Experiment Study of Stemming Length and Stemming Material Impact on Rock Fragmentation and Dynamic Strain

Stemming length and stemming materials are crucial factors in blasting design, which affect the sustainability of mining. This study investigates the influence of stemming length and stemming material on rock fragmentation, stemming recoil, and surface strain response through 15 small-scale model blasting tests. The results indicate that when using clay as a stemming material, increasing the stemming length facilitates rock fragmentation and reduces the stemming recoil area. The strain measurements show that both tensile and compressive strain peaks on the blasting crater surface increase with the growth of stemming length, while the strain peaks on the upper surface decrease. A comparative analysis of different stemming materials reveals that clay performs the best, exhibiting the highest total weight of fragments, blasting crater size, and fragmentation energy utilization. Strain results indicate that clay stemming generates more significant strain peaks and higher strain loading rates on the blasting crater surface, favoring a more concentrated application of explosive energy on the crater surface and improving rock fragmentation. Sand + clay stemming yields fragments more concentrated in medium-sized particles than clay stemming. If the blasting goal is to increase the utilization efficiency of explosive energy and reduce the hazards of stemming recoil, it is recommended to use clay stemming. In addition, if uniform fragmentation is desired (reducing large and fine particles), a combination of sand + clay stemming can be used. These findings have practical implications for optimizing blasting design and engineering applications.