EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING.
When the holes are once drilled, either by hand or power drills, they are charged with explosives. The principal explosives employed in tunneling are gunpowder, nitroglycerine, and dynamite.
Gunpowder.
—Gunpowder is composed of charcoal, sulphur, and saltpeter in proportions varying according to the quality of the powder. For mining purposes the composition employed is 65% saltpeter, 15% sulphur, and 20% charcoal. It is a black granulated powder having a specific gravity of 1.5; the black color is given by the charcoal; and the grains have an angular form, and vary in size from 1⁄8 in. to 3⁄8 in. Good blasting powder should contain no fine grains, which may be detected by pouring some of the powder upon a sheet of white paper. The force developed by the explosion of gunpowder is not accurately known; it depends upon the space in which it is confined. Different authorities estimate the pressure at from 15,000 lbs. per sq. in. in loose blasts to 200,000 lbs. per sq. in. in gunnery. Authorities also differ in opinion as to the character of the gases developed by the explosion of gunpowder, a matter of vital concern to the tunnel engineer, since they are likely to affect the health and comfort of his workmen. It may be assumed in a general way, however, that the oxygen of the saltpeter converts nearly all of the carbon of the charcoal into carbon dioxide, a portion of which combines with the potash of the saltpeter to form carbonate of potash, the remainder continuing in the form of gas. The sulphur is converted into sulphuric acid, and forms a sulphate of potash, which by reaction is decomposed into hyposulphite and sulphide. The nitrogen of the saltpeter is almost entirely evolved in a free state; and the carbon not having been wholly burnt into carbonic acid, there is a proportion of carbonic oxide.
Nitroglycerine.
—Nitroglycerine is one of the modern explosives used as a substitute for gunpowder. It is a fluid produced by mixing glycerine with nitric and sulphuric acids; it freezes at +41° F., and burns very quietly, developing carbonic acid, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. By percussion or by the explosion of some substances, such as capsules of gunpowder or fulminate of mercury, nitroglycerine produces a sudden explosion in which about 1250 volumes of gases are produced. The pressure of these gases has been calculated at 26,000 atmospheres, or 324,000 lbs. per sq. in. Nitroglycerine explodes very easily by percussion in its normal state, but with great difficulty when frozen; hence, in America, at the beginning of its use, it was transported only in a frozen state. When dirty, nitroglycerine undergoes a spontaneous decomposition accompanied by the development of gases and the evolution of heat, which, reaching 388° F., causes it to explode. Notwithstanding the enormous pressures which nitroglycerine develops, it is very seldom used in its liquid state, but is mixed with a granular absorbent earth composed of the shells of diatoms. The fluid undergoes no chemical change by being absorbed, and explodes, freezes, and burns under the same conditions as in the fluid state.
Dynamite.
—The credit of rendering nitroglycerine available for the purposes of the engineer by mixing it with a granular absorbent is due to Albert Nobel of Stockholm, Sweden, who named the new material dynamite. The nitroglycerine in dynamite loses very little of its original explosive power, but is very much less easily exploded by percussion, and can be employed in horizontal as well as vertical holes, which was, of course, not possible in its liquid state. Dynamite must contain at least 50% of nitroglycerine. Some manufacturers, instead of using diatomaceous earth, use other absorbents which develop gases upon explosion and increase the force of the explosion. These mixtures are classed under the general name of false dynamites. A great many varieties of dynamite are manufactured, and each manufacturer usually makes a number of grades to which he gives special names. Dynamite for railway work, tunneling, and mining contains about 50% of nitroglycerine; for quarrying about 35%, and for blasting soft rocks about 30%. It is sold in cylindrical cartridges covered with paper.
Storage of Explosives.
—In driving tunnels through rock large quantities of explosives must be used, and it is necessary to have some safe place for storing them. In many States there are special laws governing the transportation and storage of explosives; where there is no regulation by law the engineer should take suitable precautions of his own devising. It is best to build a special house or hut in one of the most concealed portions of the work and away from the tunnel, and protect it with a lightning-rod and from fire. Strict orders should be given to the watchman in charge not to allow persons inside with lamps or fire in any form, and smoking should be prohibited. The use of hammers for opening the boxes should be prohibited; and dynamite, gunpowder, and fulminate of mercury should not be stored together in the same room. A quantity of dynamite for two or three days’ consumption may be stored near the entrance of the tunnel in a locked box, the keys of which are kept by the foreman of the work. When dynamite has been frozen the engineer should provide some arrangement by which it may be heated to a temperature not exceeding 120° F., and absolutely forbid it being thawed out on a stove or by an open fire.