Influence of Contaminated Ammonium Nitrate on Detonation Behaviour of Bulk Emulsion Explosives and Numerical Analysis of Detonation‐Induced Damage Zone.

Bulk emulsion explosives are widely used industrial explosives for mining and civil infrastructure work. Ammonium nitrate is an important ingredient for bulk emulsion explosives and plays an important role in the detonation behaviour. Considering the growing demand for bulk emulsion explosives, an in‐depth investigation is necessary to understand how the impurities in ammonium nitrate can affect the detonation behaviour and safe handling of bulk emulsion explosives. Herein, we have demonstrated the influence of contaminated ammonium nitrate on the detonation behaviour and characteristics of bulk emulsion explosive. Furthermore, the particle size of the internal phase of the all prepared bulk emulsion explosives was analyzed using optical microscopy to confirm the effect of contaminated ammonium nitrate. Time dependent chemical‐induced gassing behaviour and detonation velocity of prepared bulk explosive samples were also studied. Importantly, numerical modeling was used to stimulate the detonation‐induced rock damage zone and assess the impact of ammonium nitrate contamination. Additionally, a real‐time rock damage pattern of different prepared samples was further investigated to understand the impact of contamination on the detonation induced crack development phenomena of different bulk emulsion samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]