Microwave-induced rock fractures via phase field cohesive zone method and numerical simulation

The rock fracturing process pretreated by microwave is not straightforward for observation. One major reason is that high-frequency electromagnetic waves can easily induce severe biological tissue damage. This impedes us from understanding the cracking mechanisms of microwave fracturing rock. A possible way to enhance the understanding of microwave-induced rock fractures is numerical simulation. The aim of this thesis is to determine microwave-induced stress, fractures and corresponding factors (e.g. mineral particle size, composition, rock size, microwave energy) influencing the cracking behavior based on the computational modelling. The phase field cohesive zone method (PF-CZM) that is widely applied for simulating engineering material failures are adopted in this research.