Date: |
28 Jul 2026, 5.30PM – 7.30PM |
duration: |
2 hrs |
Venue: |
Engineering New Zealand |
Address: |
Level 6/40 Taranaki Street Wellington |
Cost: |
Free event |
Rock fragmentation is a fundamental process in rock engineering, controlling the performance of excavation, tunnelling, mining, and many other underground and surface engineering activities.
At its core, fragmentation results from the initiation, propagation, and coalescence of cracks within rock materials and rock masses. This lecture presents recent advances in understanding how rocks break under different loading conditions, ranging from quasi-static loading to dynamic excavation and blasting. The roles of strain rate, rock discontinuities, and free-face conditions in controlling crack growth and fragmentation behavior will be discussed, together with recent developments in laboratory testing, field observation, and numerical modelling.
The lecture will also highlight emerging technologies, including high-speed imaging, X-ray CT scanning, and digital image correlation, which are providing new insights into rock fracturing processes. Finally, practical applications of rock fragmentation research will be illustrated through examples from mechanical excavation, drill-and-blast tunnelling, and underground construction. The presentation aims to demonstrate how a better understanding of crack initiation and rock breakage mechanisms can contribute to safer, more efficient, and more sustainable rock engineering practice.
Rock Fragmentation: From Crack Initiation to Rock Engineering Applications
Rock fragmentation is a fundamental process in rock engineering, controlling the performance of excavation, tunnelling, mining, and many other underground and surface engineering activities.
At its core, fragmentation results from the initiation, propagation, and coalescence of cracks within rock materials and rock masses. This lecture presents recent advances in understanding how rocks break under different loading conditions, ranging from quasi-static loading to dynamic excavation and blasting. The roles of strain rate, rock discontinuities, and free-face conditions in controlling crack growth and fragmentation behavior will be discussed, together with recent developments in laboratory testing, field observation, and numerical modelling.
The lecture will also highlight emerging technologies, including high-speed imaging, X-ray CT scanning, and digital image correlation, which are providing new insights into rock fracturing processes. Finally, practical applications of rock fragmentation research will be illustrated through examples from mechanical excavation, drill-and-blast tunnelling, and underground construction. The presentation aims to demonstrate how a better understanding of crack initiation and rock breakage mechanisms can contribute to safer, more efficient, and more sustainable rock engineering practice.
