Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Water".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2023) | Viewed by 7884

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: freeze–thaw damage; fractured rock mass; rock mechanics; multifield coupling; numerical simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Huainan University of Technology, Huainan, China
Interests: frozen rock; frozen soil; constitutive model; impact load; damage variable; cement soil

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
Interests: unsaturated flow; frost heave; unsaturated soil; frozen soil; machine learning; geotechnical engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The freeze–thaw action of rocks and soils is caused by the water–ice phase transition in pores and cracks. Repeated freeze–thaw cycles damage the physic-mechanical properties of rocks and soils via microscopic pore structure change, macroscopic strength loss and so on. Such mechanisms have induced many engineering geology disasters in cold regions. The degree of freeze–thaw damage is related to coupled multifields at low temperatures. However, the interaction of multifields of rock and soils during the freeze–thaw process is highly complex and not fully understood. In addition, the evaluation of the frost resistance of rocks and soils needs further study. Therefore, providing up-to-date knowledge on the physic-mechanical properties of rocks and soils under freeze–thaw actions is crucial to prevent frost damage and avoid instability in rock engineering. This Special Issue will publish high-quality papers focused on new findings related to the freeze–thaw actions of rocks and soils.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Physic-mechanical properties of rocks and soils under freeze–thaw actions;
  • The macro-/microscopic freeze–thaw damage mechanisms;
  • Engineering geological disasters induced by freeze–thaw action;
  • Water–ice phase change process in rocks and soils;
  • Multifield coupling process and numerical simulation of freeze–thaw cycles.

Prof. Dr. Shibing Huang
Dr. Dongdong Ma
Prof. Dr. Xu Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • freeze–thaw damage
  • water–ice phase
  • properties of rocks and soils
  • frost heave
  • multifield coupling process at low temperatures
  • frost resistance of geomaterials

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 12521 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of the Freeze–Thaw Damage of Alpine Surface Coal Mine Roads Based on Geopolymer Materials
by Xiang Lu, Lixiao Tu, Ya Tian, Wei Zhou, Xinjia Zhao and Yuqing Yang
Water 2023, 15(22), 3903; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15223903 - 9 Nov 2023
Viewed by 940
Abstract
In the process of mining and transportation, the temporary non-hardened mine-road structure is mainly a mixture of soil and stone, which very easily produces dust hazards via crushing and wind transportation. Geopolymers can be used in the road’s soil and stone mixture so [...] Read more.
In the process of mining and transportation, the temporary non-hardened mine-road structure is mainly a mixture of soil and stone, which very easily produces dust hazards via crushing and wind transportation. Geopolymers can be used in the road’s soil and stone mixture so that the road reaches certain strength requirements in line with the short-term use of the mine. However, in alpine open-pit coal mines, which are subject to the influence of weather changes, freezing and thawing phenomena will affect the long-term use of the road and its normal and safe operation. An open-pit coal mine in Xinjiang, China, was chosen as the research object of alpine open-pit coal mines. Using the method of indoor testing, different freeze–thaw freezing temperatures, different numbers of cycles, changes in the mechanical properties of the mine-road materials, and microscopic changes were studied. From the experimental results, it was determined that with a reduction in the freeze–thaw freezing temperature, the specimen strength declines after stabilizing, and with an increase in the number of freeze–thaw cycles, the specimen strength exhibits a linear decline. The specimen’s internal structure gradually changed from dense to loose; the fracture mode changed from toughness fractures to crystal fractures after the removal of the maximum load reduction. The uniaxial compressive strength was reduced to 61%; the tensile strength was reduced to 49%. The fracture zone of the specimen was analyzed using energy spectra, and the main elements changed from O (57.19%), Si (17.07%), and Al (12.19%) without freezing and thawing to O (49.76%), Si (15.70%) and Ca (11.09%) after freezing and thawing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action)
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 5832 KiB  
Article
Freeze–Thaw Cycle Effects on the Energy Dissipation and Strength Characteristics of Alkali Metakaolin-Modified Cement Soil under Impact Loading
by Kun Huang, Heng Wang and Kai Huang
Water 2023, 15(4), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15040730 - 12 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
To investigate freeze–thaw cycle effects on the energy dissipation and strength characteristics of cement soils under impact loading, impact compression tests were carried out using a split Hopkinson pressure bar on cement soils under various freeze–thaw cycles (0, 1, 3, 6 and 10 [...] Read more.
To investigate freeze–thaw cycle effects on the energy dissipation and strength characteristics of cement soils under impact loading, impact compression tests were carried out using a split Hopkinson pressure bar on cement soils under various freeze–thaw cycles (0, 1, 3, 6 and 10 times). The Zhu–Wang–Tang (ZWT) model was modified to predict the relationship between deformation and strength in cement soils under various test conditions. The obtained test results revealed that the freeze–thaw cycle number and impact pressure had significant effects on the fractal dimension, strength and absorbed energy of cement soils and there existed a critical freeze–thaw cycle number. It was found that the increase of the freeze–thaw cycle number gradually decreased strength and absorbed energy and increased the fractal dimension. When freeze–thaw cycle number was between 0–6, strength, fractal dimension and absorbed energy were significantly changed. For freeze–thaw cycle numbers greater than 6, the effects of the above factors were gradually alleviated. A modified constitutive model was able to accurately describe cement soil mechanical responses under high strain rate conditions, and the relative error between the predicted and experimental results was in the range of ±7%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 4163 KiB  
Article
Study on Pore Structure Evolution Characteristics of Weakly Cemented Sandstone under Freeze–Thaw Based on NMR
by Jian Lin, Yi Yang, Jianchao Yin, Yang Liu and Xiangwei Li
Water 2023, 15(2), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15020281 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1132
Abstract
Taking saturated, weakly cemented sandstone as the research object, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tests were performed before and after six freeze–thaw cycles without water replenishment in order to study and reveal the evolution characteristics of the pore structure of weakly cemented sandstone under [...] Read more.
Taking saturated, weakly cemented sandstone as the research object, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tests were performed before and after six freeze–thaw cycles without water replenishment in order to study and reveal the evolution characteristics of the pore structure of weakly cemented sandstone under a freeze–thaw cycle. The evolution of pore structure under repeated freeze–thaw cycles was studied using T2 fractal theory and spectral peak analysis. The results show that the evolution of the pore structure of weakly cemented sandstone can be divided into three stages during the freeze–thaw cycle. In stage 1, the rock skeleton can still significantly restrict frost heave, and the effect of rock pore expansion occurs only on the primary pore scale, primarily in the transformation between adjacent scales. In stage 2, as the restraint effect of the skeleton on frost heave decreases, small-scale secondary pores are gradually produced, pore expansion occurs step by step, and its connectivity is gradually enhanced. In stage 3, as rock pore connectivity improves, the effect of pore internal pressure growth in the freezing process caused by water migration is weakened, making it impossible to break through the skeleton constraint. Thus, it becomes difficult for freezing and thawing to have an obvious expansion effect on the rock pore structure. The strength of the freeze–thaw cycle degradation effect is determined by the effect of the rock skeleton strength under the freeze–thaw cycles and the connectivity of small-scale pores in the rock. The lower the strength of the rock skeleton, the worse the connectivity of pores, and the more obvious the freeze–thaw degradation effect, and vice versa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 6906 KiB  
Article
The Dynamic Compressive Properties and Energy Dissipation Law of Sandstone Subjected to Freeze–Thaw Damage
by Peng Jia, Songze Mao, Yijin Qian, Qiwei Wang and Jialiang Lu
Water 2022, 14(22), 3632; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14223632 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1285
Abstract
To investigate the dynamic compressive properties and the law of energy dissipation of freeze–thaw-damaged sandstone, static and dynamic compressive experiments were conducted. The influences of the number of freeze–thaw cycles and strain rate on strength characteristics, energy dissipation rate and the fractal dimension [...] Read more.
To investigate the dynamic compressive properties and the law of energy dissipation of freeze–thaw-damaged sandstone, static and dynamic compressive experiments were conducted. The influences of the number of freeze–thaw cycles and strain rate on strength characteristics, energy dissipation rate and the fractal dimension characteristics of sandstone were evaluated. Based on the peak energy dissipation rate, a freeze–thaw damage variable was established. The results show that peak strength increases exponentially with strain rate, and there exists a strain rate threshold. When strain rate is below this threshold, the increasing rate of the DIF slows down with the increase in the number of freeze–thaw cycles; when strain rate is higher than this threshold, the increasing rate of the DIF increases with the increase in the number of freeze–thaw cycles. In addition, the fractal dimension increases with the number of freeze–thaw cycles as well as the strain rate. Based on the freeze–thaw damage variable established, the damage degree of sandstone under freeze–thaw cycling can be characterized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action)
Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 6806 KiB  
Article
Coupling Effects of Strain Rate and Low Temperature on the Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Frozen Water-Saturated Sandstone
by Zhiqiang Yan, Zeng Li, Yizhong Tan, Linjian Ma, Liyuan Yu and Hongya Li
Water 2022, 14(21), 3513; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213513 - 2 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1350
Abstract
The mechanical properties of water-rich rocks in a subzero temperature environment are quite different from those at room temperature, which introduces many unexpected engineering hazards. The dynamic compressive behaviors of frozen water-saturated sandstone are related to strain rate and temperature at different degrees. [...] Read more.
The mechanical properties of water-rich rocks in a subzero temperature environment are quite different from those at room temperature, which introduces many unexpected engineering hazards. The dynamic compressive behaviors of frozen water-saturated sandstone are related to strain rate and temperature at different degrees. In this paper, quasi-static and dynamic tests were conducted on the saturated sandstone utilizing the MTS-816 apparatus and the modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) device with a freezing module, which are constrained at a temperature range of −1 °C~−20 °C and a strain rate range of 10−5 s−1~200 s−1. The coupling effect of strain rate and temperature on the mechanical characteristics of saturated sandstone is systematically investigated. It is found that the quasi-static compressive strength of frozen saturated sandstone increases with the applied temperature from −1 °C to −5 °C and decreases with that from −5 °C to −20 °C, while the dynamic compressive strength exhibits an opposite trend. Different from the primary shear failure under quasi-static tests, the failure pattern of the frozen specimens becomes tensile failure under dynamic tests with an evident sensitivity to the applied temperature. Furthermore, the dissipated energy can be positively correlated with strain rate, while the growth rate of dissipated energy decreases with the applied temperature from −1 °C to −5 °C and increases with that from −5 °C to −20 °C. A new water-ice phase transition mechanism was further introduced, which divided the freezing process of water-saturated rock into the intensive stage and the stable water-ice phase transition stage. The underlying mechanism of water-ice phase transition governing the dynamic mechanical behavior of frozen saturated sandstone was also revealed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Rock Mechanics under Freeze-Thaw Action)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop