Mechanical properties of fracture-grouted prefabricated sandstone after thermal-acid coupling treatment: An experimental study

Abstract

Grouting reinforcement is an efficient approach to increase the stability of engineered fractured rock masses that may be subjected to high temperatures and acidic groundwater in complex geological environments. To reveal the mechanical properties and failure characteristics of the grout-reinforced fractured rock masses under thermal-acid coupling conditions, prefabricated fractured red sandstone specimens with different inclination angles (IAs) were firstly grouted using a new high-strength fast anchoring agent (HSFAA). Then, the grout-reinforced specimens (GRSs) were then immersed in hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions with different temperatures (varying from 25 to 300 °C). Finally, the macroscopic mechanical properties, microscopic morphology, and crack evolution characteristics of the GRSs after thermal and acid solution treatments were investigated by the uniaxial compression test, X-ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). The results confirmed that the HSFAA featured with high fluidity, rapid setting, excellent early strength, and micro-expansion, was an ideal grouted reinforcement material for fractured rock masses. The compressive and tensile strengths of the HSFAA material at a 1-day curing were 2.01 and 1.64 times those of the ordinary Portland cement 42.5 (P.O 42.5), respectively. The fractured IA, thermal-acid coupling method and temperature affected the mass loss, strength parameters, and failure modes of the GRSs to different degrees. The thermal-acid coupling treatment affected the initiation location and extension direction of cracks within the GRSs. The increasing temperature led to the larger and more varied internal cracks, as well as the more complex 3D spatial morphology within the GRSs.