Reprinted from

COAL AGE

Rip Instead of
Drilling and Blasting
 Rip Instead of
Dan Jackson, western editor

As tractor size, weight and horsepower have steadily

Drilling and
increased, the use of rippers has expanded dramatically in
surface mining, both in their capabilities and applications.
Harder materials can be ripped to greater depths at higher

Blasting
production rates than ever before, offering economic advan-
tages over drilling and blasting. One company, CRC Kelley,
now offers a 179-in.-long ripper shank to match the strength
of the new super dozers, a major leap in ripper capability.
Rather than bringing in drilling and Units are now in operation in North Dakota and Colorado.
The additional weight the new breed of giant tractors
blasting crews to loosen difficult brings to bear upon the ripper tooth extends the range of
overburden, operators are finding tractor materials that can be ripped. Tandem ripping, adding the
ripping more economical and practical. weight and power of a second tractor, extends the rippability
range even further. There are limits to what material can be
ripped and what must be drilled and blasted, but ripping is
competing more and more with drill and blast methods.
"Each new generation of big horsepower tractors seems to
give greater emphasis to ripping productivity, " said Rusty
 More versatile rippers with larger shanks, combined
with bigger, stronger tractors, are changing
capabilities of overburden ripping.

Bentley, president, Kelley Products. " As costs go up and edges. Ripper tip costs, for example, range from $10 to $60,
users demand higher returns in efficiency and production, I depending upon size. They may last a month in light applica-
think with this current generation of tractors we have seen tions or only 30 minutes in severe applications. This means
ripping come into its own as the most effective and econom- an expense of 5¢ to $120 per hour. An often used tip-life
ical tool in the earth moving industry. " estimate, under heavy one-shank conditions, is 10 hours.
The production rate and cost per bank cubic yard (bcy) Ripping and dozing hard rock are the most difficult jobs
determine the equipment and method required to get hard for track-type tractors, and cause the highest repair costs.
materials into movable form. The advantages of using the Among other problems, ripping tends to wear out undercar-
tractor-mounted ripper over other methods usually can be riage components faster than pushing or dozing applica-
summarized in its ability to loosen many materials faster at tions. A repair cost of 120-130% of the depreciation cost is
the lowest cost per yard. To evaluate this advantage, it is not unusual, and even higher in extreme conditions.
necessary to establish cost and production on a unit basis. A time study obtained on one job indicated that in 8.5
Tractor-ripper owning and operating costs include the minutes the ripper could make two 500-ft passes at an
purchase price of the tractor and its equipment, plus average ripping depth of 2 ft. The spacing between passes is
delivery costs to the job site. Ripper tractors are usually 3 ft. This produced the following equation:
equipped with extreme service shoes, crankcase and track Production = = 1,569 bcy/hr
roller guards. Taxes and assembly should be included.
A principal difference between ripping-tractor vs.
dozing-tractor cost is in the amount charged for repairs and Results obtained by this method are about 15 to 30%
replacement parts such as the ripper tips or dozer cutting higher than taking exact volume measurements to deter-
mine the actual amount of material removed. Therefore, if or trying to tandem-rip and continue to use the scraper
20% correction is used, then production is 1,255 bcy per already on the job. If the rock can be loosened with the
hour. With overall operator-machine efficiency estimated at tandem arrangement, a substantial saving can be realized.
75%, the final production figure, according to this time When single-tractor ripping, produciton falls below 150 to
study, was 1,255 x 0.75, or 941 bcy per hour. Hourly owning 200 bcy per hour, the addition of a second tractor may
and operating cost of this tractor, estimated at $84.62 increase hourly production enough to be economical. While a
divided by 941 bcy per hour computes to 9¢/bcy . second tractor may almost double machine costs, in a hard
ripping zone it may increase production 300%. It may also
Tandem ripping enable the equipment to continue to work in a still harder
If some parts of rock formations prove too rough for ripping zone that would otherwise require drilling and blast-
normal ripping, there are two possibilities to be considered: ing. The following table illustrates how adding a second
using widely spaced explosives followed by rippers, or using tractor increases production.
tandem ripping tractors moving one ripper shank. A
third alternative, a combination of both, may prove econom- Typical Seismic, Production
(velocity) (bcy/hr)
ical, especially if material can be scraper loaded rather than
with shovels and trucks. However, accelerated wear Single tractor
increases hourly owning and operating costs—scrapers up Zone A .................................... 5,000 500
one third, pushers up one half, and rippers up three quar- Zone B.................................... 6,500 300
ters. Zone C .................................... 8,500 150
Tandem ripping to loosen difficult materials can extend Tandem tractors
the rippable range. In the situation of a 50-ft cut, for Zone C .................................... 8,500 450
instance, where the top 15 ft can be removed by scrapers and Zone D .................................... 9,500 300
the next 20 ft removed with a normal ripper-scraper team
but where the remaining 15 ft is too difficult for normal Ripping vs. drilling and blasting
ripping, the operator is faced with the choice of bringing in In a choice of whether to rip, or drill and blast, the first
drill and blast equipment and loading units and haul trucks, consideration is cost. This initial cost consideration must
then be weighed with other factors, such as using available The drilling and blasting process typically averages
equipment, determining the best end use of the material, between 40¢ and 60¢ per bank cubic yard in normal
and so on. Transporting and loading methods also must be construction and mining operations. For cost per yard to be
considered. Optimum performance of bulldozers, scrapers, competitive by this yardstick, a large size dozer must rip
wheel loaders, trucks, shovels, elevating loaders, and about 300 to 350 bcy per hour. When production drops below
conveyors require materials of varying specifications. this level, ripping becomes uneconomical except for small
Rippers used on a production basis can loosen material for volumes of material where setup costs for blasting become a
one third to one half the cost of drilling and blasting. The factor. And, in large operations, drilling and blasting costs
costs of moving material once it is loosened is another valid can be as low as 15¢ to 30¢ per bank cubic yard. To be
cost comparison. competitive there, a dozer would have to trip between 400
End use of the material also influences the decision of and 500 bcy per hour.
whether to blast or rip. Rock must be of a size that can be
handled efficiently by the dozer, but modifications in the Rippability evaluation
ripping operation, varying the spacing, depth, and direction To determine whether a particular material can be ripped,
of ripping passes, for instance, usually produce the desired field testing and an evaluation of the geology are usually
particle size. By contrast, a desired rock fragmentation may best. Physical characteristics of materials favoring ripping
be difficult to obtain by blasting, necessitating expensive include the presence of fractures, faults and planes of weak-
secondary blasting. And, since ripped rock tends to be small- ness, weathering effects, brittleness or crystalline structure,
er than rock loosened by blasting, appreciable increases in stratification of lamination, large grain size, moisture
crusher production may be realized. permeated clay, shale and rock formations, and low
An additional comparison of blasting vs. ripping can be compressive strength. Unfavorable conditions include mas-
made in terms of how the material is to be moved. Dozed sive and homogeneous formations, non-crystalline structure,
material presents few problems. However, material top absence of planes of weakness, fine-grained material with a
loaded into haul units must be smaller than the loading solid cementing agent, and formations of clay origin where
bucket, and scrapers can haul only those materials that are moisture makes the material plastic.
well broken up and loosened. Assessing these criteria is largely a matter of observation.
Visible laminations, faults and fractures give a good indica- where:
tion of rippability. However, those conditions which are not D = depth
visible also must be included in the overall evaluation. A X = distance along the bottom of the graph from zero to
simpler, less expensive test uses refraction a seismograph to the point of intersection
determine rippability of materials by indicating the degree VI = the velocity wave in the upper layer
of consolidation, including such factors as rock hardness, V2 = the velocity in the next lower layer
stratification, degree of fracturing, and the amount of However, seismographs give accurate thickness indica-
decomposition or weathering. tions only when layers get progressively harder as depth
This system, in wide use for a number of years, is based
upon the amount of time it takes for seismic waves to travel
through different kinds of sub-surface materials. The speed
in a hard, tight rock is fast—up to 20,000 fps, and as slow as
1,000 fps in a loose soil.
Velocity of the seismic waves through the layers is deter-
mined by the formula:

Velocity = Distance
Time

where D is the distance from sound source to receiver and T

is the time lapse. Plotted points form a line for each type of
material, since velocities are the same for a similar consoli-
dation. The flatter the slope of the line, the more consoli-
dated the material.
The resulting velocity information can be compared to
previous tests in similar materials where the rippability was
known. For most materials, a range of rippability in terms
of velocities has already been established. From 10 to 20
minutes are required to run each test and to determine
seismic wave velocities.
Besides degree of consolidation of rippability of each
layer, seismic tests also help reveal the thickness of each
layer. The depth of each consoliation change can be
computed with the formula:

The radial ripper beam pivots to raise and lower the shank and
change the angle of the tip.
 increases, as is the usual case. Short shank tips are used when penetration is difficult
and shock is severe, and long tips are used in abrasive
Ripper equipment selection materials where breakage is not a primary factor. Interme-
In selecting the right equipment for a particular ripping diate tips are recommended for applications where abrasive
job there are three primary factors to consider: material is hard enough to break the long tip.
■ Down pressure available at the tip, which determines the
ripper penetration that can be achieved and maintained. Ripping techniques
■ Tractor flywheel horsepower, which determines whether Most ripping is done in first gear because 1 to 1½ mph
the tractor can advance the tip. gives economical production, and tractor undercarriage and
■ Tractor gross-weight, which determines whether the trac- ripper tip wear increase rapidly with an increase in speed.
tor will have sufficient traction to use the horsepower. When working with easily ripped materials, it is better to
Ripper mounting brackets and hydraulic control mecha- use two or three teeth rather than increase speed.
nisms vary widely among manufacturers, but there are only One tooth is normally used in material that breaks out in
three basic ripper designs used: radial, parallelogram and large, thick slabs. The slabs fracture or pass around the
adjustable parallelogram. shank. Often, even though the material can be handled with
The radial ripper provides a variety of angles of penetra- two teeth, production is higher with only one tooth. One
tion to match differences in material. The parallelogram reason is there is less slippage and stalling, making it easier
ripper maintains the same tip-to-ground angle regardless of on machine and operator.
tooth depth, forming a constant tooth angle and providing When using two teeth in difficult materials, one may
good penetration characteristics in most materials. become stalled temporarily by a hard spot, producing severe
The adjustable parallelogram ripper combines benefits of off-center loads on the ripper beam, mounting and tractor.
both types. It has the additional benefit of being able to vary Using only one tooth centers the load on the beam and
the tip angle to the optimum angle of penetration, and can mounting assembly and allows the tooth to exert full force.
be adjusted for optimum ripping angle in any material while Sometimes it is practical to rip as deep as the shank will
the tractor continues to move. allow. However, where more stratification is encountered, it
Penetration depends both upon down-pressure and pene- is usually preferable to rip at partial depth, removing the
tration angle. The best angle (formed by the front or top material in its natural layers, rather than making a full-
face of the ripper tip and the ground when penetration is depth pass. An initial, half-depth pass breaks the material
about to begin) varies as the cut progresses, depending upon loose. The second pass can be made at full depth with much
the kind and consolidation of material. less effort and better total fragmentation.

The parallelogram ripper maintains the same hp-to-ground angle at Adjustable parallelogram ripper combines radial and parallelogram
all depths as the shank penetrates the ground. traits, with varying tip-to-ground angle as the ripper penetrates.
 In addition, if the tooth will not penetrate to full depth, use its horsepower and weight to increase production. Uphill
the rear of the tractor will be lifted off the ground. When ripping sometimes is preferred to get more down pressure
this occurs, traction is lost and ripping production goes from weight transfer or to get under and lift horizontal,
down. Also the added weight to the front rollers and idlers slabby material. If the material is laminated and the plane
causes undue stress and wear. of the laminations is inclined to the surface of the ground, it
While deep ripping with a single tooth often yields higher is best to rip from the shallow end (where the laminations
production, many thinly laminated materials, particularly reach the surface) toward the deep end. This helps keep the
shales, denser mudstones and siltstones, frequently can be tip in the ground. Otherwise, the tip tends to slide up the
better handled by more teeth at shallower depths. laminations and may be forced out of the ground.
Where scrapers are used to move the material, uniform Cross ripping makes the pit rougher and is more severe on
depth is important. Hard knobs of rock can force the scraper scrapers and other excavating tools. Its use should be
cutting edge out of the ground and damage scrapers and restricted to material that comes out in large slabs and it
cutting edges. On such jobs, working depth should be deter- will loosen material in which single pass ripping produces
mined by the depth of the most difficult part of the cut area. only deep channels. When material is extremely hard to
Pass spacing helps determine the production rate by indi- penetrate, cross ripping will frequently separate fracture
cating the time required to cover the area. Costs are lowest planes set up by the initial ripping pass.
with maximum spacing, but end-use and moving methods
may necessitate closer spacing with smaller ripped chunks. Using two tractors
Crusher acceptance, hauling and loading method tend to Adding a second tractor to push the first tractor-ripper
define pass spacing. can extend the range of materials that can be ripped. Rather
For scraper loading, ripping should proceed in the same than bring in drill and blast crews, it may be cheaper to add
direction as the scrapers. The ripper tractor then doubles as a second tractor to finish difficult portions of a ripping job.
a pusher and traffic moves in the same direction. However, When ripping production drops to less than 150 to 200 cu yds
ripping rock formations with vertical laminations that run per hour, for example, adding the second tractor almost
parallel to the cut may result in only deep channels with doubles the costs, but production can be increased by three
little breakage. When this occurs, it may be necessary to rip or four times in some materials.
the material across the cut to obtain proper breakup. Single-shank rippers are designed with an integral push
Ripping downhill whenever possible, helps the tractor to block for tandem pushing in severe applications. Multiple
shank rippers are designed for less severe ripping applica-
tions and are usually not equipped with push blocks.
A second tractor can add down-pressure on the ripper.
The dozer on the push tractor should be in a float position
unless additional up or down pressure is required.
Rock that is too difficult to rip often can be pre-blasted
with a light charge and then ripped successfully. Experience
with this ripping technique is limited and involves rather
careful cost comparison. It is generally employed, and
recommended, on jobs where scrapers are to be used to load
and haul the materials. At relatively small cost, light blast-
ing fractures the rock enough to permit ripper penetration.
This practice has been used to reduce the cost of moving
highly consolidated rock formations. .

Reprinted from COAL AGE, August 1979, copyright 1979 by McGraw-Hill, Inc., with all rights reserved.