Energy analysis of the effectiveness of microwave-assisted fragmentation

Abstract Enhancing the energy-effectiveness of microwave-assisted fragmentation is one of the overlooked areas in the published literature. A novel calorimetric technique is proposed to quantify the effect of inductive heating within a microwave cavity on subsequent rock/ore fragmentation. Two new parameters are introduced to identify, differentiate, and quantifiably evaluate the effects of microwave-induced energy and thermally induced fracturing on mechanical strength degradation. Additionally, the influences of sample geometry and position and orientation with respect to the microwave waveguide are experimentally investigated to determine optimum conditions for microwave treatment. Comparisons with published literature show that establishing optimum electromagnetic heating conditions significantly improves microwave-induced weakening. Microwave-assisted degradation has significant potential application to in-situ mining, tunnelling, rock breakage, and comminution.