A modified, hydrophobic soundless cracking demolition agent for non-explosive demolition and fracturing applications

摘要

Soundless Cracking Demolition Agents (SCDAs) are an alternative to the current practices of environmentally detrimental conventional demolition and rock fragmentation methods Although having the potential to produce a dense network of fractures when injected into a borehole, the applicability of SCDA is limited by its susceptibility to dilution in water-saturated conditions and delayed onset of expansive pressure. Such limitations can be eliminated by introducing a Viscousity Enhancing Agent (VEA) to modify the SCDA system. Even though adding a VEA enhances the wash out resistance in the SCDA system, the associated delay in the onset of expansive pressure limits the application of this new technology in the industry. Therefore, this study aims to recover the delayed onset of expansive pressure in modified SCDA by utilising a chemical accelerator (CaCl2) through a comprehensive experimental study. The developed new material was fully characterised by performing mechanical tests (uniaxial compressive strength tests, flowability tests, washout resistance tests), microstructural analysis (scanning electron microscopy) and mineralogical analysis (X-ray diffraction).