| 摘要 |
The invention concerns a method and apparatus for fracturing brittle material such as rock (12). In the method, compressive pulses are applied to a selected area of the surface (10) of the material which is to be fractured. The amplitude, frequency and/or duration of the compressive pulses and the area over which the pulses are applied to the surface are selected such that compressive stresses induced in the material by the compressive pulses are not adequate to fracture the material but are such that tensile stresses (26) induced in the material, around the boundary of the selected area, by the compressive pulses are transmitted into the material and interact with each other, within the material, to cause the material to fracture. |
