Damage to building of ground vibrations from blasting – Numerical modelling.

Research Project, 2024 – 2029

Blasting in rock induces ground vibrations, which in turn may cause structural damage to nearby buildings. In order to reduce the risk of such damages, restrictions are imposed on the speed of rock excavation, e.g. on the choice of method or on blasting levels. The Swedish Standard states guidelines for vibration values that are permitted to avoid damage to buildings and structures. These guidelines are sometimes considered obsolete and criticisms have been raised concerning their validity.  Thus, there is a desire in the industry to update these standards based on more modern findings. In order to achieve this, a better understanding ought to be obtained regarding the background on the causes of damages to buildings from vibrations. This includes to understand how the various parameters affect the risk of damage. This project aims to provide a deeper physical understanding of the connection between ground vibrations and damage to structures. By increasing our knowledge in this field, there are possibilities to develop more reliable predictions on ground vibrations from blasting in rock. This results in reduced number of damages on buildings, less conflict situations etc. All together this leads to a more efficient rock excavation process that enables temporal, economic and environmental savings.

Eventually, the project is expected to contribute to a revision of the current guidelines in Swedish standard SS 460 48 66 regarding blast-induced vibrations in buildings. This standard is also applied in Finland, and forms the basis of the recently revised Norwegian standard. It is beneficial to coordinate the work between the Nordic countries in order to develop a future common Nordic standard in the field. This project intends to contribute to such cooperations.