Effect of microwave treatment on thermal properties and structural degradation of red sandstone in rock excavation

Weakening rocks using microwave irradiation has been a major topic in research for the past 50 years. However, the thermal effect of microwaves on rocks is mostly studied with a multi-mode metal cavity, in which rocks absorb microwaves reflected from all directions, and this method cannot represent how the microwave pre-treatment affects the rock mass in the rock excavation process. To simulate microwave treatment before an excavation, we...