Introduction :

Small charge of dynamite is the traditional seismic source.  Well-known sources are Impact and vibratory but explosives are still quite frequently used.                                                                                          

Impact Source  :                                       

A half-ton weight being dropped from a moveable crane  in duration of  survey of the low-velocity layer Cord explosives, used in quarry blasting to launch delays into firing series,  are rather safer to hold than common gelignite and can be fed into shot holes made by driving metal rods or crowbars into the ground. Detonators used on their own are excellent sources for shallow reflection surveys where high resolution is required. Often, a lot of the power delivered by a blast is exhausted in devastating rock close to the shot point, and seismic waves are formed more capably by shots fired in a meter of water or so. These effects are so manifest that, if shot location is not complex, it can be worth available tens or even hundreds of meters distant from the recording spread in order to put the charge in river. In dry region major improvements can be obtained by pouring water downward shot holes.  using explosives electrical firing is normal but with usual detonators there is a short delay between the instant at which the filament burns through, which gives a time allusion, and the time at which the main charge explodes. Zero-delay detonators should be used for seismic work and total delays by the entire system, including the recorders, should be regularly checked using a single detonator buried a few inches away from a geophone. Explosives involve problems with safety, security and bureaucracy. They must be used in constantly with local regulations, which usually used to be preferential, but are now being exchange by thick rubber discs that last longer and are less glaringly noisy. The first some hammer blows are often rather unsuccessful, as the plate requires to ''bed down'' in the soil. Too much enthusiasm may later implant it so deeply that it has to be dug out.

Other Impact Sources :

In larger surveys more powerful impact sources must be used. Weights of hundreds of kilograms can be increased through moveable hoists or cranes and then dropped. The smallest release height is about 4 m, yet if a shorter drop would offer ample energy, since bounce back of the support after the weight is released creates its own seismic wave strain. An extended drop permits these sensations to die away before the impact occurs. Tractor placed posthole drivers, familiar in agricultural areas, are also convenient sources. The weight drops down a guide and is increased by a pulley system related to the tractor power take-off. Relatively small 70 kg weights falling in evacuated tubes have occasionally being used. The upper surface of the weight is open to the air, and lucratively several hundred extra kilograms of atmosphere are also dropped. The idea is elegant but the source is complex to transport as the tube must be strong and therefore heavy and must be mounted on a trailer, collectively with a motor-driven compressor to thrust out the air. Vibration sources are extensively used in large-scale reflection surveys but produce data that need extensive and intricate processing.

Explosives :

Approximately any type of (safe) explosive can be used for seismic work, predominantly if the shot holes are shallow and the charges will not be subject to usual temperatures or pressures.

Hammers:

A 4- or 6-pound sledgehammer provides a versatile source for small-scale surveys. The useful energy produced depends on ground conditions as well on strong and expertise. Hammers can nearly always be used in refraction work on spreads 10 to 20 m long but very seldom where energy has to travel more than 50 m. The hammer is aimed at a flat plate, the purpose of which is not so much to improve the pulse (hitting the ground directly can sometimes provide more seismic energy) but to stop the hammer abruptly and so provide a definite and repeatable shot instant. Inch-thick aluminum or steel plates used to be favored, but are now being exchanged by thick rubber discs that last longer and are less excruciatingly noisy. The first few hammer blows are often ineffective, as the plate needs to ''bed down'' in the soil. Too much enthusiasm may later embed it so deeply that it has to be dug out.

Other Impact Sources:

In bigger surveys More powerful impact sources must be used. Weights of hundreds of kilograms can be increased by portable hoists or cranes and then dropped (Figure 2.1). Even if a shorter drop would provide ample energy, the minimum release height is about 4 m, since rebound of the maintenance when the weight is released creates its own seismic wave strain. A long drop allows these vibrations to die away before the impact occurs. Tractor-located posthole drivers, ordinary in agricultural region, are also comfortable sources. The weight drops down a guide and is increased by a pulley system connected to the tractor power take-off. Relatively small (70 kg) weights falling in evacuated tubes have been used sometimes. The upper surface of the weight is exposed to the air and efficiently several hundred extra kilograms of also have dropped atmosphere. The idea is elegant but the source is difficult to transport because the tube must be strong and therefore heavy and must be mounted on a trailer, alone with a motor-driven compressor to pull out the air. Trembling sources are extensively used in large-scale reflection surveys but produce data that need extensive and complex processing.

Explosives:

Almost any type of volatile can be used for seismic work, predominantly if the shot holes are shallow and the charges will not be focus on standard temperatures or pressures impact Source A half-ton weight being dropped from a movable crane during a survey of the low-velocity layer Cord explosives, used in quarry blasting to begin delays into firing series, are rather safer to hold than regular gelignite and can be fed into shot holes made by driving metal rods or crowbars into the ground. Detonators used on their own are excellent sources for shallow reflection surveys where high resolution is needed. Often, much of the energy delivered by an blast is exhausted in devastating rock near the shot point, and seismic waves are produced much more proficiently by shots fired in a meter of water. This consequence is so manifest that, if shot position is not complex, it can be worth going tens or even hundreds of meters far away from the recording extend in order to put the charge in a river. In dry areas, significant development can be obtained by driving water downward shot holes. Electrical dismissal is normal when using explosives but with ordinary detonators there is a short delay between the instant at which the filament burns by which facilitate a time allusion, and the time at which the central charge explodes. Zero delay detonators ought to be used for seismic work and total delays by the whole system, involving the recorders, should be regularly checked using a single detonator obscured a few inches away from a geophone.  Explosives engross problems with bureaucracy, safety and security. They must be used in conventionality with local regulations that usually desires separate secure and licensed stores for detonators and gelignite. In many countries, the work must be supervised by a authorized shot-firer, and police approval is desired almost all over in spite of these disadvantages, and despite the headaches that are instantly produced if gelignite comes into get in touch with naked skin, explosives are still used. They signify potential seismic energy in its most convenient form and are virtually vital if signals are to be discovered at distances of greater than 50 m. A variety of explosive-based techniques are available which decrease the risks.  Seismic waves can be generated by devices which fire lead slugs into the ground from shotgun-sized cartridges, but the energy delivered is comparatively small, and a firearms certificate may be required, at least in the UK. Another method is to use blank shotgun cartridges in a small auger which incorporates a firing chamber, mixing the shot hole and the shot. Even this seldom gives more energy than a blow from a well-swung hammer, and is less easily repeated.

 Safety:

Large amounts of energy must be delivered to the ground if refractions are to be experimented from depths of more than a few meters or reflections from depths of greater than a few tens of meters, and such operations are intrinsically dangerous The risk are not most with explosives nor is it safe to stand under a half-ton weight dropping from a height of 4 m. Explosives should only be used by experienced (and properly licensed) personnel. Even this does not unavoidably abolish danger, since experts in quarry boom often absence experience in the special circumstances of seismic surveys. If there is an accident, much of the blame will predictably fall on the party chief who will, if he is want, place his own eye on safety. The basic security principle is that the shot-firer must be able to see the shot point. Unfortunately, some seismographs have been designed so that the shot is triggered by the instrument operator, who can seldom see anything and who is in any case preoccupied with checking noise levels. If such an instrumentis is being used, it must at least be possible for firing to be prevented by someone who is far enough from the shot point to be safe but close enough to see what is happening. This can be achieved if, after the shot hole has been charged, the detonator is first connected to one end of an expendable cable 20or 30 m long. Only when the shot point is clear should the other end of this cable be connected to the cable from the firing unit. Firing can then be prevented at any time by pulling the two cables apart. Unless ''sweaty'' gelignite is being used (and the sight of oily nitro-glycerin oozing out of the packets should be sufficient warning to even the least experienced), modern explosives are reasonably insensitive to both heat and shock. Detonators are the commonest causes of accidents. Although their explosive power is small, they have caused loss of fingers and even hands. If fired on their own as low energy sources, they should always be placed in well-tamped holes, since damage or serious injury can be caused by fragments of the metal casing.

Time Breaks:

In any seismic survey, the time at which the seismic wave is initiated must be known. In some instruments, this appears on the record as a break in one of the traces (the short break or time break). On most modern instruments, it actually defines the start of the record. Time-break pulses may be produced in numerous different ways. A geophone may be positioned nearly to the source, though this is very rigid on the geophone. Explosive sources are frequently fired up electrically, and the termination of current flow in the detonator circuit can gives the needed signal. Alternatively, a wire can be looped round the main explosive charge, to be wrecked at the short moment This technique can be used on the exceptional occasions when charges are fired using lit fuses. Hammer surveys generally rely on building rather than breaking circuits. One method is to connect the hammer head to one side of the trigger circuit and the plate to the other. Though this sounds effortless and perfect, in performing the repeated shocks suffered through the several connections are too harsh for long-term reliability. In several case, that have to be made new associations have to be made after the plates themselves have rather short lives,. It is more convenient to mount a relay on the back of the hammer handle, just behind the head, that closes momentarily when the hammer hits the plate It will shut down late, or not at all, if the hammer is used the wrong way around. Solid-state switches sell by some seismograph producer give more repeatable outcome but are expensive and rather easily spoiled The cable concerning the trigger switch on a hammer to the recorder is forever vulnerable, tending to snake across the plate just before impact. If it is cut, the culprit is conventionally required both to repair the damage and ease the thirst of all the witnesses!    Where the source is a heavy weight dropped from a considerable height, a relay switch can be attached to its top surface but may not trigger if the drop is not extremely straight. A crude but more reliable home-made device which can be attached to any dropping weight is shown in Figure

Fig: Weight-drop Contact Switch :

 On effect, the inertia of the bolt compresses the spring and contact is made with the upper surface of the weight. Time-break pulses may be strong enough to produce interference on other channels (cross-talk).  Trigger cables and circuits should therefore be kept well away from data lines.

Tutorsglobe: A way to secure high grade in your curriculum (Online Tutoring)

Expand your confidence, grow study skills and improve your grades.

Since 2009, Tutorsglobe has proactively helped millions of students to get better grades in school, college or university and score well in competitive tests with live, one-on-one online tutoring.

Using an advanced developed tutoring system providing little or no wait time, the students are connected on-demand with a tutor at www.tutorsglobe.com. Students work one-on-one, in real-time with a tutor, communicating and studying using a virtual whiteboard technology.  Scientific and mathematical notation, symbols, geometric figures, graphing and freehand drawing can be rendered quickly and easily in the advanced whiteboard.

Free to know our price and packages for online physics tutoring. Chat with us or submit request at [email protected]