摘要
Current developments in 3D printing （3DP） technology provide the opportunity to produce rock-like specimens and geotechnical models through additive man- ufacturing, that is, from a file viewed with a computer to a real object. This study investigated the serviceability of 3DP products as substitutes for rock specimens and rock-type materials in experimental analysis of deformation and failure in the laboratory. These experiments were performed on two types of materials as follows： （1） compressive experiments on printed sand-powder specimens in different shapes and structures, including intact cylinders, cylinders with small holes, and cuboids with pre-existing cracks, and （2） com- pressive and shearing experiments on printed polylactic acid cylinders and molded shearing blocks. These tentative tests for 3DP technology have exposed its advantages in produc- ing complicated specimens with special external forms and internal structures, the mechanical similarity of its product to rock-type material in terms of deformation and failure, and its precision in mapping shapes from the original body to the trial sample （such as a natural rock joint）. These experiments and analyses also successfully demonstrate the potential and prospects of 3DP technology to assist in the deformation and failure analysis of rock-type materials, as well as in the sim- ulation of similar material modeling experiments.
Current developments in 3D printing （3DP） technology provide the opportunity to produce rock-like specimens and geotechnical models through additive man- ufacturing, that is, from a file viewed with a computer to a real object. This study investigated the serviceability of 3DP products as substitutes for rock specimens and rock-type materials in experimental analysis of deformation and failure in the laboratory. These experiments were performed on two types of materials as follows： （1） compressive experiments on printed sand-powder specimens in different shapes and structures, including intact cylinders, cylinders with small holes, and cuboids with pre-existing cracks, and （2） com- pressive and shearing experiments on printed polylactic acid cylinders and molded shearing blocks. These tentative tests for 3DP technology have exposed its advantages in produc- ing complicated specimens with special external forms and internal structures, the mechanical similarity of its product to rock-type material in terms of deformation and failure, and its precision in mapping shapes from the original body to the trial sample （such as a natural rock joint）. These experiments and analyses also successfully demonstrate the potential and prospects of 3DP technology to assist in the deformation and failure analysis of rock-type materials, as well as in the sim- ulation of similar material modeling experiments.
基金
financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 41172284 and 51379202)
