Abstract
The strength and hardness of rock are much higher at freezing temperatures than at room temperature. This results in high excavation costs and low excavation efficiency in frozen rock layers. This study proposes a novel way to thaw porous and water-bearing rock by microwave irradiation. It is applicable to a wide range of strata and is not dependent on whether the rock contains wave-absorbing minerals. Quartz sandstone specimens free from absorbing minerals and of different saturation levels were used in an investigation of thawing and softening behaviors under microwave irradiation. The rock pore structures were observed before and after irradiation. The results show that (1) frozen quartz sandstone irradiated by microwaves undergoes three stages: (i) rapid melting of pore ice, (ii) intense vaporization of meltwater, and (iii) drying. (2) Microwave irradiation significantly reduces the strength of frozen quartz sandstone. (3) The mechanisms are vaporization expansion, which causes the propagation of intergranular cracks, and thermal expansion, which induces trans-granular cracking. (4) Softening of 40–100%-saturated frozen quartz sandstone is caused by both vapor and thermal expansion, while 0–40%-saturated sandstone is mainly affected by thermal expansion. This study provides theoretical and experimental support for microwave-assisted breakage of frozen porous and water-bearing rock.
Highlights
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Microwave irradiation is a promising auxiliary method in excavation of frozen rock.
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Microwave irradiation heating melts frozen sandstone completely within only 40 s.
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Unfrozen water in frozen sandstone is the fundamental cause of the rapid melting.
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Softening effect on frozen sandstone is enhanced by increasing saturation degree.
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Data availability
The data sets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- NMR:
-
Nuclear magnetic resonance
- SEM:
-
Scanning electron microscopy
- XRD:
-
X-ray diffraction
- ε″:
-
Dielectric loss factor
- ε′:
-
Dielectric constant
- tan δ :
-
Dielectric loss tangent
- P1:
-
Pulse 1 (pulse 90°)
- P2:
-
Pulse 2 (pulse 180°)
- TD:
-
Time data
- TW:
-
Time wait
- TE:
-
Echo time
- SW:
-
Sampling bandwidth
- RFD:
-
Regulate first data
- RG1:
-
Regulate analog gain 1
- DRG1:
-
Regulate digital gain 1
- DR:
-
Data radius
- NS:
-
Number of sampling
- H:
-
Hydrogen
- T 2 :
-
Transverse relaxation time of NMR signal
- ρ 2 :
-
Transverse surface relaxation rate (a constant)
- S :
-
Pore surface area
- V :
-
Pore volume
- F s :
-
Geometric factor (= 3 for spherical pores and 2 for columnar pores)
- r c :
-
Average radius
- UCS:
-
Uniaxial compression strength
- CCWCs:
-
Continuous conductive pore water channels
- ΔV abs :
-
The reduction absolute value in P-wave velocity after irradiation
- V b :
-
P-wave velocity in the dry state before irradiation
- V a :
-
P-wave velocity in the dry state after irradiation
- ΔV rel. :
-
The relative percentage reduction after irradiation
- ΔS f abs. :
-
The reduction absolute value in uniaxial compression strength (between the frozen and irradiated states)
- S f :
-
Uniaxial compression strength in the frozen state
- S a :
-
Uniaxial compression strength in the irradiated state at room temperature
- ΔS f rel. :
-
The relative percentage reduction between the frozen and irradiated states
- ΔS d abs. :
-
The reduction absolute value in uniaxial compression strength (between the non-irradiated and irradiated states)
- S b :
-
Uniaxial compression strength of the non-irradiated state at room temperature
- ΔS d rel. :
-
The relative percentage reduction between the non-irradiated and irradiated states
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42071083) and CCCC (China Communications Construction Company. Ltd) Applied Basic Research Program (2021-ZJKJ-PTJS02).
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Han, L., Jia, H., Dong, Y. et al. Thawing and Softening of Frozen Sandstone by Microwave Irradiation. Rock Mech Rock Eng 57, 79–95 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03559-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03559-x