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Mechanical behavior of limestone in natural and forced saturation states under uniaxial loading: an experimental study

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Abstract

In the coal mining process, the limestone stratum under coal seams would be affected by high-pressure water, which has a significant influence on its physical and mechanical properties. To study the variation in limestone strength, uniaxial compression tests of three kinds of specimens processed with different water treatment methods are carried out, and the acoustic emission signals are collected during testing to analyze the failure characteristics of the specimens. The results show that the uniaxial compressive strengths of the naturally saturated and forcedly saturated limestone specimens are reduced by 28.01% and 28.27%, respectively, compared to that of the natural limestone specimens. Increasing the water content enhances the plastic deformation properties of this rock. Besides, the failure modes of the limestone specimens change from simple to complex with increasing water content: with increasing water content, it became easier for the specimens to maintain their original shape after failure, which is beneficial to increasing post peak strength.

Article highlights

  1. 1.

    Considering the forcedly saturation state of the limestone under pressure in engineering environment.

  2. 2.

    The acoustic emission is used to analyze the failure process of the limestone specimen during test.

  3. 3.

    Some of the limestone specimen failure modes are different from those predicted by the Mohr-Coulomb strength theory.

  4. 4.

    The water saturation weakening effect of limestone specimen is analyzed from the mechanical properties of water filled cracks and the physical and chemical reactions between the water and minerals in the limestone specimen.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51604093), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M672227), National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC0604502), Scientific and Technological Key Project of Henan province (172107000016), Doctoral Research Fund Project of Henan Polytechnic University, China (B2017-42), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Universities of Henan Province (NSFRF210101).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454003, China

    Wen Wang, Shiwei Zhang, Shen Wang, Dongyin Li & Heng Wang

  2. International Joint Research Laboratory of Henan Province for Underground Space Development and Disaster Prevention, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454003, China

    Wen Wang

  3. Post-Doctoral Station of Safety Science and Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454003, China

    Shen Wang

  4. College of Safety Science and Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454003, China

    Wei Wang

  5. School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Zhongyuan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450007, China

    Yuxi Hao

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  1. Wen Wang
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  2. Shiwei Zhang
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  3. Shen Wang
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  4. Dongyin Li
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  5. Wei Wang
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  7. Heng Wang
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Correspondence to Shiwei Zhang.

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Wen, W., Shiwei, Z., Shen, W. et al. Mechanical behavior of limestone in natural and forced saturation states under uniaxial loading: an experimental study. Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. 7, 65 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40948-021-00261-6

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