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Strength failure and crack coalescence behavior of sandstone containing single pre-cut fissure under coupled stress, fluid flow and changing chemical environment

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Abstract

In order to study the strength failure and crack coalescence characteristics of cracked rocks, uniaxial compression experiments were conducted on cylindrical sandstone specimens, sampled from Longyou Grottoes of Zhejiang Province, China, with a single pre-cut crack soaking in different chemical solutions. Based on the results of uniaxial compressive test under different chemical solutions and velocities of flow, the effect of strength and deformation characteristics and main modes of crack coalescence for cracked rocks under chemical corrosion were analyzed. The results show that the pH value and velocity of the chemical solutions both have great influence on the sandstone sample’s uniaxial compressive strength and deformation characteristics. Cracked sandstone samples are tension-destructed under uniaxial compression, and the crack propagation directions are consistent with the loading direction. The phenomena of crack initiation, propagation and coalescence of sandstone are well observed. Four different crack types are identified based on the crack propagation mechanism by analyzing the ultimate failure modes of sandstone containing a single pre-cut fissure. The failure process of specimen in air is similar with the specimen under chemical solutions, however, the initial time of crack occuring in specimen under chemical solutions is generally earlier than that in the natural specimen, and the crack propagation and coalescence process of specimen under chemical solutions are longer than those of the natural specimen due to softening of structure of rock caused by hydro-chemical action. Immersion velocity of flow and chemical solutions does not have influence on the ultimate modes of crack coalescence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China

    Zu-de Lu  (鲁祖德), Cong-xin Chen  (陈从新), Xia-ting Feng  (冯夏庭) & You-liang Zhang  (张友良)

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  1. Zu-de Lu  (鲁祖德)
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  2. Cong-xin Chen  (陈从新)
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  3. Xia-ting Feng  (冯夏庭)
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  4. You-liang Zhang  (张友良)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zu-de Lu  (鲁祖德).

Additional information

Foundation item: Projects(10472130, 41202225) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

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Lu, Zd., Chen, Cx., Feng, Xt. et al. Strength failure and crack coalescence behavior of sandstone containing single pre-cut fissure under coupled stress, fluid flow and changing chemical environment. J. Cent. South Univ. 21, 1176–1183 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-014-2051-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-014-2051-z

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