CFD simulation of blasting dust for the design of physical barriers

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to simulate the dispersion of dust generated in blasting located in limestone quarries. This is a complex phenomenon that has been studied through the use of several digital video recordings of blasts and dust concentration field measurements by 'light scattering' dust collectors. In addition, the subsequent simulation of the dispersion of the dust cloud by means of multiphase CFD has also been studied. CFD calculations were carried out using software Ansys CFX 10.0, through transitory models with Lagrangian particle models crossing an Eulerian air continuous phase. This paper presents results obtained by model simulations where physical barriers are set close to the blasting, with the aim of decreasing the dust cloud dispersal and the associated environmental impact.