Description:
Blasting, heavy equipment operating, and pile driving with impulsive and vibratory devices constitute seismic sources. Blasts that vent a shock wave to the atmosphere are a source of an air pressure wave. These man-generated events attenuate with distance, but under certain circumstances, have the potential for causing damage to structures, sediment fills, groundwater supplies, etc.
A type of seismic monitoring that quantitatively measures ground motion, velocity and acceleration, and air pressure waves, can be undertaken to assess the potential for damage in the near vicinity of blasts and vibration sources. Many years of ground motion studies have produced the data basis for a statistical evaluation of potential damage to different types, shapes, and orientations of structures. Limits based on these statistical thresholds appear in various construction codes and regulations around the country, and quantitative measurements are required to satisfy these rules. A real world application is litigation avoidance.
