Experimental Investigation on Fracture Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Red Sandstone Subjected to Freeze–Thaw Cycles
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Samples and Mineral Compositions
2.2. Test Schemes and Instruments
2.3. Physical Property Measurement
2.4. SEM Tests
2.5. Freeze–Thaw Cycles Procedure
2.6. Mechanical Property Tests
3. Results
3.1. Mass, Volume, and Bulk Density
3.2. P-Wave Velocity
3.3. Typical Stress-Strain Responses
- The fracture surface closure stage: In the closure stage, the stiffness of the fracture surface is less than that of the rock mass, thus mainly resulting in the occurrence of fracture closure during the first stage.
- The quasi-elastic stage: In the quasi-elastic stage, the deviator stress versus axial (or lateral) strain curve appears to ascend.
- The stable propagation stage of new cracks: Since the bonding strength of the fracture surface is much less than that of the rock mass, new fractures start to initiate and develop along the original fracture surface during this stage; in other words, the fracture surface starts to debone.
- The unstable propagation of new cracks: During the unstable stage of new fracture initiations, most of the original fracture surfaces start to debone and crack, which is manifested in the process of the loss of bonding strength of the original fracture surfaces. During the stage of new fracture development, in addition to the loss of bonding strength of the original fracture surfaces, the damage of the rock mass originating from the initial fracture surfaces is also accompanied by the occurrence of adjacent new fracture surfaces. The new fractures gradually coalesce and eventually become inter-connected. That is, the overall strength of the fractured rock mass is lost, and ultimate failure occurs.
3.4. Mechanical Parameters
4. Discussion
4.1. Microcracks Propagation
4.2. Failure Modes
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The mass, volume density, and P-wave velocity of the red sandstone show a significant correlation with the number of freeze–thaw cycles. After being treated by freeze–thaw cycles, the mass, density, and P-wave velocity of rocks decrease, while the volume of rocks increases. The variation trend of mass, volume, density, and P-wave velocity of rocks show linear correlations with freeze–thaw cycles.
- (2)
- The mechanical properties of the red sandstone are highly influenced by the freeze–thaw cycles and confining pressures. The peak stress and elastic modulus are decreased with the increase in freeze–thaw cycles, while peak strain and Poisson’s rate are increased. Results also show that the confining pressure significantly influences the mechanical performance of rocks, while the freeze–thaw cycles influence the deterioration of the mechanical performance of rocks.
- (3)
- After being treated by freeze–thaw cycles, the number of micro-cracks and pores within the saturated rocks increased. The frost heaving stress induced in the freezing process drives the propagation of micro-cracks and the generation of new micro-cracks. The micro-structural changes in rock determine its macroscopic mechanical behaviors, such as deformation, strength, and failure mode.
- (4)
- Before freeze–thaw cycles, red sandstone presents a typical brittleness feature since the failure mode shows single or multiple macro-cracks that develop along the axial direction. However, when confining pressure is applied, the rocks subjected to freeze–thaw cycles show more and more ductility characteristics, and the failure modes gradually transfer from splitting to shear.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Size | Mass (g) | Density (g/cm3) | P-Wave Velocity (m/s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Length (mm) | Diameter (mm) | |||
100 ± 0.3 | 50 ± 0.2 | 461.18 ± 5.24 | 2.3496 ± 0.0113 | 2077.65 ± 3.54 |
Freeze-Thaw Cycles | Mass | Volume | Density | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before (g) | After (g) | Variation (%) | Before (cm3) | After (cm3) | Variation (%) | Before | After (g/cm3) | Variation (%) | |
10 | 462.48 | 458.63 | −0.83 | 196.67 | 196.78 | 0.06 | 2.3516 | 2.3307 | −0.89 |
461.49 | 458.07 | −0.74 | 196.81 | 197.67 | 0.44 | 2.3449 | 2.3173 | −1.17 | |
460.94 | 457.82 | −0.68 | 196.34 | 197.12 | 0.40 | 2.3477 | 2.3225 | −1.07 | |
20 | 461.94 | 456.91 | −1.09 | 196.84 | 198.16 | 0.67 | 2.3468 | 2.3058 | −1.75 |
463.48 | 457.18 | −1.36 | 196.65 | 197.84 | 0.61 | 2.3569 | 2.3109 | −1.95 | |
460.71 | 455.71 | −1.09 | 196.17 | 197.79 | 0.83 | 2.3485 | 2.3040 | −1.90 | |
30 | 461.59 | 453.94 | −1.66 | 196.86 | 199.05 | 1.11 | 2.3448 | 2.2805 | −2.74 |
462.94 | 454.37 | −1.85 | 196.74 | 199.34 | 1.32 | 2.3531 | 2.2794 | −3.13 | |
461.82 | 453.08 | −1.89 | 196.06 | 198.56 | 1.28 | 2.3555 | 2.2818 | −3.13 |
Freeze-Thaw Cycles | Testing Value (m/s) | Mean Value (m/s) | Absolute Deviation | Relative Deviation (%) | Standard Deviation (m/s) | Coefficient of Variation (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 2083.48 | 2075.09 | 8.3867 | 0.4042 | 4.4231 | 0.2132 |
2076.84 | 1.7467 | 0.0842 | ||||
2064.96 | 10.1333 | 0.4883 | ||||
10 | 1932.49 | 1917.11 | 15.3833 | 0.8024 | 8.0683 | 0.4209 |
1898.67 | 18.4367 | 0.9617 | ||||
1920.16 | 3.0533 | 0.1593 | ||||
20 | 1824.91 | 1805.79 | 19.1200 | 1.0588 | 8.8263 | 0.4888 |
1804.97 | 0.8200 | 0.0454 | ||||
1787.49 | 18.3000 | 1.0134 | ||||
30 | 1756.84 | 1732.41 | 24.4400 | 1.4108 | 12.0971 | 0.6983 |
1705.67 | 26.7300 | 1.5429 | ||||
1734.69 | 2.2900 | 0.1322 |
Confining Pressure (MPa) | Untreated | 10 Cycles | 20 Cycles | 30 Cycles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Σ (MPa) | Ε (%) | E (GPa) | λ | Σ (MPa) | Ε (%) | E (GPa) | λ | Σ (MPa) | Ε (%) | E (GPa) | λ | Σ (MPa) | Ε (%) | E (GPa) | λ | |
0 | 19.74 | 0.631 | 3.12 | 0.18 | 17.64 | 0.697 | 2.76 | 0.23 | 15.97 | 0.717 | 2.13 | 0.28 | 13.97 | 0.736 | 1.89 | 0.34 |
10 | 54.95 | 0.659 | 7.34 | 0.37 | 43.84 | 0.756 | 6.49 | 0.43 | 30.19 | 0.867 | 5.87 | 0.49 | 25.31 | 1.067 | 5.06 | 0.53 |
20 | 73.46 | 0.897 | 9.94 | 0.41 | 64.97 | 1.084 | 8.86 | 0.48 | 50.43 | 1.167 | 8.06 | 0.53 | 46.97 | 1.385 | 7.59 | 0.59 |
30 | 92.49 | 1.64 | 12.84 | 0.55 | 84.97 | 1.79 | 11.54 | 0.58 | 71.49 | 1.84 | 10.97 | 0.61 | 58.49 | 1.93 | 10.34 | 0.67 |
Micro-Cracks | Pores | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(μm) | (μm) | (μm) | (μm) | (μm) | (μm) | |
Untreated | 60.64 | 19.4 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 2.7 |
10 cycles | 167.6 | 40.6 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 7.9 | 5.6 |
20 cycles | 206.7 | 53.7 | 18.7 | 11.8 | 11.5 | 7.2 |
30 cycles | 281.4 | 70.8 | 31.5 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 11.1 |
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Zhang, X.-W.; Xu, J.-H.; Cao, Y.; Sun, L.; Shaikh, F. Experimental Investigation on Fracture Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Red Sandstone Subjected to Freeze–Thaw Cycles. Sustainability 2022, 14, 14155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114155
Zhang X-W, Xu J-H, Cao Y, Sun L, Shaikh F. Experimental Investigation on Fracture Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Red Sandstone Subjected to Freeze–Thaw Cycles. Sustainability. 2022; 14(21):14155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114155
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Xiao-Wu, Jin-Hai Xu, Yue Cao, Lei Sun, and Faiz Shaikh. 2022. "Experimental Investigation on Fracture Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Red Sandstone Subjected to Freeze–Thaw Cycles" Sustainability 14, no. 21: 14155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114155