Experimental Investigation of Porous and Mechanical Characteristics of Single-Crack Rock-like Material under Freeze-Thaw Weathering

Abstract

Freeze-thaw weathering changes the pore structure, permeability, and groundwater transportation of rock material. Meanwhile, the change in rock material structure deduced by frost heaving deteriorates mechanical properties of rock material, leading to instability and insecurity of mine slopes in cold regions. In this paper, rock-like specimens containing prefabricated cracks at different angles and having undergone various freeze-thaw cycles are used as the object. Their pore structure, compressive mechanical properties, strain energies, failure characteristics, and the connection between pore structure and mechanical properties are analyzed. Results show that the porosity, spectrum area of mesopores, and spectrum area of macropores increase with the increase in freeze-thaw cycles, while crack angle shows no obvious influence on pore structure. Peak stress and elastic modulus drop with the increase in freeze-thaw cycles, while peak strain shows an increasing trend. Peak stress and elastic modulus decrease in the beginning, and then increase with the increase in crack angle, while peak strain shows a reverse trend. Elastic strain energy and pre-peak strain energy drop with the increase in freeze-thaw cycles. Elastic strain energy decreases first, and then increases with the increase in crack angle. The correlation between the spectrum area of macropores and elastic modulus is the strongest among different pores. Elastic modulus and peak stress decrease with the increase in macropore spectrum area, and peak strain increases with the increase in macropore spectrum area.