A novel true triaxial test system for microwave-induced fracturing of hard rocks

This study introduces a test system for microwave-induced fracturing of hard rocks under true triaxial stress.The test system comprises a true triaxial stress loading system,an open-ended microwaveinduced fracturing system,a data acquisition system,an acoustic emission(AE)monitoring system,and an auxiliary specimen loading system.Microwave-induced surface and borehole fracturing tests under true triaxial stress were fulfilled for the first time,which overcomes the problem of microwave leakage in the coupling loading of true triaxial stress and microwave.By developing the dynamic monitoring system,the thermal response and fracture evolution were obtained during microwave irradiation.The monitoring system includes the infrared thermometry technique for monitoring rock surface temperature,the distributed optic fiber sensing technique for monitoring temperature in borehole in rock,the AE technique and two-dimensional digital speckle correlation technique for monitoring the evolution of thermal damage and the rock fracturing process.To validate the advantages of the test system and investigate the characteristics of microwave-induced fracturing of hard rocks,the study demonstrates the experimental methods and results for microwave-induced surface and borehole fracturing under true triaxial stress.The results show that thermal cracking presented intermittent characteristics(calm eactiveecalm)during microwave-induced surface and borehole fracturing of basalt.In addition,true triaxial stress can inhibit the development and distribution of thermal cracks during microwave-induced surface fracturing.When microwave-induced borehole fracturing occurs,it promotes the distribution of thermal cracks in rock,but inhibits the width of cracks.The results also prove the reliability of the test system.

Excavation-induced deep hard rock fracturing:Methodology and applications

To analyze and predict the mechanical behaviors of deep hard rocks,some key issues concerning rock fracturing mechanics for deep hard rock excavations are discussed.First,a series of apparatuses and methods have been developed to test the mechanical properties and fracturing behaviors of hard rocks under high true triaxial stress paths.Evolution mechanisms of stress-induced disasters in deep hard rock excavations,such as spalling,deep cracking,massive roof collapse,large deformation and rockbursts,have been recognized.The analytical theory for the fracturing process of hard rock masses,including the three-dimensional failure criterion,stress-induced mechanical model,fracturing degree index,energy release index and numerical method,has been established.The cracking-restraint method is developed for mitigating or controlling rock spalling,deep cracking and massive collapse of deep hard rocks.An energy-controlled method is also proposed for the prevention of rockbursts.Finally,two typical cases are used to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology in the Baihetan caverns and Bayu tunnels of China.

Cutting Performance of WC-Co Alloys Modified by Nano-Additives

In this paper,the microstructure of WC-Co alloys with and without nano-additives was characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）.The hardness and fracture toughness was tested by using a Vickers hardness tester and a universal testing machine.The cutting test was carried out at different feed velocities（250 r/min and 320 r/min）,and the contact pairs are cutting tools and 45# steel bars.Results showed that the hardness and fracture toughness of WC-Co cemented carbides with nano-additives are higher than that of WC-Co cemented carbides without nano-additives,and they are increased 10.21% and 19.69%,respectively.The flank worn width and crater width of cutting tools decrease greatly with the addition of nano-additives.For the nano-modified specimen with WC grain size of 7 μm,both the flank worn width and crater width are the minimum after the cutting process.And there are little built-up layers and some pile-up regions on the flank face leading to high cutting performance for the nano-modified cemented carbides.There are some melted regions on the flank face of cutting tools without nano-additives,and the WC grains on the cross section of alloys without nano-additives show severe fragmentation.The wear type of WC-Co is flank wear,and the wear mechanism is abrasive,adhesion and oxidation wear.