A method for making transparent hard rock-like material and its application

Abstract

At present, a similar material most commonly used in the similarity model experiment of rock blasting is cement mortar. However, it is not transparent, which leads to the problem that the cracks in the model made of cement mortar after the test cannot be observed directly. Therefore, a kind of transparent hard rock-like material that can replace the existing model material to solve the above problem was developed in this study. This transparent hard rock-like material is made of a mixture of rosin saturated solution (RSS), epoxy resin (ER), and curing agent (CA), and its physical and mechanical properties are similar to those of hard rock through relevant tests. In addition, it is found through the blasting model test that the model specimen made of transparent hard rock-like materials has the characteristic of "direct observation" after blasting test, which conforms to the rock blasting fracture mechanism. Hence, it can replace the existing nontransparent model materials to be applied in rock blasting similar model experiment. The results from this study are helpful to the further experimental study of blasting crack propagation in deep rock mass.