Strength weakening and its micromechanism in water–rock interaction,a short review in laboratory tests

Water–rock interaction(WRI)is a topic of interest in geology and geotechnical engineering.Many geological hazards and engineering safety problems are severe under the WRI.This study focuses on the water weakening of rock strength and its infuencing factors(water content,immersion time,and wetting–drying cycles).The strength of the rock mass decreases to varying degrees with water content,immersion time,and wetting–drying cycles depending on the rock mass type and mineral composition.The corresponding acoustic emission count and intensity and infrared radiation intensity also weaken accordingly.WRI enhances the plasticity of rock mass and reduces its brittleness.Various microscopic methods for studying the pore characterization and weakening mechanism of the WRI were compared and analyzed.Various methods should be adopted to study the pore evolution of WRI comprehensively.Microscopic methods are used to study the weakening mechanism of WRI.In future work,the mechanical parameters of rocks weakened under long-term water immersion(over years)should be considered,and more attention should be paid to how the laboratory scale is applied to the engineering scale.

Experiment study on water-rock interaction about gold activation and migration in different solutions

The interactions on gold active and migratory quantities and rates between tuffaceous slate and solu tions with different compositions were experimentally studied at 200 ℃, 20 MPa, in a high pressure apparatus. After reaction, tuffaceous slate became light colored and soft, and its mass density reduced. The amount of gold extracted from tuffaceous slate ranges widely, from 0 027 to 0 234 μg/g. Chlorine solution may activate appreciable amount of gold, and the gold migratory rate is high enough, from 50 70% to 92 30%, which reveals that sulphur and chlorine work together in solutions to accelerate gold activation and migration, and to realize gold mineralization in favorable places.

Laboratory Investigation of Disintegration Characteristics of Purple Mudstone under Different Hydrothermal Conditions

Disintegration of rock is one of the primary processes of soil formation and geomorphology and is affected considerably by water and heat.This study focused on the disintegration characteristics under laboratory conditions of typical purple mudstone from the Tuodian group of Jurassic red beds(J3t) in Tuodian Town,Shuangbai county,Yunnan Province of southern China.The fresh mudstone was subjected to alternating applications of water,heat and hydrothermal interaction during five treatments:wetting-drying(WD),saturation(ST),refrigeration-heating(RH),a combination of wetting-drying and refrigeration-heating(WDRH),and a combination of saturation and refrigeration-heating(STRH).Each treatment was run in twenty-four cycles.The results showed that there are three types of disintegration:collapsing disintegration,exfoliation disintegration and imperceptible disintegration.The cumulative disintegration rate(percentage of cumulative disintegrated mass to the initiative sample mass passed through a 2 mm sieve) produced a 'S'-shape function when related to treatment cycle time and closely fit a logistic model(R2 > 0.99).The rank order of the cumulative disintegration rate resulting from the five treatments was as the following:WDRH > STRH > ST > WD > RH.Because of alternating periods of moisture and dryness,WD caused the most disintegration,while RH alone resulted in imperceptible disintegration.Additionally,there was a negative correlation between the disintegration rate of each treatment cycle(percentage of disintegrated mass to the treated sample mass) and treatment cycle number.There was a positive correlation between this rate and temperature change under moist conditions,indicating that a change in temperature greatly accelerates the disintegration of parent rock when water was supplied.

Flow and geochemical modeling of drainage from Tomitaka mine,Miyazaki,Japan

The chemistry and flow of water in the abandoned Tomitaka mine of Miyazaki, western Japan were investigated. This mine is located in a non-ferrous metal deposit and acid mine drainage issues from it. The study was undertaken to estimate the quantities of mine drainage that needs to be treated in order to avoid acidification of local rivers, taking into account seasonal variations in rainfall. Numerical models aimed to reproduce observed water levels and fluxes and chemical variations of groundwater and mine drainage. Rock–water interactions that may explain the observed variations in water chemistry are proposed. The results show that：（1） rain water infiltrates into the deeper bedrock through a highly permeable zone formed largely by stopes that are partially filled with spoil from excavations（ore minerals and host rocks）;（2） the water becomes acidic（p H from 3 to 4） as dissolved oxygen oxidizes pyrite;（3） along the flow path through the rocks, the redox potential of the water becomes reducing, such that pyrite becomes stable and p H of the mine drainage becomes neutral; and（4） upon leaving the mine, the drainage becomes acidic again due to oxidation of pyrite in the rocks. The present numerical model with considering of the geochemical characteristics can simulate the main variations in groundwater flow and water levels in and around the Tomitaka mine, and apply to the future treatment of the mine drainage.