311-324, 1996
Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great BritairL An rights reserved
0886-7798/96 $15.00 + 0.00
Pergamon
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Figure l(a). Locational map of Koyna Hydro-electric
Plant, Stage IV (Huddar et al. 1995)
The Deccan Tr ap f or mat i on has an al most uni form
mi neral ogi cal composi t i on compri si ng plagioclase and aug-
ite i n al most equal amount s and, occasionally, olivine in
l arge amount s. Based on lithologic charact eri st i cs, t he
f or mat i on is grouped i nt o t he following vari et i es:
aphani t i c to por phyr i t i c compact basal t ;
amygdol oi dal basal t ;
volcanic bracci a; and
red bole
Based on di fferent field charact eri st i cs, flows of flood
basal t s are classified i nt o t hr ee categories:
(i) flows pr edomi nant l y of aphani t i c to porphyitic com-
pact bas al t (Fig. 3a);
(ii) flows pr edomi nant l y of amygdol oi dal basal t , which
is f ur t her divided i nt o
(a) amygdol oi dal bas al t (Fig. 3b) and
(b) compound flow of amygdol oi dal basal t (Fig. 3c);
and
(iii)mixed flows of t ype (i) and t ype (ii) (Fig. 3d).
I n addi t i on to t he above rock t ypes, het erogeneous com-
pl ex st r uct ur es observed her e ar e t he volcanic breccia and
conduits (Fig. 4). They wer e cr eat ed when l ava poured out
t hr ough one or mor e pi pe-l i ke st r uct ur es, which are pre-
served in t he f or m of condui t s consi st i ng of zeolitised rock
mas s or volcanic brecci a wi t h conspicuous hydr ot her mal
al t erat i ons. These s t r uct ur es ar e di st r i but ed unevenl y
t hr oughout t he t er r ai n.
Of t he t wo mai n t ypes of basal t s, compact basal t s ar e
well jointed. Because j oi nt s provi de passageways for wat er,
compact basal t s ar el i kel yt obewat er bear i ng. Amygdoloidal
basal t s, in cont rast , ar e l ess j oi nt ed and t herefore ar e qui t e
i mpervi ous when f r eshl y exposed. Because of t he absence
of divisional pl anes, t hey ar e mor e st abl e and ar e prone to
less overbreak.
312 TUNNELLINQ AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Vol ume 11, Number 3, 1995
STAGE ] ] [ I STAGE ~ KOYNA DAM
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: " ( " ~ . . PRESSURE SHAI ~ T
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JSCHEMATIC LAY O UTJ
Figure l(b). Schematic layout of Stage III and IV of Koyna Hydro-electric Plant, Stage IV (Huddar et al. 1995).
The mai n propert i es of t he Deccan Tr ap format i ons
observed at di fferent locations at t he Koyna project are
l i st ed in Tabl e 1.
The hi gher val ues i n Tabl e 1 r epr esent t he propert i es of
compact basalt; t he l ower val ues per t ai n to volcanic braccia.
Bart on' s rock mass qual i t y (Q) (Bart on et al. 1974) of t he
above format i ons was det er mi ned at vari ous locations,
Accordingly, i t was observed t ha t t he Q val ue of t he compact
basal t vari ed from 15 to 67.5, and t hat t he Q val ues of t he
amyydoloidal basal t and volcanic bracci a were 10 and 1.25,
respect i vel y (CMRI Report, 1994-95). The compact basal t
format i ons had two maj or vert i cal to subvertical j oi nt sets
spaced at 0.4 m on average, at angles of 60-150 degrees wi t h
t he excavat i on wall. Gupt a et al. (1988) found t hat t he
C'ANOA
r . . , " " . . . . . . . . . ' .
0 0 ~ i l l
Qc~ ' . R A J A I d A I t A L
Figure 2. Basalt flow in Indian peninsula (Bhave and Tandale 1992).
Volume 11, Number ~,, c' 1996 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 313
(3a)
~ - J ;~:~ RE D BO LE
. . , o= , . . , , . , , - , ~ , - . . . . . . . - , ~ , , , , , , , , , : . o . : - . , . . . ' : . , : ; . .
voc..c 2
. . . . ' - . , ~ " , . ' l " , / . . . , - . . . . : : . - . ' - " . ' . "J
, J O I NTS
] ' - ~ . . I ~_ ~_ _ . . ] o J ' / . . I / . . . ' . " o ' . - ' . ~AMY GO ALO | DAL STRUCTURE
(3b)
" K . . ' / " " ;
e o ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ' . , . . ' . . . . . . . . . Z . - . : . ~ t , 4 - - PI PEA M YG B UL ES/ A M Y6 D UL ES
~ . " ' . ' : . . ' . ' : : ' . . ' . : " ~ , / , ~ ' : : " . . . . . . . . . . . , . . : . . . . - .
(3c)
P I P E A M Y GDUL E S
A M Y GDA L O I DA L BASALT
(3d) RED
B O L E . . ~ . , / % . ~ . V O L C A , I C a a ECq A
. " . % " . , * ,~ . ~,o " j .
\ /
- , : . ' . . , . . . / . . . . . . ' . , / .
. . . ' X , I . " ~ / . . , I x
" " ~ / " / . ' . ' . - 1 " / :
. . . : 1 I \ . .
~ " | / . . ~ , Z/ o~JLL-AMY GDALO I DAL STRUCTURE
- - J . / . . / / . ~ . k ~ ' . , ~ . '
Figure 3(a): Flow of aphanitic to porphyritic compact basalt (Bhave and Tandale 1992). Figure 3(b): Flow of simple
amygdoloidal basalt (Bhave and Tandale 1992). Figure 3(c): Compound flow of amygdoloidal basalt (Bhave and Tandale
1992). Figure 3(d): Mixed flow of amygdoloidal and compact basalt (Bhave and Tandale 1992).
RADIAL LY ARRANG E
J OZ NI"S
] i /
Figure 4. Volcanic vents and conduits (Bhave and
Tandale 1992).
overbreak in tunnels was highly affected if the joint orien-
tation with the tunnel wall was between 1 and 30 degrees.
3 . 0 O b s e r v a t i o n s o n P r e v i o u s C o n s t r u c t i o n s
t h r o u g h D e c c a n T r a p
3.1 Tunnels Driven in Amygdoloidal Basalt
Twenty-five railway tunnels have been driven through
amydoloidal basalt in Bor Ghat on the Bombay-Pune line of
the Central Railway. Of these 25 tunnels, only 6 were fully
or partially lined because of the presence of fractures and
hydrothermal alteration of rock; the other 19 tunnels were
left unlined.
The head race tunnel (HRT) in stage III of Koyna Hydro-
electric project, the Malshej Ghat tunnel on the Murbad-
Malshej Road of State Highway no. 2, and a tunnel of the
Dimbhe Left Bank Canal Project in Pune are also driven
through amygdoloidal basalt.
Anot her t unnel t hr ough this formation is in the
Hanakhurd-Belapur line of the Central Railway near Vashi
314 TUNNELLINGANDUNDERGROUNDSPACETECHNOLOGY Volume II, Number 3, 1995
Table 1. Engineering properties of Deccan Trap
f ormat i on at Koyna Hydro-electric Project, St age I V
(Nawat he et al . 1994).
S1 No. Parameter Value
1. Density (T/ m 3) 2 . 16- 2 . 9 7
2. P- wave velocity (km / s) 1.9 7 - 5 .2 0
3. Static m odulus of electr icity (G Pa) 3 . 3 - 66. 3 3
4. Poisson' s r atio 0 .0 8 - 0 .2 9
5. Tensi l e str ength (MPa) 1.2-8.10
6. Uniaxial com pr essive str ength (Mpa) 13 .0 - 9 5 .0
in New Bombay. No major strata control or overbreak
problems were observed in driving these tunnels.
3.2 Compact Basalt
The tail race tunnel in stage III of the Koyna Hydro-
electric Project was driven through closely jointed columnar
compact basalt for a length of over 200 m. Heavy overbreak
and leakage of water through the joints and blast-induced
cracks made tunnelling very difficult and expensive.
The Panchdhara tmmel near Koynanagar passes through
jointed compact basalt, where overbreak in the form of
wedges was found and[ roof falls were common.
Tunnels nos. 3, 4 a~.d 5 of the above-mentioned Bor Ghat
of the Central Railway pass through compact basalt forma-
tion also, but these joiLnts were irregular and inconsistent
and the rock was dry. In spite of the overbreak, no strata
control problems were encountered here.
3.3 Volcanic Braccia
The Bhivpuri tunnel of Tata Electric Companies, con-
structed to carry water of the Thokarwadi dam to the
Bhivpuri power generating station, passes through volcanic
breccia. A black layer of 1-m-thick tachylyte at the roof
deteriorated on exposure, resulting in roof fall. No overbreak
was observed at the sides.
4 . 0 Ex p e r i e n c e s at Ko y n a Hy dr o- e l e c t r i c Pr oj ect ,
St a g e I V
Overbreak problems in the basaltic formations, caused
by vertical and subvertical joints, and underbreak and low
pull problems in the volcanic braccia zones were encoun-
tered in different parts of the underground excavations of
the Koyna Hydro-electric Project, Stage IV. These prob-
lems slowed the rate of progress and increased the cost of
the tunnel lining. Modifications, either in the sequence of
excavation or in the blast pattern, significantly improved
productivity of the project. The problems and modifica-
tions are discussed in more detail below.
4.1 Construction of Niches in Machine Hall
(Chakraborty et al. 1995)
Construction of narrow niches of the desired shape in
underground works i,,~ very delicate work t hat requires a
carefulblast operation. Overbreak, acommon phenomenon
in such narrow excavations, leads to extra expenditures for
filling the overbroken zone with concrete. Forty-six num-
bers of vertical niches 0.8 m wide and 1 m deep, with a
spacing of 10-m centre to centre, were required on both sides
of the machine hall cavern of dimensions 144m x 23m x 50
m, under an average rock cover of 290 m for housing the
concrete column to support the gantry beams (Fig. 5). The
required height of the niches was same as the height of the
vertical wall of the cavern: 43.75 m. The niches were
intended to minimise the extra excavation required for
erection of the concrete columns and to prevent the bending
of these columns towards wall side due to load of the gantry
beam. Because of overbreak in the niches, the width of the
machine hall was increased by about 1 m in most of the
sections.
The rock formations in the machine hall cavern consisted
of compact and amygdoloidal basalt with occasional hori-
zontal to nearly horizontal bands ofzeoloite and breccia. A
survey of the rock masses in the cavern and the intercon-
necting openings showed the presence of one joint set with
a few random joints as well as fractures resulting from
previous blasting. The open joints observable in some cases
were due to delayed support and deformation of the walls.
The values of the Schmidt hammer number obtained in
severallocations ranged between 18 and 35. The study ofin-
situ stress determination revealed t hat the vertical stress
in the cavern was 0.0146 times the overburden (m).
The sequence and method of excavation followed by the
contractor for niche excavation are described below.
Step 1: A large number of holes were blasted one at a
time in a benching operation for excavation of rock up to
the cavern walls. To obtain a smooth profile, two blast
holes were kept uncharged in between two charged holes
along the Wall. The spacing between a charged and an
uncharged hole was 0.3 m.
! St. 75 m .
. _ . . . . . . ~ + HI hes
L j . l U n L
I- 20m
Section alon~l Z- Z
Niche di mensi on " I m x 0 . Si n
13.5m
~ '- ~ Z ~Niches . L
--,t ~'---
O.Om
I
L. ~Z
Pl an
4
Figure 5. Vertical niches in machi ne hall cavern
(Chakraborty et al . 1995).
Volume 11, Number 3, 1996 ~LLI NO AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 315
i
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, Cav er n wel l
,,, O lesl hole
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SFCTIOH ALONG A- A
Figure 6. Modified sequence of excavation (Chakraborty
et al. 1995).
St ep 2: Smooth wall blasting was conducted in the
cavern wall for niche construction. The blast holes were
horizontal.
A strong explosive such as Special Gelatine 80%, which
has a density of 1.40 T/m 3 and velocity of detonation (VOD)
of 5,000 ndsec, was used in the above blasting operations.
Thirty to fifty percent overbreak at the sides of the niches
was obtained.
Pre-splitting was tried with a detonating fuse (composi-
tion: PETN + TNT) with a charge density of 10-60 gms/m.
The confinement in the blast holes was high because of the
non-availability of any free face and high in-situ stress. As
a result, distinct separation in the rock mass could not be
obtained along the pre-split holes, and the nearby rock
masses were damaged.
When a weaker explosive (Indomite-60, with a density of
1.15 T/m 3 and VOD of 3,700m/sec) was used in place of the
strong Special Gelatine 80% in the niche blasting, it yielded
a better result and the overbreak was restricted to 20-30
percent. Moreover, it was observed t hat the overbreak in
the niches occurred considerably less frequently in the
bottom portion of the wall, compared to the upper portion.
The tightness of the rock mass there was mainly due to low
wall deformation and blast-induced fractures.
Thus, it was revealed t hat for a better niche configura-
tion, the rock mass in the cavern walls needed to be least
disturbed before the niche blasting. Accordingly, a modi-
fied method of excavation in the cavern, with a view to
minimising the wall rock mass deterioration in bench blast-
ing and the wall deformation prior to niche excavation was
followed (Fig. 6). It comprised the following steps:
St ep 1: Siskind and Fumanti (1974) and Holmberg and
Persson (1978) found t hat the conventional small-diam-
eter hole bulk blasting may create and induce cracking
up to a distance of 1-2 m beyond the blasting zone.
Accordingly, the rock in the cavern was excavated in 3-
to 4-m-high benches keeping a rock bark of 1.5 m towards
the walls of both the sides. It was assumed that the blast-
induced crack in benching would not advance beyond the
bark and t hat the rock mass of the walls where niches
were to be constructed later would be least disturbed by
bench blasting.
St ep 2: The barks were removed using the smooth
blasting technique. The bark portion required very little
T[ h.
OI I m I
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I I ~r l p hof t ee Buf f er row
1.2m
- St emm~
Zm 2 SO~
t i l e Spocer
L~ "Z it' ' ~' l"~.
Geloline ; S G e;el l n e : 8
Sp ec er : I Sp ec er : I
Bl esl l n l peremeters
De l a y n o : Z l e!
To r s i ~ : 6 . S k |
Tr i o| v ei v m e : l 8 Im m.
Pow d er f et t er : O.36~r k | / c u. m .
Oep l h d hole : m
Figure Z Blast pattern for removal of rock bark (Chakraborty et al. 1995). Not to scale.
316 TUNNELLZNO AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume 11, Number 3, 1995
charge, as i t had al r eady been f r act ur ed in previ ous
bench bl ast i ng. Use of a low powder fact or and smoot h
bl ast i ng r esul t ed i:a ver y l i t t l e damage to t he caver n
walls.
S t e p 3 : Const r uct i on of ni ches in t he caver n wal l s by
cont rol l ed bl as t i ng before f ur t her l oweri ng of t he bench
wer e car r i ed out.
The bl as t pat t er ns i br r emoval of t he rock ba r k and ni che
excavat i on ar e shown i n Fi gur es 7 and 8. As a resul t , t he
over br eak was reduced by 15 percent and ni ches wi t h good
profile wer e obt ai ned.
4.2 Head Race Tunnel
The cross-sect i onal ar ea of t he hor seshoe- shaped 4.224-
ki n-l ong head r ace t unnel (HRT) is 90 m 3. The excavat i on
of t he head r ace t unnel was carri ed out f r om t hr ee di fferent
faces by t he headi ng and bench met hod. Dur i ng benchi ng,
hor i zont al dri l l i ng was pr ef er r ed to vert i cal drilling in order
to obt ai n t he hor se shoe shape. The t unnel passed t hr ough
compact bas al t and vo]canic bracci a format i ons. The follow-
i ng pr obl ems wer e encount er ed duri ng t he excavat i ons:
1. Because of t he vert i cal and subvert i cal j oi nt s i n t he
compact bas al t zones, t he over br eak at t he sides was as
gr eat as 35- 50 percent . Thi s over br eak zone was to be filled
by concret e dur i ng lining. Additional cost and t i me wer e
also spent due to t he undesi r ed excavat i ons i n t he f or m of
over br eak. The t ot al cost of t he head race t unnel const ruc-
t i on was i ncr eased by about 19 percent because of t hese
probl ems.
2. A sever e under br eak pr obl em was encount ered in t he
volcanic bracci a format i ons. Thi s r esul t ed mai nl y from t he
low modul us of el ast i ci t y of t he rock wher e t he shock ener gy
was most l y absorbed and poorly ut i l i sed in f r agment at i on
(Singh 1991), t her eby l oweri ng t he pull. Moreover, several
r ounds of secondar y bl ast i ng wer e requi red at t he floor to
obt ai n t he desi red gradi ent . These combi ned fact ors re-
sul t ed in hi gh explosive consumpt i on and a slow r at e of
progress. I t was observed t ha t t he per i pher al holes in t he
bench bl ast i ng wer e bl ast ed wi t h di fferent delays. Thi s
r es ul t ed i n t or si on in t he r ock ma s s dur i ng bl as t i ng
(Langefors and Ki hl st r om 1973), which, because of t he
unf avor abl e j oi nt or i ent at i on in t he compact bas al t zones,
caused huge overbreak.
The following modifications wer e made in t he exi st i ng
bl ast pat t er n:
1. The per i pher al holes wer e bl ast ed si mul t aneousl y
wi t h s ame del ay det onat or.
2. The per i pher al holes wer e spaced closely and t he
bur den wi t h t he i mmedi at e next row of holes was i ncreased.
As a resul t , t he bur den to spaci ng r at i o was i ncreased f r om
1 to 2. By i ncr easi ng t he per i pher al rock mass confi nement
dur i ng bl ast i ng, t hi s r est r i ct ed over br eak.
3. The explosive charges at t he per i pher al holes, i nst ead
of bei ng concent rat ed at t he bot t om of t he holes, wer e
s pr ead over a l engt h of t he holes usi ng bamboo spacers.
Thus, t he st r ess due to explosion at t he per i pher y was
di st r i but ed whi ch br ought more uni f or m br eakage at t he
sides.
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Mn c u L,ur l r / 3!
: ! ,!
_ . _ I t !
, i
S
O.Im ,4
.
b - " l ~ .
, ~;" ' , ; ,
)
) ,' , , \
Frlm! View ef Nll~e
Sec l k~ el en q B " I
BL A ST DESI G N PARAMETERS
SNs PARAIdI[T[RS UND[R CUT III[NCH I ~ A ST
| . N * . e f h e l e e :
Lee~led : II' I I
0 U. l * e4w l : S I 0
2. a ~ . . ~ c v t , ~ . . : c o " s o "
3. Lee4m l l : '
I q r i i ~ y ~ : 112 Cerh' i4~ie ( 1 ~ ) 112 C~ r t r l #l e( l ~ l m l
v l heles : 1 Cer l r d tp (l~OQm ) 3~q CI l ei d p ( ff2 11m )
4. Plm 4e~' fec t~r : 2' $7f4 Kg/ c~tm . | . TI Kg / el m .
S. Oek l y He. : Z , 1 , 2 , 3 Z , I , Z , 3
Figure 8. Bl ast pattei,n for niche excavation usi ng Indomi t e 60% as explosive (Chakraborty et al. 1995).
Vol ume 11, Numbe r ~;, 1996 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 317
This modified blast pattern, shown in Figure 9, brought
about a significant improvement and reduced the overbreak
by 10-15 percent.
Bhanda (1975) found t hat the fragmentation in blasting
can be substantially improved if the spacing to burden ratio
is kept at greater t han 1; and t hat the value of this ratio
depends upon the amount of burden, which in t urn depends
on the blast hole diameter, rock type and charge density.
For larger burdens, this value should fall between 1 and 2.
In smaller burdens, the ratio can be increased. Accordingly,
the spacing to burden ratio of the production holes in the
volcanic braccia, wherein proper fragmentation could not be
obtained, was increased from 1 to 1.3-1.4. As a result, the
rock beams consisting of same delay detonator number were
more flexible. This resulted in improved breakage in spite
of the reduction in the number of blast holes per round from
84 to 62 (see Fig. 10). In this way the underbreak problem
was almost eliminated. Monitoring of the blast results for
five months revealed improvements in the productivity at
the volcanic braccia zone (see Table 2).
4.3 Surge Shaft
A 22- m - wide, 140- m - deep sha_& was sunk to accom m o-
date a sudden surge of water during closing of the gates at
the dam. The shaft-sinking operation was done in two
stages. First a 4-m-wide pilot shaft was sunkt o the full 140-
m depth. The pilot shaft then was widened from 4 m to 24
m in two steps: from 4 m to 14 m, and then from 14 m to 22
m. Rock bolts (2-m deep) were used to protect side falls in
the first step of widening. Shotcrete (0.05 m thick) and 4-m-
deep rock bolts were used in the second stage of widening.
Finally, the surge shaft was lined with reinforced concrete.
The shaft was sunk mainly through volcanic braccia and
compact basalt formations. The cross-section of the strata
through which the shaft was sunk is shown in Figure 11.
Many overbreak problems were encountered in the compact
basalt formations because of the vertical joint pattern.
Moreover, since some of the joints widened as a result of
blasting, several side falls from the compact basalt zones
occurred, causing panic among the workers t hat affected
0 ~ O 5
I o . ~ m

~
0 7 0 3
,o \ o,
~
0 7 0 4
\ : o 0
O t I 0 t
0 .7m
0 2 0 2 I t 0 2 0 2
0 3 0 3 0 3
-44 O .7m
0 4 0 4 0 4
o, ::i
0 5
L.
r
7 . 6 m
S. No
LOADING DETAIS
Delay
Delonotor No
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 7
No. of holes
7
I0
I 0
8
9
2 0
Charge/ hole
( Spl. Gel + ANFO
carlridges )
7 4" 9
7 + 9
7 + 9
8 + 9
9 "1' 9
4 + 6
( Charge distri buted
by spacers of I O cm
each )
Scale : Nol !o scale
Figure 9. Smoot h blasting pat t ern in head race t unnel through compact basalt ( CMR11994- 95 ).
318 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume 11, Number 3, 1995
the progress of the ' wor ks and delayed its completion.
Further, the additional cost of filling the overbroken zone
with concrete increased the time and cost of construction.
A smooth blasting ]?attern (Fig. 12(b)) was suggested to
minimise damage to t:he rock mass around the shaft. This
procedure showed very good results. Half drill-hole marks
were visible at several places on the periphery, revealing
t hat the blast-induced damage in the rock mass was re-
duced. As a consequence, the overbreak was reduced from
10 percent to 6.5 percent of the total excavation. The
gradual reduction in the overbreak is shown in Figure 12.
Because less blast-induced damage occurred, the original
L 10 . 3 m
foce
e l
I I
\
5 \ , ! 3 / 4j e
8 8 6 6 6 ' 7 7 7 6 6 6 8
e
k l 7 . 6 m '
!-r
I m
0 6 m
0 . 6m
- t
0 5 m
O.5m
- t
0 5 m
lm
Bl a st Pa r a m et er s :
Volum e ex c ov ol ed = 143 ' 3 6 cu.m
Tol ol expl osi ve = 9 7 ' 5 k g
Sp. chorge = 0"6 B kg
Depth of hole = 4 m
( ! Corlridge of SG 8 0 %- " 13 0 g m )
( ! Cortri dge of ANFO = t OOg m )
L o a d i n g D e t a i l s "
Deloy No, No. of holes Chorge/ hole
Gel ANFO
!
2
5
4
2
4
8
11
5 6
5 7
6 7
7 8
5
6
7
8
14
6
3
14
7 9
8 9
8 9
4 6
Tolol 62 holes .50 61
Figure 10. Modified bi!ast pattern in head race tunnel through volcanic braccia (CMRI, 1994--95).
Volume 11, Number 3, 1996 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 319
Table 2. Im ~rovements in the volcanic braccia zone of HRT ( CMRI Report 1994-95).
Sl. No.
1
2
Parameter
Aver age pull(m )
Earlier
2.44
After modification
3.2
Improvement ( %)
31
Aver age powder factor (Kg/ m 3) 1.09 0 .76 43
3 Av er a g e num ber of holes per r ound 84 62 26
4 Aver age cycle tim e (hr s.) per m etr e of advance 4.816 4.76 5.6
5 Aver age m onthly pr ogr ess (m ) 131.25 153.7 17
R. L. ( m )
/ ~ Sur foc e ( 7 0 6 " 5 7 m )
\ \ \ \ \ \ X I / / / / X \ \ \ \ \ ~ ( / / / / X \ \ \ \ ~ ( / / / / / / /
I . I 7 0 4 . 4 5
. oo
' ,' ,' J
- I . o o
~'A,J '~I 6 5 5 . 0 0
' , ' , 1 ~ 5 . 0 0
AAAA.j 6 f 9 " 0 0
" 1 6 0 9 . 0 0
I n d e x -
O verburden
Compoc! Bor ol t
~ Vol coni c Broceio
Figure 11. Geological cross-section of the surge shaft.
rock mass properties around the opening were retained to a
great extent even after blasting.
As a result, the final widening work was continued
without the need for shotcreting at the deeper levels of the
shaft. In earlier times, the production work typically was
held up during shotcreting at the immediate higher eleva-
tions because of the reduced work space and the generation
of heavy dust in shotcreting. Elimination of shotcrete not
only reduced the cost and time of support, but also increased
the availability of the production time.
Moreover, the sequence of excavation was designed so
t hat all the unit operations, e.g., drilling, blasting, mucking
(slashing of muck through the pilot shaft), and rock bolting
were carried out simultaneously in the four sectors of the
shaft. This arrangmenet greatly reduced the crews' idle
time. The time cycle and the manpower in any sector was
fixed in such a way t hat the activity in t hat sector was least
hampered by t hat in the other sectors. As a result, the
average monthly excavation was increased from 1,972 m 3
to 3,038 m 3 (see Fig. 13)--an improvement of 54 percent.
5 . 0 Di s c u s s i o n s a nd Co n c l u s i o n s
The Deccan Trap formation consists of compact basalt,
amygdoloidal basalt, and volcanic braccia. It was observed
in the Koyna Hydro-electric Project (KHEP), Stage IV that
though Barton' s rock mass quality (Q) of the compact basalt
varied from 15 to 67.5, the rock also was characterised by
two sets of prominent vertical to subvertical joints at an
angle of 60-150 degrees to the excavation wall. Such joint
patterns were responsible for overbreak and control prob-
lems in much of the tunnelling work through compact basalt
formation. However, the amygdoloidal basalt and the
volcanic braccia, which had a comparatively low rock mass
quality (Q) rating of 10 and 1.25, respectively, were devoid
of any consistant joint pattern. During blasting for the
underground constructions in KHEP Stage IV, severe
overbreak problems were encountered in the basaltic for-
mations; these adversely affected the time and cost in
excavation and support. The experience was just opposite
in the volcanic braccia. The formation, having a low modu-
lus of elasticity, absorbed much of the shock energy, and
thus fragmentation was adversely affected. Low pull and
underbreak at the bottom of the excavations were obtained
regularly in this formation in spite of a higher powder
factor. Therefore, it was very difficult to obtain a healthy
rate of progress in the Deccan Trap formations and the cost
and time of excavation were increased.
Such problems were encountered in the niches at the
machine hall, in the head race tunnel, and in the surge
shaft. For niche construction, the sequence of excavation
was modified to prevent deterioration of wall rock in bench
blasting. Smooth blasting, using distributed charge with
low density and velocity of detonation and simultaneous
320 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Volume 11, Number 3, 1995
0 PIIol shall
(~) Pr im ar y widening
~
~ . (~) Fi nal widening
!
~ 4 -.,i
Final periphery
I 2 ; ! m ' 1
Suppor ling Mucking
Pilol s h o f !
' g Blosling
,S,urge shaft widening
Suggesl ed cycle of operations
( secfor wi se)
- - - f l I ~ t -* k-t. 2-H
Bl asl p al ter n
h ~ Final periphery
Figure 12(a). Modified ,~equence of excavation and smooth blast pattern for surge shaft widening work in KHEP, Stage
IV (CMRI, 1994-95).
Vol ume 11, Nu mb e r 3, ].996 TUNNELLn~G AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY 321
det onat i on of t he per i pher y holes, was adopt ed in t he niches
of t he machi ne hall, sur ge shaft , and head race t unnel . The
r es ul t was a reduct i on in over br eak of 25, 10 and 28 percent ,
respect i vel y. I n t he volcanic bracci a zone of t he head race
t unnel , t he spaci ng to bur den r at i o was i ncr eased from 1 to
4 t o reduce t he number of holes per r ound from 84 to 62 and
to obt ai n bet t er f r agment at i on. Consequent l y, t he pull per
round, powder factor, cycle time, and mont hl y r at e of progress
wer e i mpr oved by 31, 43, 5.6, and 17 percent , respect i vel y.
The smoot h bl ast i ng pat t er n and t he suggest ed sequence
of excavat i on in t he sur ge shaf t wer e responsi bl e for reduc-
ing t he over br eak by about 4 per cent and shat t er i ng of t he
rock mass. As a resul t , t he excavat i on could be cont i nued
wi t hout shot cret i ng. These modi fi cat i ons reduced suppor t
2.1m
For r ow s
. : t
' . ' . - I
, .
. . . , .
~:::
'... -. Slem m ing
, % , .
e e l
,~, A N F O
~ ~ Ge l - S G 80"/ .
~. ~ Air gop 0.2
:;,
- ' ANFO
~
- - Gel- SG 8 0"/ .
( I ) , ( 2 ) E~(3)
: . , : :
. . . ; .
" - Stem m ing
. . : 12 . ,
,. ;.::::
::' : "i
2.1m
0 .9 l - / / ~ J ~ Spacer
J l..A_ ,/ 3 s,c
For p er i p her y r ow
Bl ast - Po r a m el er s ( per seclor )
Volume excovoled 113 cu.m
Tolol explosive = 4 9 ' 16 k9
Sp. charge ( kg/ cu.m) = 0"4 3 kg
Tolal no. of holes = 7 0
L o a d i n g Det a i l s
Spacing Burden Chmge/ holo No. of hol es Charge/ row Delays used Max.charge/ delay
( m) ( m) ( kg) ( kg) (holes/ delay) ( kg)
t"3 H 1"I2 10 1t.2 5 " 6
Row
2 1"2
3 1"2
Peripher~ 0 " 5
row
I' 1
I ' 0
0 " 65
1' 12
1' 12
0 ' 2 6
Tot al
12
14
3 4
7 0 holes
13"44
15 6 8
8"64
49 ,16 kg
Z I
( 5 ) , ( 5 )
2 3 4
( 4 ) , ( 4 ) , ( 4 )
5 6 7
( 5 ) , ( 4) , ( 5 )
8 9 10
( l 1 ) , (12) , ( 11 )
4.48
5 ' 6
3"12
Figure 12(b). Charging pattern of blast holes in the surge shaft (CMRI, 1994-95).
329. T U N N E L L I N G A N D U N D E R G R O U N D SPACE T E C H N O L O G Y V o l u m e Ii, N u m b e r 3, 1 9 9 5
14
12
I
IBefore smooth blasting adopted "J~
1-
t -
O
, D
o
u
x
0
0
~ 8
U
~ 6
e .
o
i l l
~ 4
0
Af t er smoolh blasting adopted
Aver,age monthly excavation
/
14
t2
E
t o ~ o
x
e -
o
. N
0
u
I D
s ~
C
0
E
0
2
0 I t I t I I I I I I ! I I I I I I I I I 0
69 5 689 681 6 7 7 6 7 4 661 635 62 5 619 6t 2 6 0 9
6 9 0 6 8 6 6 8 2 6 7 6 6 6 5 6 3 7 6 3 4 6 2 0 615 6tO
Reduced level ( m)
Figure 13. Overbreak at different reduced levels and average monthly excavation before and after smooth blasting practice
in the surge shaft.
costs, improved the tizzm cycle, and improved the monthly
rate of excavation by 54 percent.
The case study sets guidelines for planning and blast
design in the forthcoming underground constructions in
similar ground conditions. The excavation engineers must
consider the underbreak and overbreak problems while
estimating the cost and time of excavation. An optimum
blast pattern including smooth blasting should be evolved
for such formations in order to save considerable time and
money in the construction work.
6. 0 Ac kno wl e dg me nt s
T h e a u t h o r s express their t h a n k s to t h e Director, C e n -
tral M i n i n g R e s e a r c h Institute, D h a n b a d , for p e r m i s s i o n to
publish t h e paper. T h a n k s a r e d u e to t h e K o y n a Project
authority for m a k i n g useful a r r a n g e m e n t s for t h e investi,
gations c o n d u c t e d b y t h e authors.
7 . 0 R e f e r e n c e s
Barton, N.; Lien, L.; and Lunde, J. 1974. Analysis of rock mass
quality and support lc,ractice in tunnelling and a guide for
estimating support reqruiements. Internal Report of the
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, 6-9.
Bhave, P. and Tandale, T. D. 1992. Geologic constraints in blasting
technology for underground openings in Deccan trap basalts,
Proc. of Workshop on Blasting Technology for Civil Engineering
Projects, New Delhi, 16-18 Nov. 1992, 63-76. Indian Society of
Rock Mechanics and TunneUing Technology.
Bhandari, S. 1975. Improved fragmentation b y reduced b u r d e n
a n d m o r e s p a c i n g in blasting. M i n i n g M a g a z i n e ( M a r c h
1975),187-195.
Chakraborty, A. K.; Murthy, V. M . S. R.; a n d Jethwa, J.L. 1995.
Blasting technique for niche construction in underground
caveru--a case study. Proc. of a Conf. on Design and Construction
of Underground Structures, New Delhi, 409-417.
Chakraborty, A. K. and Jethwa J. L. 1994. Tunnel blasting techniques
in difficult ground conditions. Geotechnical and Geological
Engineering 12, 219-239.
Central Mining Research Institute. "CMRI Report of Investigations
(1994-95), Interim Reports on Koyna Stage IV Excavation
Monitoring." Dhanbad: CMRI.
Gupta, R. N.; Singh, R. B.; Adhikari, G. R.; and Singh, B. 1988.
Controlled blasting for underground excavation. Int. Syrup. on
Underground Engineering, April 14-17, New Delhi, India, 449-
460.
Hagan, T. N. 1984. Blast design considerations for underground
mining and construction operations. Proc. of ISRM Syrup. on
Design and Performance of Underground Excavation, 255-262.
Holmberg, R. and Persson, P.A. 1978. The Swedish approach to
contour blasting. Proc. of 4th. Conf. on Explosives and Blasting
Techniques, 113-127. Montville, Ohio: Society of Explosives
Engineers.
Huddar S. N.; Kulkarui, S. D.; and Inamdar, A.A. 1995. Head
race tunnel of Koyna Hydro-electric project stage IV---a case
study, Proc. of Conf. on Design and Construction on
Underground Structures, New Delhi, 685-704.
Langefors, U. and Kihlstrom, B. 1973. The Modern Technique of
Rock Blasting, 180-256. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Kulkarni, S. R.; Karmarkar, B. M.; Marathe, S. S.; and Gupta, R.
V o l u m e 11, N u m b e r 3, 1 9 9 6 T U N N E L L I N G A N D U N D E R G R O U N D S P A C E T E C H N O L O G Y 3 2 3
B. Geological conditions and t unnel l i ng in Deccan t raps. Proc.
of a Workshop on Tunnelling India, 23-25 Feb. 1994, Pune,
127-131.
Nawat he, G. S.; Huddar , S. N.; Tandal e, T. D.; and Mehendale, S.
1994. Some aspect s of desi gn and const ruct i on of t unnel s and
l arge caverns of Koyna Hydro-el ect ri c Project, St age W- - c a s e
study. Proc. of a Workshop on Tunnelling in India, 23-25 Feb.
1994, Pune, 232-242.
Si ski nd, D. E. and Fumant i , R. 1974. Bl ast -produced fract ure in
Li t honi a granite. U. S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations
No. 7901, 38.
Singh, D. P. 1991. Effect of physico-mechanical propert i es of
rocks on dri l l i ng and bl ast i ng operations in underground drivage,
Proc. of Workshop on Tunnels, Mine Roadways and Caverns,
Ooty, September, 1991, IV.63-IV,68.
3 2 4 TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Vol ume 11, Nu mb e r 3, 1995