The technique of breaking rocks using carbon dioxide phase transition technology is being widely applied in current research. This article combines theoretical and practical methods to analyze the mechanism by which high-pressure gas breaks rock at different stages. Using the observation that liquid carbon dioxide forms a high-pressure jet from release holes at the moment of release, a formula for calculating the initial pressure on the wall in the direction of release was obtained, and the pattern of initial crack formation on the borehole wall under different initial stress conditions was examined. An experiment using carbon dioxide phase transition technology to fracture rock without an initial stress field was conducted. The mechanism of generation and expansion of subsequent cracks under stress waves and high-pressure gas was analyzed, and the formula for calculating crack propagation radius under stress waves was obtained. The results suggested that under the quasi-static action of high-pressure gas, cracks begin to develop when the stress intensity factor K_I at the crack tip is equal to or greater than the fracture toughness K_IC of the rock.

Identifying rock discontinuity sets is a major factor for analyses of hydraulic properties and rock mass stability. To perform efficient and precise grouping of discontinuities, a new approach based on clustering by fast searches and finding density peaks is proposed for the identification of rock discontinuity sets. By measuring the similarity of each pair of discontinuities, the local density and controlled distance of each discontinuity can be calculated for a certain cutoff distance. The number of potential clusters and central discontinuities of corresponding clusters can be found by observing the decision graph constructed based on the decision values of all discontinuities in descending order. The discontinuities of each cluster are divided into core discontinuities and outlier discontinuities based on the corresponding boundary density. This strategy can avoid interference from subjective factors and improve the accuracy of the clustering analysis. The new approach is verified using artificial data, and the appropriate cutoff distance thresholds for identifying rock discontinuity sets are given. Finally, the new approach is applied to group discontinuities in an actual underground mine. The clustering results obtained with the proposed approach are more reliable than those obtained with traditional methods.

Chemical corrosion has a significant impact on the damage evolution behavior of rock. To investigate the mechanical damage evolution process of rock under a coupled chemical-mechanical (CM) condition, an improved statistical damage constitutive model was established using the Drucker-Prager (D-P) strength criterion and two-parameter Weibull distribution. The damage variable correction coefficient and chemical damage variable which was determined by porosity were also considered in the model. Moreover, a series of conventional triaxial compressive tests were carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of sandstone specimens under the effect of chemical corrosion. The relationship between rock mechanics properties and confining pressure was also explored to determine Weibull distribution parameters, including the shape parametermand scale parameterF0. Then, the reliability of the damage constitutive model was verified based on experimental data. The results of this study are as follows: (i) the porosity of sandstone increased and the mechanical properties degraded after chemical corrosion; (ii) the relationships among the compressive strength, the peak axial strain, and confining pressures were linear, while the relationships among the elastic modulus, the residual strength, and confining pressures were exponential functions; and (iii) the improved statistical damage constitutive model was in good agreement with the testing curves withR2>0.98. It is hoped that the study can provide an alternative method to analyze the damage constitutive behavior of rock under a coupled chemical-mechanical condition.

Microwave-induced rock fracture is one of the promising approaches of achieving non-blasting continuous mining and assisted mechanical rock breaking. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the temperature effect and fracture characteristics of rocks of different sizes under microwave heating; however, there are few studies in this field. Microwave heating of φ 50 × 100 mm, φ 50 × 50 mm, and φ 50 × 25 mm sandstone samples with different heating powers and times was performed to measure the temperature of the sample, the microwave energy absorbed, the mass, and the P-wave velocity before and after heating. The results show suppress that (i) under the same heating conditions, the mass difference and the temperature increase range of φ 50 × 100 mm and φ 50 × 50 mm samples are larger than that of the φ 50 × 25 mm samples; (ii) the wave velocity change rate and the damage factor of samples increase with the increase of heating power and time; (iii) different size specimens have different crack- propagation modes. The main crack of φ 50 × 100 mm specimens usually starts from the middle of the height of the specimen; for the φ 50 × 50 mm specimens, it usually starts from the middle or bottom-end surface of the specimen height; the main crack of φ 50 × 25 mm specimens starts from the vertical surface of the specimen. With an increase in the heating time, the length and width of the main crack continuously increase and secondary cracks are generated. The fracture mode of the sample is also related to the size of the sample. The fracture mode can be divided into three parts: melt fracture, thermal-expansion fracture, and secondary thermal-expansion fracture. The relationship between the sample temperature and the absorbed microwave energy is approximately linear.