Spatially distributed damage in sandstone under stress-freeze-thaw coupling conditions

Abstract

In the present study, we tried to understand the spatially distributed damage in sandstone samples under the coupled stress-freeze-thaw (SFT) conditions. Firstly, uniaxial compressive stresses (i.e. 0 MPa, 10 MPa, 20 MPa, and 25 MPa) were applied to the samples, and then freeze-thaw (FT) cycles (0, 8, 16, and 24) were performed on the uniaxially stressed samples to realize the SFT coupling. Next, real-time CT scanning was conducted to observe the induced damage. The total porosity was introduced to quantitatively evaluate the damage degree. The local porosity variation, with the distance from the center of the sandstone sample, was analyzed to understand the spatial distribution of damage. Finally, the coupling effects of SFT on the damage gradient were discussed. The results indicate that the porosity rises with FT cycles, and the applied stresses can accelerate the increase in porosity. The damage increases exponentially with the distance from the center of the sample. The damage presents a spatial gradient distribution, not the commonly used uniform distribution in various studies. The damage gradient increases with FT cycles, and the increasing rate in damage gradient decreases at uniaxial stress of 0 MPa and 10 MPa first, but the increasing rate in damage gradient increases with FT cycles then at stress increasing to 20 MPa.