2005 Economic Development Award Laureate
BMS
| Laureate Country: United States |
| Project Country: USA |
| Website: www.micro-blaster.com |
| Video: 2005Videos/BMS.mov |
Project Overview:
The BMS Micro Blaster is an innovative solution to the problem of demolishing large rock or masonry structures. The Micro-Blaster can be used by rural landowners, road crews, landscape contractors, installers of underground water, electric, gas, or sewer lines, and National Park employees engaged in back country trail building and maintenance as well as personnel involved in rescue.
Problem Addressed:
The small scale cracking of rock and concrete is almost always a difficult task. If expensive equipment such as hydraulic hammers mounted on excavators is not available, users commonly need to resort to manual methods including but not limited to jack hammers or sledge hammers. These techniques rely on overcoming the compressive strength of the material to be cracked, a characteristic that makes stone and concrete good for building, but requires much more energy than overcoming the their tensile strength which is the manner in which the Micro-Blaster works.
Technology Solution:
The Micro-Blaster system uses a proprietary gas-producing cartridge to fracture rocks and masonry weighing up to several tons. The charge is loaded into a 5/16-inch diameter, 10-inch deep hole bored into the material to be broken by standard rotary hammer drills. A 25-foot lanyard or hose remotely actuates the small explosion. The gas burns rapidly but only when contained within the material to be cracked. As soon as the rock cracks, the pressure is released, and the burn rate drops dramatically. This feature decreases danger from flying rock fragments, and virtually eliminates danger to surrounding structures from shock waves given the relatively slow propagation rate of the propellant contained within the cartridges. The BMS system is lightweight, 10 lbs, and inexpensive allowing it to substitute for the use of larger much more capitol intensive equipment.
