Impact of Compressive Stress on Microwave Dielectric Properties of Feldspar Specimen

Abstract

As one of the most important electrical properties, the dielectric permittivity of minerals and rocks has been studied with respect to its influencing factors, such as texture, density, moisture, frequency, pressure, etc., and has aroused great interest in geophysics, mineralogy, petrology, and microwave remote sensing. However, the studies on the effect of stress on the dielectric property of rock are limited to lower frequencies, and the related mechanism is not yet clear. Considering the limitations of traditional testing methods and the complexities of compositions and structures of rock specimens, in this article, we choose the minerals of the feldspar group as specimens to investigate the impact of compressive stress on their dielectric property at a higher frequency range from 2 to 18.3 GHz. For this purpose, an open coaxial resonator probe is applied to measuring the alteration of the dielectric permittivity of the feldspar specimen in the process of increasing compressive stress using a specially designed loading device. The dielectric constants of the feldspar specimen at all of the five high-frequency points demonstrate obviously decreasing trends with increasing compressive stress. The particular discovery is that the ionic and electronic polarizations are much sensitive to the increasing compressive stress in the microwave frequency band, where the minerals behave like ionic crystals. This article implies that the variation of the microwave dielectric permittivity of rock mass under altering crustal stress due to tectonic plate movements and engineering disturbances is an important factor to be considered in applying radar investigation and microwave remote sensing for mineral exploration, geological exploration, and geo-hazard perception.