Abstract

Advance rate significantly affects both the construction period and cost in tunnel blasting. As such, there has been persistent research dedicated to the development of innovative blasting technique aimed at enhancing the advance rate. This paper aims to provide fundamental insights into the differences in advance rate and the powder factor between two- and three-free-face blasting, laying the groundwork for the advancement of tunnel blasting techniques. Large-scale cement mortar specimens were fabricated, and blasting tests were conducted for both two- and three-free-face blasting. Experimental findings were then compared with those from numerical simulation. Notably, an increase in the number of free faces, under uniform conditions, significantly improved the advance rate while reducing the powder factor. The outcomes of this study serve as crucial groundwork for devising blasting patterns employing three-free-face blasting, characterized by improved advance rates and minimized powder factors. Consequently, the anticipated outcomes include an overall improvement in tunnel advance rates and a reduction in the number of drilling holes and the amounts of explosives.