Investigation of Blasting Vibration Propagation Characteristics in Stopes Using Upward Horizontal Cut and Fill Mining Method

Understanding blast vibration propagation mechanisms in underground stopes with complex roadway configurations is crucial for ensuring safe blasting operations. This study presents a comparative analysis of blast-induced vibration characteristics in the deep mining operations at the Tonglushan Copper-Iron Mine. Through systematic field blasting tests, the vibration velocity, dominant frequency, and blasting energy were measured at monitoring points in the upper-level and current-level drilling roadways. To enhance the reliability and completeness of vibration data, five supplementary field blasting tests were systematically conducted in coordination with the operational schedule of Tonglushan Copper-Iron Mine′s production activities. Vibration monitoring stations were strategically established at multiple positions within both the current-level and upper-level drilling roadways to capture comprehensive blast-induced dynamic responses. The study employed the Sadovsky formula to systematically characterize blast vibration propagation patterns in both upper-level and current-level drilling roadways of the underground stope. This analytical approach established critical relationships for vibration attenuation that directly informed the engineering design of safe blasting parameters for site operations. Key findings reveal that, at comparable blast-center distances, high-frequency components exhibit significantly greater attenuation than low-frequency signals when interacting with roadway structures and dissipate more energy during stress wave propagation through rock mass matrices. Furthermore, the segmental maximum instantaneous energy measurements show comparable values between the upper-level drilling roadway. However, the upper-level drilling roadway exhibits significantly higher cumulative blasting energy than the current-level drilling roadway, attributed to longer instantaneous energy durations in each segment. Additionally, the upper-level drilling roadway shows consistently lower triaxial peak vibration velocities and lower attenuation rates than the upper-level roadway.