ABSTRACT
To estimate porosity, thin section analyses of Red and Buff sandstones were performed by TerraTek (Fig. 1). The sandstone samples were impregnated with a low-viscosity fluorescent red-dye epoxy resin under vacuum to highlight porosity. The impregnated samples were surfaced, mounted to standard (24 mm × 46 mm) thin section slides, and ground to a thickness of approximately 30 microns. The thin sections were then stained with a mixture of potassium ferricyanide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) and Alizarin Red. The prepared sections were examined and
1 INTRODUCTION
The Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), for more than a century, has been widely used for studying dynamic mechanical properties of solid materials (Kim & Oliveira, 2015, Changani et al. 2013, Wang et al. 2006, Kubota et al. 2008). Particularly, SHPB can be a useful technique to observe dynamic mechanical behaviors of geomaterials. As geo-materials tend to encounter various dynamic mechanical stresses during excavation processes of mining and tunneling (Kim et al. 2010, 2012a, 2012b), understanding the dynamic tensile strength of geomaterials is important to optimize the excavating processes. Also, comprehensive knowledge of dynamic mechanical properties can provide insights to improve and monitor the safety of geostructures (Schumacher & Kim 2013, 2014).
