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Weakening of tensile strength of granitic rock by HV-HF-AC actuation of piezoelectric properties of Quartz: a 3D numerical study

Abstract

High-voltage and high-frequency alternating current (HV-HF-AC) excitation of piezoelectric properties of Quartz is a potential method to induce cracks in granite. This was recently shown in a numerical feasibility study [6], where cracking was induced on cylindrical rock samples made of granite by sinusoidal AC excitation at the frequency of ~100 kHz and the amplitude of ~10 kV. However, this study did not investigate the weakening effect due to this cracking on the tensile strength of the sample. The present study addresses this topic numerically. For this end, a numerical method based on 3D embedded discontinuity finite elements for rock fracture and an explicit time stepping scheme to solve the coupled piezoelectro-mechanical problem is adopted. Rock heterogeneity and anisotropy are accounted for at the mineral mesotructure level. A preliminary numerical simulation demonstrates that the HV-HF-AC treatment reduces the tensile strength of a cylindrical granite sample by 12 %, making it thus a potential non-conventional pre-treatment method in comminution and excavation of Quartz bearing rocks and ores.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Industry / Materials and Nanotechnology
  • Tampere University

Year

2023

Published in

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (EES)

ISSN

1755-1307

Volume

1124

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository