## 3 Results and Analysis
### Analysis of Strength Characteristics  
The mechanical parameters of rock-like specimens with different proportions are shown in Table 2, and the uniaxial compressive strength is shown in Figure 6.  
As shown in Table 2 and Figure 6, when quartz sand and cement were used as materials, cement accounted for 44.4%, 54.4%, 61.5%, and 66.7% of specimens A1, A2, A3, and A4, and the compressive strength of the specimens was 27.74, 32.13, 41.84, and 48.67 MPa, respectively. The results indicate that as the cement proportion in the material  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Materials**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Specimen Number**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Mass Proportions**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Compressive Strength**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Elastic Modulus**} \\  & & & & \(\sigma_{c}\)/MPa & **E/GPa** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Quartz sand, cement} & A1 & 1:0.8 & 27.74 & 2.67 \\  & A2 & 1:1.2 & 32.13 & 3.03 \\ \cline{1-1}  & A3 & 1:1.6 & 41.84 & 3.22 \\ \cline{1-1}  & A4 & 1:2.0 & 48.67 & 5.79 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Quartz sand, cement, gypsum} & B1 & 1:0.8:0.1 & 25.58 & 3.47 \\  & B2 & 1:0.8:0.2 & 20.55 & 2.12 \\ \cline{1-1}  & B3 & 1:0.8:0.3 & 16.89 & 2.10 \\ \cline{1-1}  & B4/C1 & 1:0.8:0.4 & 9.13 & 2.14 \\ \cline{1-1}  & C2 & 1:1.2:0.4 & 11.32 & 1.97 \\ \cline{1-1}  & C3 & 1:1.6:0.4 & 18.93 & 2.36 \\ \cline{1-1}  & C4 & 1:2.0:0.4 & 26.67 & 3.32 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Mechanical parameters of each sample under different proportions.  
Figure 6: Uniaxial compressive strength of each specimen. (**a**) Rock-like specimen A. (**b**) Rock-like specimen B. (**c**) Rock-like specimen C.  
increased, there was a corresponding increase in both the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the rock-like specimens. Furthermore, there existed a positive correlation between the cement proportion in the material and the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the specimens. When the material was quartz sand, cement, and gypsum, the gypsum in specimens B1, B2, B3, and B4 accounted for 5.2%, 10%, 14.3%, and 18.2%, and the compressive strength of the specimen was 25.58, 20.55, 16.89, and 9.13 MPa, respectively. The findings indicate that the incorporation of gypsum led to a reduction in both the compressive strength and elastic modulus of rock-like materials. With the increase in gypsum proportion, the compressive strength of the rock-like specimens decreased, but the influence of the gypsum proportion on the elastic modulus of the specimens was small. The compressive strength of specimens C1, C2, C3, and C4 was 9.13, 11.32, 18.93, and 26.67 MPa, respectively, and the strength of the materials was significantly reduced compared with those without gypsum.  
In summary, when using quartz sand and cement as production materials, the rock-like material exhibited relatively high strength, which was positively correlated with the proportion of cement. By increasing the cement content, this material could effectively simulate hard rock material. When gypsum was incorporated into the material, the strength of rock-like specimens exhibited a significant decline, displaying a negative correlation with the proportion of gypsum. The proportion of gypsum can be adjusted to replicate soft rock materials of low compressive strength.