An Electro Breakdown Damage Model for Granite and Simulation of Deep Drilling by High‐Voltage Electropulse Boring

Abstract

Electropulse rock breaking has wide application prospects in hard rock drilling and ore breaking. At present, there are no suitable physical mathematical models that describe electropulse boring (EPB) processes under confining pressures. In this paper, a high‐voltage electropulse breakdown damage model is established for granite, which includes three submodels. It considers electric field distortions inside the rock, and an electric field distribution coefficient is introduced in the electro‐breakdown model. A shock‐wave model is also constructed and solved. To simulate the heterogeneity of rocks, EPB rock breaking in deep environments is simulated using the two‐dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC2D) program. The solved shock wave is loaded into the model, and confining pressure is applied by the particle servo method. An artificial viscous boundary is used in the numerical simulation model. Using this approach, a complete numerical simulation of electropulse granite breaking is achieved. Breakdown strength and the influences of physical and mechanical parameters on it are also obtained. Time‐varying waveforms of electrical parameters are obtained, and the effect of confining pressure on EPB is also described.