AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

"For many years the manufacturers of explosives have attempted to show the advantages of using dynamite of a cartridge diameter of at least 1-1/8 inches. Tests by the manufacturers and by the United States Bureau of Mines hare definitely shown that the dynamites prepared in larger diameter cartridges have several advantages: They are more sensitive to detonation; they detonate at a higher velocity; they are resistant to water; they are safer to use; and they are more stable than dynamites made in smaller diameter cartridges. In spite of these advantages listed, several large consumers still insist on smaller diameter cartridges. Dynamite is sold by weight and the cost to the consumer for a box of 50 pounds is the same regardless of the cartridge size. The manufacturing cost, however, increases with the smaller diameter cartridge because it takes more cartridges to fill a 50-pound box. The study described in this thesis was suggested to the Mining Department of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy by officials of the Explosives Division of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, of Wilmington, Delaware. With their cooperation an attempt has been made to determine the effectiveness of different sized cartridges of dynamite when used under actual mining conditions" – Introduction, p. 1.