Development of a rock-like material (BPRC) with adjustable strength and brittleness and its performance at ambient and low temperatures

Current three-dimensional (3D) printing materials for rock masses remain inadequate in strength and brittleness to fully replicate real rock mechanical properties. This study presents a novel basalt powder-reinforced resin composite (BPRC) with tunable mechanical properties to address this gap. Uniaxial compression tests under ambient and cryogenic conditions revealed that: (1) BPRC achieved a peak uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of 79 MPa at ambient temperature, surpassing that of existing rock-like materials; (2) Strength and brittleness increased linearly with basalt powder content; (3) Cryogenic treatment doubled strength while enhancing brittle failure characteristics, closely mimicking natural rock behavior. Additionally, a staged curing method for large-scale models significantly improved curing efficiency and enhanced ambient strength and brittleness, confirming its reliability and potential for rock engineering simulations. These findings provide a new material option for 3D printing highly brittle hard rock physical models to study their failure mechanisms. They also demonstrate the feasibility of printing large-scale, large-strength, and high-brittleness models, offering a process reference for the physical simulation of complex rock mass structures.