Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Slaking and disintegration behavior of mudstone: insights from laboratory experiment and orthogonal images

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The mudstone is undergoing great change and disintegration in cyclic wetting–drying due to the weak durability, and the change is expected to cause geohazards and potential risks for engineering. The probable impact emphasizes the vitality of understanding mudstone disintegration in various environments. Slake durability tests considering four different factors are implemented: (i) only drainage (to simulate moisture environment), (ii) cyclic wetting and drying, (iii) rotation speed of apparatus (frequency of drainage and filling), and (iv) solutions. This work extends the limitation of research by experimentally investigating the four impact factors in mudstone disintegration and analyzing grain size distribution with orthogonal images improving accuracy. In this experiment, four indexes of describing disintegration performance, i.e., slake durability index, grain size gradation, relative breakage, and median grain size were acquired throughout experimental process. This research shows mudstone disintegration should be considered in moisture environment. In comparison, cyclic wetting and drying, high rotation speed, and ion-enriched solution significantly impact and weaken the durability of mudstone. The findings reveal probable impacts may lead to geohazards and potential risks in various exposed environment of mudstones. Grain analysis based on orthogonal images considers grain shape effect of conventionally sieving disintegrated mudstone grains and improves the acquired grain size distribution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews DE, Withiam JL, Perry EF et al (1980) Environmental effects of slaking of surface mine spoils: Eastern and Central United States, Final Report. Denver

  • ASTM D4644–87 (1992) Standard test method for slake durability of shales and other similar weak rocks. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA

  • ASTM D4644–16 (2020) Standard test method for slake durability of shales and other similar weak rocks. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA

  • Bryson LS, Gomez-Gutierrez IC, Hopkins TC (2012) Development of a new durability index for compacted shale. Eng Geol 139:66–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erguler ZA, Shakoor A (2009a) Relative contribution of various climatic processes in disintegration of clay-bearing rocks. Eng Geol 108(1–2):36–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erguler ZA, Shakoor A (2009b) Quantification of fragment size distribution of clay-bearing rocks after slake durability testing. Environ Eng Geosci 15(2):81–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ersin K, Kamil K (2006) Investigation of the effect of aggregate shape and surface roughness on the slake durability index using the fractal dimension approach. Eng Geol 86(4):271–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin JA, Chandra R (1972) The slake durability test. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 9(3):325–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gautam TP, Shakoor A (2013) Slaking behavior of clay-bearing rocks during a one-year exposure to natural climatic conditions. Eng Geol 166:17–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gökceoğlu C, Ulusay R, Sönmez H (2000) Factors affecting the durability of selected weak and clay-bearing rocks from Turkey, with particular emphasis on the influence of the number of drying and wetting cycles. Eng Geol 57(3–4):215–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta V, Ahmed I (2007) The effect of pH of water and mineralogical properties on the slake durability (degradability) of different rocks from the Lesser Himalaya. India Eng Geol 95(3–4):79–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin BO (1985) Crushing of Soil Particles. J Geotech Eng 111(10):1177–1192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ISRM (1979) Suggested methods for determining water content, porosity, density, absorption and related properties and swelling and slake-durability index properties. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 16(2):141–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Kikumoto M, Putra A, Fukuda T (2016) Slaking and deformation behaviour. Geotechnique 66:771–785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Song Y, Xia Z et al (2020) Assessing the slake durability of red stratum sandstone in different solution environments by a novel dual rotation test. Eng Geol 267:105503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putra A (2018) Slaking and deformation behaviour of mudstone. Dissertation, Yokohama National University

  • Rasband WS (2007) ImageJ, U.S. Natl Inst of Health, Bethesda, Md

  • Sakai T, Nakano M (2019) Effects of slaking and degree of compaction on the mechanical properties of mudstones with varying slaking properties. Soils Found 59(1):56–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selen L, Panthi KK, Vistnes G (2020) An analysis on the slaking and disintegration extent of weak rock mass of the water tunnels for hydropower project using modified slake durability test. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79(4):1919–1937

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen P, Tang H, Wang J et al (2020) Weakening of mudstone fragments due to disintegration. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79(10):5477–5497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su X, Tang H, Huang L et al (2020) The role of pH in red-stratum mudstone disintegration in the Three Gorges reservoir area, China, and the associated micromechanisms. Eng Geol 279:105873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang H, Wasowski J, Juang C (2019) Geohazards in the three Gorges Reservoir Area, China - lessons learned from decades of research. Eng Geol 261:105267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao H, Liu G, Zhang Z et al (2021) Slaking behavior of tuffs under cyclic wetting-drying conditions in aqueous solutions of different pH values. Arab J Geosci 14(20):1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Chen A, Liu G (2012) Laboratory investigation of disintegration characteristics of purple mudstone under different hydrothermal conditions. J Mt Sci 9(1):127–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang H, Adoko AC, Meng Z et al (2016) Mechanism of the mudstone tunnel failures induced by expansive clay minerals. Geotech Geol Eng 35(1):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Gao W (2020) Effect of different test methods on the disintegration behaviour of soft rock and the evolution model of disintegration breakage under cyclic wetting and drying. Eng Geol 279:105888

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Gao W, Zhang J et al (2020a) Disintegration characteristics and fractal features of red sandstone during drying-wetting cycles. Advances in Environmental Vibration and Transportation Geodynamics. Springer Singapore, Singapore 331–345

  • Zhang Z, Han L, Wei S et al (2020b) Disintegration law of strongly weathered purple mudstone on the surface of the drawdown area under the conditions of Three Gorges Reservoir operation. Eng Geol 270:105584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Lu C, Deng L et al (2018) Impacts of simulated acid solution on the disintegration and cation release of purple rock (mudstone) in Southwest China. Geomorphology 316:35–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao M, Zou X, Zou P (2007) Disintegration characteristics of red sandstone and its filling methods for highway roadbed and embankment. J Mater Civil Eng 19(5):404–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1504804) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41977215).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China

    Junyi He, Wenbin Chang & Yu Zhuang

  2. College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, People’s Republic of China

    Yangyang Leng & Yong Wu

  3. Guizhou Geological Environment Monitoring Institute, Guiyang, 550081, People’s Republic of China

    Yangyang Leng & Fengchai Zou

Authors
  1. Junyi He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yangyang Leng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yong Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wenbin Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yu Zhuang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Fengchai Zou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yangyang Leng.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

He, J., Leng, Y., Wu, Y. et al. Slaking and disintegration behavior of mudstone: insights from laboratory experiment and orthogonal images. Bull Eng Geol Environ 81, 277 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02778-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02778-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation