Optimizing Rock Fragmentation Uniformity and Kinematic Control in Bench Blasting via the Normalized Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP)

Optimizing Rock Fragmentation Uniformity and Kinematic Control in Bench Blasting via the Normalized Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Optimizing Rock Fragmentation Uniformity and Kinematic Control in Bench Blasting via the Normalized Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP) Shiqing Zhang, Zuoming Yin, Zhao Zhang, Feng Xie, Chenglei Hao, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Achieving a balance between effective rock fragmentation and the mitigation of hazardous flyrock (front-row throw effects) is a persistent challenge in open-pit bench blasting. This study investigates the influence of vertically positioned air-deck charges on explosive energy distribution and rock damage evolution. We propose the Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP) as a novel, normalized characterization index for air-deck positioning to replace qualitative descriptors. Using a coupled Particle Blast Method (PBM), Finite Element Method (FEM), and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical framework, complemented by field monitoring at the Husab Uranium Mine, we evaluate the DRP’s performance across varying burden conditions. Results indicate that optimal energy utilization and fragmentation uniformity are achieved when the DRP ranges from 0.36 to 0.73. Field applications confirmed that at DRP = 0.73, fragmentation met stringent gradation requirements while significantly reducing excessive top-bench throw. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Open-pit uranium mine Air deck charge configuration Particle Blast Method (PBM) Decking-Rhodes Parameter(DRP) Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8791748","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":597451338,"identity":"d395f29d-8ff3-4bce-82db-3126ebee2234","order_by":0,"name":"Shiqing Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shiqing","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":597451339,"identity":"48c1dfa4-276e-4f79-a424-f876ec974dca","order_by":1,"name":"Zuoming Yin","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBCBmY2A+cODDD9K0sCUenNlDml08xoc52IhQJz8j+eiGB7/uJPZJ93w4zMDDIM8vdgC/FsYZaWk3EvueJbbJnN1wuMCCwXDm7AT8WpglcsxuJPYcTmyTyN1weAYPQ4LBbQJa2BBach4c5mEjQgsPSEvCD7AWBuK0SPA8A/ql4bBxm0SaATCQJQj7Rb49+djNH38Oy86fkfz4w4cfNvL80gS0gAFjG4NjA9RWIpSDwR8Ge2KVjoJRMApGwQgEACsfSuYlEeIGAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zuoming","middleName":"","lastName":"Yin","suffix":""},{"id":597451341,"identity":"39c48277-f0ba-49f2-8c1d-821572bede7d","order_by":2,"name":"Zhao Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhao","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":597451344,"identity":"272ba6a7-72c1-4f6b-8fac-116d613d003f","order_by":3,"name":"Feng Xie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Feng","middleName":"","lastName":"Xie","suffix":""},{"id":597451345,"identity":"f5dc86c6-6602-4955-8cb0-5bd538af265c","order_by":4,"name":"Chenglei Hao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chenglei","middleName":"","lastName":"Hao","suffix":""},{"id":597451349,"identity":"5e118c61-aac0-4969-991a-513f7cbc9a52","order_by":5,"name":"Jingjiu Bi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jingjiu","middleName":"","lastName":"Bi","suffix":""},{"id":597451353,"identity":"133e45da-3226-4379-99ef-065a1e859e9a","order_by":6,"name":"Liangkui Hua","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liangkui","middleName":"","lastName":"Hua","suffix":""},{"id":597451359,"identity":"3a21cbf0-e8da-4525-8647-dc30a8931fc5","order_by":7,"name":"Boming Xu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North Blasting Technology Co., Ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Boming","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-05 03:38:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105701922,"identity":"0fadd891-81d2-4083-9071-95806a3ded66","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-30 06:12:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1690239,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Paper2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8791748/v1_covered_d5d37f6f-53eb-4ac1-b65d-99cc48ac9a8d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Optimizing Rock Fragmentation Uniformity and Kinematic Control in Bench Blasting via the Normalized Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Open-pit uranium mine, Air deck charge configuration, Particle Blast Method (PBM), Decking-Rhodes Parameter(DRP)","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAchieving a balance between effective rock fragmentation and the mitigation of hazardous flyrock (front-row throw effects) is a persistent challenge in open-pit bench blasting. This study investigates the influence of vertically positioned air-deck charges on explosive energy distribution and rock damage evolution. We propose the Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP) as a novel, normalized characterization index for air-deck positioning to replace qualitative descriptors. Using a coupled Particle Blast Method (PBM), Finite Element Method (FEM), and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical framework, complemented by field monitoring at the Husab Uranium Mine, we evaluate the DRP\u0026rsquo;s performance across varying burden conditions. Results indicate that optimal energy utilization and fragmentation uniformity are achieved when the DRP ranges from 0.36 to 0.73. Field applications confirmed that at DRP\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.73, fragmentation met stringent gradation requirements while significantly reducing excessive top-bench throw.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Optimizing Rock Fragmentation Uniformity and Kinematic Control in Bench Blasting via the Normalized Decking-Rhodes Parameter (DRP)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-27 06:09:48","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8791748/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"032cafe2-37b4-4a0f-b0e8-02ac844d974a","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":63574358,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology"},{"id":63574359,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-30T06:11:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-27 06:09:48","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8791748","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8791748","identity":"rs-8791748","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}