Discrete Element Modeling of the Effects of Cutting Parameters and Rock Properties on Rock Fragmentation

Abstract

Rock properties (e.g., brittleness, fracture toughness, hardness, compressive strength and tensile strength), cutting parameters (e.g., cutting depth, attack angle, wedge angle, cutting velocity) and confining stress are closely related to rock fragmentation behaviors in the design and application of excavation and mining machinery. To investigate the influence mechanism of those factors on rock fragmentation, a series of linear cutting numerical tests were conducted using the discrete element method. Numerical models with different rock mechanical parameters were calibrated by changing the cohesion strength-to-tensile strength ratio of the linear parallel bond model in PFC2D. The effects of cutting parameters on rock fragmentation were studied using orthogonal test and range analysis. The numerical results indicated that the strength ratio had a dominant effect on the specific energy and that the cutting depth and attack angle had a dominant effect on the mean cutting force. The cutting velocity significantly influenced the specific energy, and a higher cutting velocity should be adopted in actual rock cutting. In addition, a cutting force prediction model was proposed that considered factors such as the compressive strength, wedge angle, attack angle and cutting depth. Moreover, the introduction of more rock mechanical parameters into the evaluation indicators can reflect a greater number of fragmentation characteristics.

Analysis of Different Positional Relationships of Adjacent Double Picks on Cutting Force

“…Some scholars have studied the changing law of cutting a load of picks and various tools when cutting rocks through various experiments and simulations. Zou et al [12] carried out a series of linear cutting simulation calculations by the discrete element method and studied the effect of cutting parameters on rock breaking by orthogonal tests. The results showed that the cutting depth and angle have a significant effect on the mean cutting force, and the cutting speed has a greater effect on the energy consumption than the cutting speed.…”

Study conical pick cutting performance and fatigue life in breaking rock plate process with numerical simulation

“…Evan et al 7 – 9 studied the influence factors of rock breaking with a conical pick. Zou et al 10 studied the debris separation phenomenon in the process of rock fragmentation based on PFC(2D) and pointed out that the cutting depth and cutting angle have a great impact on the average cutting force.…”

Research on cutting performance and fatigue life of conical pick in cutting rock process

“…In 2018, Su 11 predicted the rock cuttingability with the numerical simulation and the theoretical methods based the analyzing the peak cutting force. In 2020, Zou et al 12 researched the debris separation phenomenon in the process of rock fragmentation based on PFC(2D), and pointed out that the cutting depth and the cutting angle have obvious influence on the average cutting force. In 2020, Jeong et al 13 applied the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method to simulate the rock breaking process.…”