“You will only experience so many blasting’s in one day here,” said Martin Hopfe, opening the Congress of Blasting Engineering in Cologne on 14 November 2024. Following this, Andreas Pocha, managing director of the DA, welcomed the almost 100 participants. Martin Hopfe, chairman of the specialist committee on blasting technology of the German Demolition Association (DA), then led the way through the varied lecture programme of the congress on special procedures for demolition. Clarissa Rapps, head of the structural dynamics business unit at Wölfel Engineering GmbH, began the programme with a presentation on various blasting strategies. She showed vivid simulations of building demolitions. Her lecture was titled: ‘How do you find the right blasting strategy?’, drawing on in-depth consultations, feasibility studies and simulations.

Successful blasting relies on the cooperation of all parties

Michael Schneider, head of blasting technology at Richard Liesegang GmbH, also used blasting simulations. In his lecture, he presented the demolition of the Rahmedetalbrücke. The successful blasting of the dilapidated motorway bridge was only possible thanks to the coordination of all parties involved. As with all blasting operations, safety was the top priority here. Animal protection was also taken into account with more than 100 barrier posts providing the necessary security on site. The desired blasting result was achieved to the satisfaction of all involved.

Dr. Ulf Lichte from the engineering firm Lichte discussed the prognosis of blast vibrations in chimneys, cooling towers, bridges and bunkers in his lecture. Michael Böhme from Mobiler Bild Und Messdienst used a challenging example from Leipzig to show how he carried out the taking of evidence in the vicinity of a planned blasting object. Digitisation in blasting technology was discussed by Stefan Gräßle, managing director of 3D-Soil GmbH, a subsidiary of Lothar Rapp GmbH, who presented examples of blasting operations in which digital processes have made a huge contribution to making work easier. “Digitisation is the future and comes in handy in the right place,” said Gräßle. 

The ‘four eyes’ principle and experience are of crucial importance

In the course of the afternoon, André Schewcow, managing director of Deutsche Sprengunion GmbH, discussed the steel blasting of a loading crane. Ulrike Matthes, a demolition engineer at Thüringer Sprenggesellschaft, and Gerd Vogel, a demolition expert with many years of experience in the field of demolition, explained the most important protection and safety measures to be observed when demolishing a structure. As the two speakers showed the audience, the four eyes principle and accumulated empirical values are particularly helpful for large scale projects.

In his lecture, Johannes Hubrich of Regrata Abbruch und Recycling GmbH presented the variants for blasting the towers of wind energy plants. With the help of videos, he showed how the various plant types can be brought down. Finally, Eduard Reisch, managing partner of Reisch Sprengtechnik GmbH, highlighted the sustainability aspect of building demolition using the example of the blasting of the foundations of wind power plants. His comments on the CO2 footprint of a controlled blasting using explosives, compared to a fictitious mechanical demolition, were said to be extremely interesting. Reisch agreed with the previous speaker and concurred with his conclusion that blasting is safe, economical and contemporary.

Accompanying exhibition of companies

During the breaks in the congress, the participants had the opportunity to visit the small accompanying exhibition. The companies Austin Powder Germany GmbH, Bergauer Regenerierung GmbH, Lothar Rapp GmbH, Sandvik Mining and Construction Central Europe GmbH, Schütz Erschütterungsmesstechnik GmbH, Svantek Deutschland GmbH, T Tec Hydraulik GmbH and Wölfel Engineering GmbH presented their products and services used in building demolition. There was also plenty of time to exchange ideas with the speakers and other trade visitors.

At the end of the event, the specialist audience was clearly impressed by the wide range of technical information, the clear and interactive presentations and the opportunity for discussions. This positive feedback paves the way for a further continuation of the event held by the German Demolition Association in blasting technology.