Response of rocks to impact loading by bars with pointed ends

Abstract

An experimental investigation was undertaken to study the response of three rocks — shale, limestone and diorite — to dynamic loading modelling hammer drilling. A long transmission rod subjected to pendulum impact at its distal end transmitted stress waves to six different heads whose tips consisted of 60°, 90°, and 120° cones or wedges in initial contact with the rock surface. Force and linear penetration histories monitored near the interface were found to be in good agreement with predicted values based on strain measurements at the center and distal end of the transmission bar and use of a one-dimensional theory of elastic wave propagation. The dynamic indentation measurements were also found to be in good agreement witha posteriori determination of the crater depth. Effects of multiple wave reflections and repeated impact on the contact force and rock deformation were determined as a function of the input energy. It was found that an optimum value of this energy exists for most efficient penetration for each of the heads utilized. Dynamic force-penetration curves were compared with corresponding static values obtained from an Instron testing machine. The force history resulting from the impact of a commercial pick-ax suspended in a pendulum arrangement was measured for both the conical and wedge-shaped tips of the device.