A new technology for hard-rock tunneling based on drilling and hydraulic impact breaking

In order to realize the safety, high efficiency and rapidity of hard rock tunneling, we propose the drilling & hydraulic impact hard-rock tunneling (DHIHT) technology and method. Based on the LS-DYNA explicit module and APDL programming, the key parameters of DHIHT, including drilling spacing and drilling radius, were investigated. The simulation results show that: the drilling spacing should not exceed 0.20 m-larger distances weaken the actual breaking effect; the best drilling radius is about 0.035 m, larger or smaller distances would both decrease the effect of drilling-hole free surfaces. The field impact breaking experiments were conducted in Baitaizi township granite quarry, Jinzhou, Liaoning province, China. The experiment results indicate that DHIHT is a feasible method for hard-rock tunneling, but its efficiency still needs to be further optimized and improved.