Abstract
Cable-bolt failures due to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) could significantly compromise the sustainability and long-term stability of underground constructions. To fully understand the SCC of cable bolts, a two-step methodology was implemented: (i) long-term cable-bolt coupon tests using mineralogical materials collected from underground mines; and (ii) accelerated full-scale cable-bolt tests using an acidified solution. In the long-term tests, a novel three-point bending coupon was designed. The effects of mineralogical materials on SCC were evaluated under the simulated underground bolting conditions through the application of “corrosion cells”. For accelerated tests, SCC resistance of different type of cable bolts was examined using the new designed tensile-loading apparatus under the periodically increasing strain-rate loading mechanism. It was identified that mineralogical materials and applied stress intensity accelerated the corrosion process of the cable bolts. The number of wires and wire surface conditions in different types of cable bolt directly affected SCC susceptibility. The cable bolts with a greater number of wires provided higher resistance to SCC. The developed experimental methodologies can be applied to study SCC in other reinforcement materials and the results can be used to design optimal support systems in different environmental and geotechnical conditions.
Highlights
In mining and civil engineering, the construction of the underground excavations such as roadways and tunnels disturbs the original stabilization of the rock mass
This demonstrated the significant effects of the mineralogical materials on accelerating the corrosion of cable bolts
A two-step methodology was implemented, including long-term cable-bolt coupon tests using mineralogical materials collected from underground mine and an accelerated full-scale cable-bolt test using an acidified solution
Summary
In mining and civil engineering, the construction of the underground excavations such as roadways and tunnels disturbs the original stabilization of the rock mass. SCC is a synergistic process that requires occurrence of three key elements: stress, an appropriately corrosive medium, and susceptible materials [16,17]. To fully understand the SCC and eventually avoid the occurrence of cable-bolt SCC in an underground reinforcement system, a dedicated testing system for investigating SCC in cable-bolt specimens was designed and constructed including long-term cable-bolt coupons and accelerated full-scale cable-bolt tension-loading apparatus. Both “long-term” tests using simulated underground environments and “accelerated” tests using an acidified solution were conducted. The corrosion patterns and fractographic features of the specimens were observed and analyzed
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