Multiphysics Multicoupled Modeling of Rock Fragmentation under High-Voltage Electrical Pulse
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 9
Abstract
In this research, the finite-element numerical software COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the electric pulse rock-breaking process, and the novel numerical model takes into account the multiple fields of electrical, thermal, and mechanical physics. The electric field strength inside the rock under the action of the electric pulse is updated by the full coupling function of COMSOL (version 6.1) software, and the electric damage variable χ is used to describe the process of electric breakdown inside the rock, to simulate the formation of plasma channel in the process of electric pulse rock-breaking. The voltage change curves and plasma channel trajectories in the electric breakdown process of the model in this paper are compared with the literature to verify the accuracy of the model. The formation process of plasma channels captures the temperature and stress changes during the whole process of electric pulse rock-breaking, to reveal the mechanism of the electric pulse rock-breaking process. With the presence of conductive particles inside the rock, the particles can effectively promote the formation of plasma channels, increase the area of electrical damage, and improve rock-breaking efficiency. Before the formation of the plasma channel, the internal temperature of the rock is about 600 K, and the stress is about 10−2 MPa; when the channel is formed, the energy of the electric pulse is mainly concentrated in the plasma channel, and the temperature of the plasma channel rises to 104 K. When the maximum stress exceeds the critical stress of the rock, the rock undergoes fracture. Furthermore, an appropriate increase in the rise time of the electric pulse increases the speed and area of rock-breaking, subsequently improving the efficiency of rock fracture. The results of the numerical modeling in this paper help to better understand the mechanism of the electric pulse rock-breaking process, which is of great engineering significance for the development of new electric pulse rock-breaking technology in the realm of geotechnical engineering.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (e.g., the data in the graph and the code of calculation).
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42077435 and 42377171). This support is greatly appreciated.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 9 • September 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jun 7, 2023
Accepted: Feb 12, 2024
Published online: Jun 17, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Nov 17, 2024
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