Selection of site specific vibration equation by using analytic hierarchy process in a quarry

• The optimum Site Specific Vibration Attenuation equation for blasting in a quarry located near settlements was determined.
• It is indicated that SSVA equations changing over the years don’t give always accurate estimates at changing conditions.
• Selection of the blast induced SSVA equation was made using AHP.
• Equation selection method was highlighted based on parameters such as charge, distance, and quarry geometry changes (year).

This paper presents a new approach for the selection of the most accurate SSVA (Site Specific Vibration Attenuation) equation for blasting processes in a quarry located near settlements in Istanbul, Turkey. In this context, the SSVA equations obtained from the same study area in the literature were considered in terms of distance between the shot points and buildings and the amount of explosive charge.In this purpose, 11 different SSVA equations obtained from the study area in the past 12 years, forecasting capabilities according to designated new conditions, using 102 vibration records as test data obtained from the study area was investigated.In this study, AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was selected as an analysis method in order to determine the most accurate equation among 11 SSAV equations, and the parameters such as year, distance, charge, and r2 of the equations were used as criteria for AHP.Finally, the most appropriate equation was selected among the existing ones, and the process of selecting according to different target criteria was presented. Furthermore, it was noted that the forecasting results of the selected equation is more accurate than that formed using the test results.