This work summarizes recent research at Swebrec and SveBeFo. It has led to a new  fragment size distribution with an unexpected ability to reproduce sieving curves of all kinds of rock and concrete/mortar that have been blasted or crushed in almost every conceivable way. The three-parameter Swebrec function is described but its parameters are not independent. Examples of curve fits are given as is some advice about the fitting procedure. Its relations to other comminution concepts such as t10 from JKMRC are explored. How to use the Swebrec function for full-scale blasts is described, especially for large blasts where the available information is very limited. The final section treats design curves, which can predict the changes in fragmentation that are caused by changes in specific charge and other geometrical parameters of a bench blast. Evidence to the effect of confining debris at the free face is finally presented

Rock mechanincs as a new field of science has grown out of the practical needs of civil and mining engineers only in very recent times and the necessity for more economical (less "overdesigned") structures in rock and aspects of safety have been the prime movers in the development of rock mechanics as a separate scientific discipline. The scope of this discipline "encompasses the engineering interpretation of geological findings; the determination of the engineering properties of in situ rock masses in terms usable for mechanics analyses and the conduct of these analyses for problems essentially related to rock masses" (John, 1962). <...>

Although engineering activities involving rock have been underway for millennia, we can mark the beginning of the modern era from the year 1962 when the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) was formally established in Salzburg, Austria. Since that time, both rock engineering itself and the associated rock mechanics research have increased in activity by leaps and bounds, so much so that it is difficult for an ngineer or researcher to be aware of all the emerging developments, especially since  the information is widely spread in reports, magazines, journals,  books and the internet. It is appropriate, if not essential, therefore that periodically an easily accessible structured survey should be made of the currently available knowledge. Thus, we are most grateful to Professor Xia-Ting Feng and his team, and to the Taylor & Francis Group, for preparing this extensive 2017 “Rock Mechanics and Engineering” compendium outlining the state of the art—and which is a publication fitting well within the Taylor & Francis portfolio of ground engineering related titles.<...>

Rock is the main constituent of the crust of the Earth, and its behavior is the most complex one among all materials in the geosphere to be dealt with by humankind. Furthermore, it contains various discontinuities, which make the thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of rocks more complex. These simply require a higher level of knowledge and intelligence within the Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (RMRE) community.