Study on a new type of analogue material for geotechnical tests and its applications

This paper introduces many types of analogue materials in China and other countries in geotechnical model tests. Combined with the study on a few geo-mechanical model tests of significant tunnels and underground openings in Chinese western areas, this paper recommends a new type of analogue material, which is made from iron mineral powder, barite powder, quartz powder and alcoholic solution with rosin. In order to know the physico-mechanical characteristics of this composite material with different mixture ratios, we use specimens to do lots of mechanical experiments such as uniaxial compressive test, quasi-triaxial shear test, triaxial test and Brazilian test. Consequently, the analogue materials with different mixture ratios can be used to physically model different projects, and this analogue material with a certain mixture ratio has been successfully used in the model test of a branching-out tunnel. The results of the model test verify that this new analogue material can be successfully used in all kinds of geotechnical model tests.