Analytics & Statistics
BlastCAD's analytics engine computes blast performance metrics in real time using industry-standard empirical models. The Statistics dashboard presents the full picture — from fragmentation distribution to vibration compliance — with a single click.
Opening the Statistics Dashboard
Click Statistics in the top bar. BlastCAD sends the current hole and charge data to the analytics engine and returns a tabbed report.
The statistics engine runs on the backend server. An internet connection is required. Standard calculations complete in approximately 1–3 seconds for typical blast sizes (< 500 holes). Advanced analytics (marked ADV below) may take 3–8 seconds for Monte Carlo and calibration runs.
Dashboard Tabs
BlastCAD provides 16 analytics tabs covering the full engineering picture:
Standard Tabs
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Summary Overview | Total holes, rings, explosive mass, drill metres, average delay, powder factor |
| Drilling & Burden QA | Burden/spacing distributions, dip/azimuth histograms, hole diameter breakdown, per-hole QA status |
| Production Parameters | Design tonnage, specific drilling (m/t), powder factor (kg/t), bench/ring height analysis |
| Fragmentation Model | Kuz-Ram P80/P50/P20 mean fragment sizes, Rosin-Rammler PSD curve, JKMRC combined model |
| Energy Distribution | Explosive energy by product type, energy density (MJ/t), energy distribution heat map, detonation velocity |
| Timing & MIC | Delay sequence timeline, Maximum Instantaneous Charge (MIC) calculation, inter-hole timing windows, deck firing chart |
| Vibration (PPV) | Peak Particle Velocity vs distance chart, MIC-based safe distance radius, Waveform Attenuation Law fit |
| Flyrock Risk | Maximum ejection distance estimate (Lundborg model), risk zones by scaled distance, flyrock direction probability |
| Stemming QA | Collar stemming adequacy for each hole, stemming length vs diameter ratio, air deck inventory |
| Critical Radius | Livingston Crater Theory: breakage radius and crater radii per hole, critical depth indicator |
| Longhole Analysis | Underground longhole-specific: void burden, charge ratio, confinement factor, air deck status. Requires blast type set to Longhole Stoping or Sublevel Caving |
Advanced Tabs (ADV)
These tabs require the advanced analytics payload (sent automatically when Statistics is opened):
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Monte Carlo Timing | Statistical timing scatter simulation: 500-run Monte Carlo of inter-hole timing variability based on detonator scatter, generates delay window distributions |
| HP Damage Zones | Holmberg-Persson PPV model: damage radius per hole, PPV isocurves at user-defined thresholds, overbreak/underbreak zones |
| Kleine 4D Energy | Kleine energy distribution model: temporal energy release in four quadrants, energy-distance envelope |
| Face Profile Analysis | Drone / LiDAR-based burden analysis: uploads a point cloud scan of the face, computes per-hole actual burden vs designed burden, flags underburden (risk) and overburden (dilution) holes |
| 3D Voxel Heatmap | Block model grade/lithology within blast envelope: intersect drill patterns with the loaded Datamine block model to display tonnage and average grade per blast |
Production Parameters Tab — Blast Type
The Production Parameters tab includes a Blast Type selector. This setting tells the analytics engine which empirical model to apply:
| Blast Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Bench (Open Pit) | Standard open-pit bench blast. Uses surface burden/spacing geometry. |
| Bench (Cast Blast) | Bench blast designed for muck casting (dragline pre-strip). |
| Pre-split | Perimeter control shot. Fragmentation model disabled. |
| Trim / Final | Contour blast. Reduced energy expectations. |
| Underground Longhole Stoping | Ring blast into open stope void. Enables Longhole Analysis and void burden inputs. |
| Sublevel Caving | Ring blast without void. Enables confinement analysis. |
| Underground Drift / Tunnel | Development face blast. Enables cut pattern recognition. |
| Underground Raise | Uphole blast. Reverses dip assumptions. |
Setting the correct Blast Type is critical for Kuz-Ram, PPV, and Longhole Analysis calculations. Selecting the wrong type will produce physically meaningless results.
Longhole Analysis — Void Burden
For underground longhole and sublevel caving blasts, the Longhole Analysis tab requires knowledge of the stope void geometry.
BlastCAD offers two ways to define the void burden:
1. Manual Override
Enter the void burden distance (in metres) directly in the Production Parameters tab. Use this when the stope is a known, uniform dimension.
2. Compute from DTM
Select a CMS (Cavity Monitoring Survey) DTM surface in the Longhole Analysis tab. BlastCAD raycasts from the centroid of each ring plane to the selected surface and computes the actual per-ring void burden automatically.
This method is more accurate and adapts to irregular stope shapes. Requires that ring planes have been created using the Ring Workflow.
Face Profile Analysis
The Face Profile tab compares design geometry against a measured face:
- Load a point cloud (LAS or XYZ) of the drill face into the project.
- Open Statistics → Face Profile Analysis.
- Select the point cloud entity from the dropdown.
- BlastCAD uses a spatial grid index to find the nearest point cloud surface at each hole collar, then computes the actual collar-to-face distance (actual burden).
Results are colour-coded:
- Green — within design tolerance
- Orange — underburden (hole is too far from face → risk of poor fragmentation or unsafe blast)
- Red — overburden (hole is too close to face → risk of back-break and flyrock)
Calibration
The Calibrate tab (under Vibration and Fragmentation) allows site-specific regression of the empirical constants in the PPV, Kuz-Ram, and flyrock models against historical blast data. Upload measured PPV readings or fragmentation sieve results and BlastCAD fits the model constants via Ordinary Least Squares or Bayesian regression.
Calibrated constants are saved to your user account and automatically applied to future analyses at the same site.
Sections in this Chapter
- Fragmentation Analysis — Kuz-Ram model, Rosin-Rammler distribution, P80/P50/P20, JKMRC combined model.
- Vibration & Safety — PPV prediction, timing analysis, MIC, flyrock, safe distances, Holmberg-Persson damage zones.
- Advanced Analytics — Monte Carlo timing, Kleine 4D energy, site calibration, AutoCalibrationEngine.