An Experimental Study on Water Saturation Effect on Rock Cutting Force of a Chisel Pick

This work aims to investigate the effect of water saturation on cutting forces and chipping efficiency by performing a series of small-scale linear cutting tests with a chisel pick on twelve low- and medium-strength rock samples. The peak and mean cutting force acting on the chisel pick are measured and recorded under dry and saturated cutting conditions by the strain sensors that are embedded in the dynamometer. Also the amplitude of cutting force fluctuations in dry and saturated cutting conditions is compared by the standard deviation measurement of cutting force data, and its relationship with the size of cutting fragments is investigated. The results obtained show that the peak cutting force is reduced in saturated conditions compared to dry conditions. The mean cutting force in the synthetic sample cutting test is unchanged or in some cases increase, while in the natural samples it decreases. The relative increase in the mean cutting force in synthetic rock specimens is due to the paste state of fine materials produced from saturated cutting and chisel pick clogging. A strong correlation is found between the standard deviation of cutting force data and the average size of rock debris, indicating that the standard deviation of cutting force data is a useful measure for evaluating the chipping efficiency. The present study's findings reveal that to have an efficient excavation system in field operations, it is necessary to consider the presence of water and saturated conditions in designing the cutting machine's operating parameters and predicting the performance of mechanical excavators.