Response of rock pinnacles to blasting vibrations and airblasts
Dowding CH, Kendorski FS, Cummings RA. 1983. Response of rock pinnacles to blasting vibrations and airblasts. Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists. 20(3):271-281
The blast response of a uniquely slender pinnacle in Bryce Canyon National Park is measured to allow an assessment of its stability. Typical geometry of other pinnacles or erosional remnants is surveyed and a simple alegraic method is developed to predict fundamental translational frequencies for generalized non-uniform shapes. The Bryce Canyon pinnacle was found to have a fundamental translational frequency of 3 Hz, to be 3 percent critically damped, to respond at frequencies lower than those associated with blast induced motions, to have safety factors with respect to transient base shear in excess of 2,000 and to be easily excitable by a mechanical shaker.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Dowding, Charles; Kendorski, Francis; Cummings, Robert
- Units
- BRCA
- Keywords
- Attenuation, blasting, Dakota Formation, elastic constants, Engineering Geology, Experimental Studies, failures, Field Studies, Fourier analysis, Geology, Monitoring, Paunsaugunt plateau, rock mechanics, shear, Stability, Testing, Tropic Shale, Utah, Wasatch formation, Western U.S., Young's modulus