Test of Shaped-charge Hydraulic Smooth Blasting for Small Section Tunnel

The drilling and blasting method is widely used in tunnel excavation. Typically, smooth blasting can meet the quality formation requirements. However, achieving ideal contour control blasting effects and ensuring the safety and stability of surrounding rock mass are challenging due to limitations in drilling conditions and charging in small section tunnels, especially when encountering adverse geological conditions. This often results in increased costs for subsequent support and lining. To address these issues, on-site blasting tests were conducted based on small-section hydraulic tunnels to explore applying energy-gathering hydraulic blasting technology to improve blasting parameters in poor geological conditions. The main conclusions from analyzing and evaluating the quality of contour excavation using 3D laser scanning technology are as follows:(1)The results indicate that shaped charge blasting can reduce over-excavation and under-excavation by 40.8% and 54.2%, respectively, compared to conventional blasting under the same geological conditions. (2)A comparative analysis of blasting results under different borehole arrangements shows that no boreholes are needed to connect the arch crown and the side wall. Utilizing the shaped charge effect to control can reduce over-excavation at the arch shoulder. (3)In fourth-class surrounding rock mass, including silty mudstone and stratified sandstone, the smoothness of the wall surface is less affected by blasting parameters and is promarily determined by lithology. Moreover, the smoothness of stratified sandstone can be improved by more than 30% compared to silty mudstone. In summary, the reasonable application of shaped charge water pressure blasting technology in small cross-section hydraulic tunnels can improve tunnel wall shaping under smooth blasting conditions.