"V" Cut: Drilling and Blasting

“V” CUT
DRILLING AND BLASTING

TUNNELING
• A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely

enclosed except for openings for ingress and
egress, commonly at each end.
TUNNELING METHODS
a) Drill and Blast

b) Mechanical excavation
1) Partial face – using roadheaders,
hammers, excavators
2) Full face – using Tunnel Boring Machines
(TBM)
TUNNELING METHODS
The following factors should be taken into
consideration when selecting the method:
a) Tunnel dimensions
b) Tunnel geometry
c) Length of tunnel, total volume to be excavated
d) Geological and rock mechanical conditions
e) Ground water level and expected water inflow
f) Vibration restrictions
g) Allowed ground settlements
CUT TYPES
• The blasting sequence in a tunnel or drift always starts
from the “cut”, a pattern of holes at or close to the
center of the face, designed to provide the ideal line of
deformation. The placement, arrangement and drilling
accuracy of the cut is crucial for successful blasting in
tunneling.
• A wide variety of cut types have been used in mining
and construction, but basically they fall into two
categories: cuts based on parallel holes, and cuts that
use holes drilled at certain angles. The parallel (burn) cut (a) and v-cut (b).
2 TYPES
OF CUTS:
01 02
ANGLED CUTS BURN CUTS
The blasting sequence in a tunnel or drift always starts from the “cut”, a pattern of
holes at or close to the center of the face, designed to provide the ideal line of
deformation.
“V” CUT
• The “V” or wedge cut uses a set of holes forming a
wedge in the middle of the face.
• The fragmentation is coarser and because of the
design of the round, the muckpile profile is usually
lower and more spread out.
• Rounds break better when the angle of the V-cut is
at least 60 degrees.
“V” CUT
• A “V”-pattern, or chevron, firing round is appropriate for most square or rectangular
blast patterns; it is not as practical for staggered-pattern loading.
“V” CUT
• Under any “V”-pattern blast scenario, a distinction is made between “apparent burden” and “true burden,”
such that apparent burden is defined as both the distance between the shot’s first row and the highwall or free
face and the distance between all subsequent rows running parallel to the face. True burden, on the other
hand, is defined as the distance between rows as these are delineated by the drill pattern and the delay
timing associated with it. (Note as well that, as the example here shows, a comparable distinction is also
made between “apparent spacing” and “true spacing.”)
ADVANTAGES
• The first of these advantages is a reduction in cost due to less overall drilling and low
er explosive load. A majority of holes have full burden and spacing, with only the V holes
having an increased powder factor. One important note, reducing total drilling does not eq
ual reduced total drilling time.
• Another advantage of the V-cut is that the larger the width of the room, the larger the t
otal face advance can be achieved, with the proper drilling equipment. This is an advan
tage over the burn cut that will reach a maximum depth due to the ability of the burn to eje
ct. With the V-cut, as the width gets larger, the pattern can be designed to reach deeper
and maintain the required angle for breakage and material ejection. In most cases, t
he depth of the V-cut is limited by the width of the room and ability of drilling equipment.
• The V-cut also greatly simplifies the operation drilling, charging, and hook-up proces
s for the drilling and blasting crew.
DISADVANTAGES
• The limited face advance. As previously stated, the wider the drift the farther the maxim
um possible face advance.
• The second major disadvantage of the V-cut is that large boulders can be produced fro
m the center of the shot. These boulders are then either put aside and never processed
(creating a hidden cost of lost material) or secondary blasting methods are used to break
them (increasing cost).
DISADVANTAGES
• The third disadvantage of the V-cut is in the difficulty of drilling the round. Due to nume
rous angles, which are often poorly measured and rarely recorded, the driller must spend
a significant amount of time attempting to get close to the correct angle.
• The final disadvantage of the V-cut to be discussed is, with improper design, modern exp
losive products can easily deadpress and fail to detonate, or they deflagrate instead.
FAN CUT
• Fan cut is a less commonly used form of angled
drilling that can be used in drifts that are smaller
than a V-cut.
• Involves angled drilling on one side of the face with
the goal of removing half of the face and blasting
the remainder into that opened area.
• Used in blasting small to medium sized drifts where
V-cuts are not applicable but a price lower than burn
cut is desired.
• Also known as “slashing”.
PYRAMID CUT
• This cut is a variation of the wedge (plough or V) cut
where an additional axis of symmetry is introduced
not only across a vertical axis but the horizontal as
well for the initial cut. This blast design is more
suitable for a symmetrical blast layout.
• A pattern of shotholes drilled so that the middle
holes converge and outline a pyramid-shaped
volume of rock. These holes are fired first, and thus
create a free face or relieving cut.

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“V” CUT

DRILLING AND BLASTING

• A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely

a) Drill and Blast

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