The influence of temperature on the detonation velocity of selected emulsion explosives

Many years of research on more effective and safer explosives led to the development of emulsion explosives. They are the second most commonly used group of explosives in the world, primarily due to the fact that they are a good alternative to ANFO explosives or dynamites. Their key advantage in underground applications is the lower content of toxic fumes in the detonation products. Emulsions are also characterized by high detonation velocity, high water resistance, low value of critical diameter and mechanical loading capacity. Multiple factors related to the applied mining method influence the detonation parameters of emulsion explosives. One such parameter is the time between the loading of the explosive into the blast hole and firing, which in the case of underground copper mines in Poland can even last up to 48 hours. This becomes a particularly significant issue due to the increasing depth of mining in Polish copper mines and the high virgin temperature of rock mass at these depths. Experiences related to the use of explosives and their efficiency under such conditions confirm the intuitive thesis that high ambient temperature has a negative impact on the explosives’ effectiveness. In this regard, research concerning the influence of temperature on the detonation velocity of selected emulsion explosives was carried out, including bulk and packaged explosives. The tests were performed for different conditioning temperatures, which are all locally observed in Polish copper mines. The obtained results confirmed the significant influence of temperature on the velocity of detonation of the considered explosives.