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The weakening mechanisms of the rock mechanics of marlite bank slopes under water–rock interaction conditions

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Abstract

Karst-related issues have become serious in the Three Gorges reservoir area, where the bank slopes consist of marlite. In this paper, the mineralogical and petrological properties and internal micro-structure development mechanism of the marlite were analyzed to determine its dissolution and weathering characteristics. In addition, the application of high-power electron microscopy identified micro-cracks in the marlite and micro-dissolution vugs on both sides of the micro-cracks. Montmorillonite was shown to be the dominant clay mineral accumulated at the edges of the vugs. Based on the test results of the rock mechanics and the natural dissolution processes, the concept of dissolution coefficient was proposed to describe the strength change pattern of the marlite. Next, the change pattern between the dissolution and strength weakening of the marlite was characterized with the typical four stages of rock compression and deformations. It was also shown that long-term water–rock interactions resulted in unique deformation characteristics in the slopes, while, vertically, the slope bodies could be divided into a strong dissolution zone, medium dissolution zone, and weak dissolution zone.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the research and innovation team support plan of Shandong University of Science and Technology (2018TDJH101) and the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral (DMSM201401).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, 579 Qianwangang Road, Huangdao District, Qingdao, 266590, Shandong, China

    Haiyan Liu, Zengyao Li, Yushuai Zhang & Dongdong Wang

  2. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Haiyan Liu & Dongdong Wang

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  1. Haiyan Liu
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  2. Zengyao Li
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Correspondence to Dongdong Wang.

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Liu, H., Li, Z., Zhang, Y. et al. The weakening mechanisms of the rock mechanics of marlite bank slopes under water–rock interaction conditions. Carbonates Evaporites 35, 60 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-020-00595-4

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