This paper presents the testing methods used and the results obtained in an investigation of the cutter forces on a Boretec DS 1.6 boring machine during field boring in Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory. Two button cutters, one front cutter and one gauge cutter, were used in the field measurements. A total of 6 strain gauges were bonded on the shaft of each cutter. And each group of two gauges was used to measure a one-orthogonal cutter force component, i.e. the normal force, tangential force, and side force, respectively. In order to measure the cutter forces successfully, a telemetry system composed of a transmitter and a receiver was employed to transfer the signals from the strain gauges to a computer.A three-direction-loading system was employed in the laboratory calibration so as to solve the force-coupling problem appearing in the cutter force measurements. Correspondingly, a mathematical treatment of the force-coupling problem was performed. Then, by means of the established testing system, which was proved successful in the laboratory, the normal force, tangential force, and side force of the two button cutters on the boring machine were measured in the field. In addition, the penetration rate, thrust, and rotation speed of the boring machine were also recorded in the field. The results show the following. (1) A force-coupling phenomenon really exists and it should be considered. (2) All three directional force components always show quite a high peak value every few seconds. (3) The cutter forces of the front cutter are always much larger than the respective cutter forces of the gauge cutter. Moreover, as expected, the normal force of each cutter is much larger than the tangential force and side force of the cutter in question.

By means of spectral analysis, the measured normal forces, tangential forces, and side forces acting on two button cutters on the boring machine in Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory were analysed and the basic characteristics of the cutter forces were determined. After the measurements of the cutter forces, some rock core samples were taken from the bottom and the wall of the test borehole. These samples were cut, polished, and examined by means of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The lengths of the major cracks in the rock samples were measured, and a relation between the length of the median cracks and the relevant cutter forces was investigated.

The process of cutting homogeneous soft material has been investigated extensively. However, there are not so many studies on cutting heterogeneous brittle material. In this paper, R-T2D (Rock and Tool interaction), based on the rock failure process analysis model, is developed to simulate the fracture process in cutting heterogeneous brittle material. The simulated results reproduce the process involved in the fragmentation of rock or rock-like material under mechanical tools: the build-up of the stress field, the formation of the crushed zone, surface chipping, and the formation of the crater and subsurface cracks. Due to the inclusion of heterogeneity in the model, some new features in cutting brittle material are revealed. Firstly, macroscopic cracks sprout at the two edges of the cutter in a tensile mode. Then with the tensile cracks releasing the confining pressure, the rock in the initially high confining pressure zone is compressed into failure and the crushed zone gradually comes into being. The cracked zone near the crushed zone is always available, which makes the boundary of the crushed zone vague. Some cracks propagate to form chipping cracks and some dip into the rock to form subsurface cracks. The chipping cracks are mainly driven to propagate in a tensile mode or a mixed tensile and shear mode, following curvilinear paths, and finally intersect with the free surface to form chips. According to the simulated results, some qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed. It is found that the back rake angle of the cutter has an important effect on the cutting efficiency. Although the quantitative analysis needs more research work, it is not difficult to see the promise that the numerical method holds. It can be utilized to improve our understanding of tool-rock interaction and rock failure mechanisms under the action of mechanical tools, which, in turn, will be useful in assisting the design of fragmentation equipment and fragmentation operations.

A numerical approach to interparticle breakage is applied using the rock failure process analysis code, RFPA2D. A 2D particle assembly in a container is first numerically simulated to obtain the fringe patterns of stress fields that resemble the photoelastic test. Then, in addition, the interparticle breakage of the particle assembly in a chamber is conducted. The chamber consists of a steel container and a steel platen for transferring the load, and contains 15 particles of arbitrary sizes and irregular shapes. A plane strain condition is assumed. The particle bed is loaded under form conditions, in which the size reduction and the applied force are a function of the displacement. The numerical results indicate that, during the crushing process, three principal regimes appear: (i) the elastic deformation regime, where each particle deforms elastically; (ii) the fragmentation regime, where the particle assembly is crushed in a particle-by-particle fashion; and (iii) the assembly hardening regime, where the densified assembly recovers a significant stiffness. The dominant mode of failure is at first splitting, which is more or less parallel to the loading direction, and then progressive crushing, which mainly depends on the confinement from the chamber walls. The analysis of the load–displacement curves of the assembly obtained from the simulations reveals a high undulating load plateau, which suggests a macro-ductile behaviour.

Studies of the effects of loading rates on rock fracture were performed for decades. However, the previous work on static or dynamic rock fracture was mainly limited to a macro-experimental study. The present investigation measures the fractal dimensions of the fracture surfaces of the gabbro specimens fractured at various loading rates covering static and dynamic loading, and explores the relationship between the fractal dimensions and the fracture toughness of the rock.

In this study, the possible modes of crack initiation and propagation leading to chip formation in rock cutting are studied numerically by using a rock failure process analysis code referred to as RFPA. By using this approach, additional information is obtained on the tool-rock interaction and the failure mechanisms of rock under mechanical tools.

A DDM (displacement discontinuity method) program coupled with a modified energy criterion is used to simulate the development of cracks and chips by indentation tools. In our analysis a cavity model is applied to represent the expansion of crushed rock to the surrounding rock and the cracks are formed in two-dimensional and quasi-static conditions. The model parameters, rock properties and load magnitudes are varied in the numerical calculations. The results show that chips are formed by multiple mechanisms of either tension or shear, or their combinations. The cracks may either propagate to the free surface to form chips or rest in the rock subsurface. The crack development is dependent upon rock and fracture properties, loading force and tool characteristics. The DDM is a convenient tool in the study of rock fragmentation and cracks.

This paper focuses on the indentation depth in rocks caused by a hemispherical indenter. The problem is approached by a combination of similarity methods with an artificial neural network. The similarity methods offer a profound understanding of the physical problem and help to identify the most important governing parameters or factors that reflect the essence of the rock indentation events, thus simplifying the target problem. The artificial neural network provides an advanced computing model, which allows more factors to be involved. The predictions obtained using this combined approach are in better agreement with the experimental results than predictions using other methods.

A two-dimensional fracture model based on micro-fracture mechanics is applied to the Hertzian indentation stress field to simulate subsurface fractures in an axi-symmetrical plane. The simulation of fracture development reveals quantitatively the effects of loading force, mechanical properties of the rocks, and original micro cracks on the formation of subsurface fractures. The distribution patterns of the subsurface fractures are determined by the magnitudes and trajectories of the indentation stresses. Lateral confinement prohibits the fracture development. Simulations of the subsurface fractures in granite and marble are in good agreement with the indentation experiments.