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Time-dependent swell–shrink behavior of red-bed mudstone under cyclic wetting and drying

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Abstract

Red-bed mudstone experiences periodic swelling and shrinkage behaviors due to alternating wetting and drying cycles, leading to a series of engineering disasters such as foundation settlement and excessive deformation of high-speed railway roadbeds and reservoir bank slopes. This paper examines the effect of cyclic wetting and drying on the swell–shrink deformation and cracking to simulate the time-dependent behavior of such rocks for high-speed railway subgrades. Red-bed mudstone specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Guankou Formation (K2g) of central Sichuan Basin, Southwest China, were subjected to laboratory tests under oedometric conditions. The swelling and shrinkage deformations in each wetting and drying cycle under different cycles were measured over time. A theoretical model with elastic and viscous elements connected parallelly was put forward, and the time-varying swelling strain was derived. The results showed that the swell–shrink strain and fractures mainly occurred in the first dry–wet cycle. With increasing number of cycles, the accumulated swelling deformation increased gradually due to the progressive evolution of the cracks, and the maximum swelling stress σm and swelling deformation modulus k increased, indicating an underestimation of the swelling potential in conventional swelling tests. The time correlation parameters of B and η also increased, verifying the significant time-dependent deformation of red-bed mudstone. The time-dependent swell–shrink behavior is an important factor in evaluating the long-term stability of rocks in deformation-sensitive engineering.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are largely included within the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the reviewers who participated in the review.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 42293353, 51808458, and 42130719), the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (Grant nos. 2022NSFSC0403), and the Science and Technology Research and Development Plan of China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. (Grant no. K2019G045).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chengdu Third Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. of CDCEG, Chengdu, 610016, China

    Zhibin Zhong

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Zhibin Zhong, Tianbin Li, Baowen Yang & Xuanmei Fan

  3. China Southwest Geotechnical Investigation & Design Institute Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610051, China

    Qijian Zhou

  4. Chengdu Road & Bridge Construction Co., Ltd. of CDCEG, Chengdu, 610073, China

    Lei Lyu

  5. China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610031, China

    Peipei Wu

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  1. Zhibin Zhong
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  5. Tianbin Li
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Contributions

ZZ: Data curation, formal analysis, investigation, validation, writing. QZ: Experiments, validation. LL: Experiments, formal analysis, investigation, writing. PW: Conceptualization, methodology. TL: Project administration, supervision. BY: Experiments. XF: Manuscript revision, supervision.

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Correspondence to Zhibin Zhong.

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Zhong, Z., Zhou, Q., Lyu, L. et al. Time-dependent swell–shrink behavior of red-bed mudstone under cyclic wetting and drying. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 470 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03496-7

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