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Quantitative Study of the Failure Characteristics of Sandstone with Freeze–Thaw Damage: Insight into the Cracking Behavior

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Abstract

In cold regions, geological rock materials are prone to freeze–thaw damage, potentially impacting the failure behaviors of the rock. However, the quantitative influence of freeze–thaw damage on the cracking characteristics of rock has not been well understood. Herein, the influence of freeze–thaw damage on the cracking characteristics of sandstone under compression loading is quantitatively studied. The results show that, with the increase of freeze–thaw cycle, the increased pore is dominated by the large pore, the maximum equivalent radius of the throat is increased to 4721.13 µm, and the longitudinal connectivity of the pores becomes greater. In addition, the peak strength and elastic modulus of sandstone decrease by 74.8% and 57.1%, respectively, while the ductility of sandstone increases significantly. Moreover, more cracks are appeared in the failed sample with the increase of freeze–thaw damage, consequently, the fractal dimension of sandstone cracks gradually decreases with increasing freeze–thaw cycles. And flake-derived cracks are observed in the case of high freeze–thaw cycles, which could be assigned to the generation of transcrystalline cracks. Furthermore, a conceptual model concerning the influence of initial microcracks on the cracking characteristics of rock material is proposed.

Highlights

  • The impact of freeze–thaw cycling on the microstructural properties of sandstone.

  • Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the evolution of microscopic defects during freeze–thaw cycling.

  • The influence of micro-damage from freeze–thaw on the failure characteristics of sandstone.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the fnancial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52274206), 2022 Annual Open Topic Funding Project for Key Laboratory of Mining Construction Engineering in Anhui Province Universities (Grant No. GXZDSYS2022103). The authors express sincere gratitude to Jiaxu Jin, Weiji Sun, and Shaohua Li for their valuable proofreading of this paper. All authors have no conflict of interest.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52274206), 2022 Annual Open Topic Funding Project for Key Laboratory of Mining Construction Engineering in Anhui Province Universities (Grant No. GXZDSYS2022103)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanics and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, 123000, China

    Weiji Sun, Junzu Ma & Qiang Liu

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin, 123000, China

    Jiaxu Jin

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Shaohua Li

  4. Anhui Key Laboratory of Mining Construction Engineering (Anhui University of Science and Technology), Anhui, China

    Haibo Wang

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  1. Weiji Sun
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Correspondence to Junzu Ma or Shaohua Li.

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Sun, W., Ma, J., Jin, J. et al. Quantitative Study of the Failure Characteristics of Sandstone with Freeze–Thaw Damage: Insight into the Cracking Behavior. Rock Mech Rock Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03822-9

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