Abstract: The present invention is directed to a cartridge for use in fracturing materials, such as rock. The cartridge includes a base member, a body member, a propellant, and a device for sealing a surface of the cartridge to the surface of a hole in the material. Upon ignition of the propellant, gas pressure rapidly rises in the hole due to the sealing device. The gas pressure causes the material to form a penetrating cone fracture. Various cartridge configurations are presented depending upon the specific needs of each application.

Abstract: Rock and other hard materials, such as concrete, are broken by a controlled-fracturing process referred to as penetrating-cone fracture. The fracturing process is accomplished by pressurizing the bottom of a drill hole in such a way as to initiate and propagate a controlled fracture from the sharp hole-bottom corner while not crushing the surrounding rock. A cartridge containing a propellant charge is inserted at the bottom of a short hole drilled in the rock. The cartridge is stemmed by a massive bar. A firing pin in the stemming bar strikes a primer which then ignites the propellant in the cartridge. The cartridge incorporates a relief volume designed to control propellant burning rates and pressures and thus the pressure at the hole bottom. The cartridge is designed with a tapered wall, which is thicker nearer the stemming bar, and with a large radius of the inside surface of the cartridge base, which reduce the possibility for premature cartridge rupture and loss of propellant generated gases.