The influences of heat treatment on stress corrosion cracking (SCC), fracture toughness and strength of 7085 aluminum alloy were investigated by slow strain rate testing, Kahn tear testing combined with scanning ele...The influences of heat treatment on stress corrosion cracking (SCC), fracture toughness and strength of 7085 aluminum alloy were investigated by slow strain rate testing, Kahn tear testing combined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the fracture toughness of T74 overaging is increased by 22.9% at the expense of 13.6% strength, and retrogression and reaging (RRA) enhances fracture toughness 14.2% without reducing the strength compared with T6 temper. The fracture toughness of dual-retrogression and reaging (DRRA) is equivalent to that of T74 with an increased strength of 14.6%. The SCC resistance increases in the order: T6〈RRA〈DRRA≈T74. The differences of fracture toughness and SCC were explained on the basis of the role of matrix precipitates and grain boundary orecioitates.展开更多
To investigate the effect of grain refinement on the material properties of recently developed Al-25 Zn-3 Cu based alloys,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-0.01 Ti,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si-0.01 Ti alloys we...To investigate the effect of grain refinement on the material properties of recently developed Al-25 Zn-3 Cu based alloys,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-0.01 Ti,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si-0.01 Ti alloys were produced by permanent mold casting method.Microstructures of the alloys were examined by SEM.Hardness and mechanical properties of the alloys were determined by Brinell method and tensile tests,respectively.Tribological characteristics of the alloys were investigated by a ball-on-disc type test machine.Corrosion properties of the alloys were examined by an electrochemical corrosion experimental setup.It was observed that microstructure of the ternary A1-25 Zn-3 Cu alloy consisted ofα,α+ηandθ(Al2Cu)phases.It was also observed that the addition of 3 wt.%Si to A1-25Zn-3Cu alloy resulted in the formation of silicon particles in its microstructure.The addition of 0.01 wt.%Ti to the Al-25Zn-3Cu and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si alloys caused a decrement in grain size by approximately 20%and 39%and an increment in hardness from HRB 130 to 137 and from HRB 141 to 156,respectively.Yield strengths of these alloys increased from 278 to 297 MPa and from 320 to 336 MPa while their tensile strengths increased from 317 to 340 MPa and from 334 to 352 MPa.Wear resistance of the alloys increased,but corrosion resistance decreased with titanium addition.展开更多
The microstructure,mechanical properties and stress corrosion cracking(SCC)of 7136 aluminum alloy under T 6,T 79 and T 74 aging treatments were studied and the effects of microstructure on the mechanical properties an...The microstructure,mechanical properties and stress corrosion cracking(SCC)of 7136 aluminum alloy under T 6,T 79 and T 74 aging treatments were studied and the effects of microstructure on the mechanical properties and SCC were discussed.The results show that the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the aging 7136 alloys follow this sequence from high to low:T 6>T 79>pre-aging>T 74.For 7136 Al alloy after T 6 aging,the average diameter of the precipitates was(5.7±1.7)nm,and the diameter of 60.7%(number fraction)precipitates was 2−6 nm,leading to a good precipitation strengthening.The K_(IC)of T 74-aging alloy is 38.2 MPa·m^(1/2),which is 26.1%more than that of T 6-aging alloy and 17.5%more than that of T 79-aging alloy.The improved fracture toughness in T 74-aging alloy is mainly due to the reduction of the strength difference between intragranular and grain boundary.The SCC resistance of the aging 7136 alloys follows this sequence from high to low:T 79>T 74>T 6.After T 79 aging,the discontinuous grain boundary precipitates and narrow precipitate free zones were obtained in 7136 alloy,which was beneficial to SCC resistance.展开更多
The microstructure evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties of Al-11Si-2Cu-0.8Zn die cast alloy treated with Bi, Sb and Sr additions were investigated. The results of mechanical testing showed that all additions...The microstructure evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties of Al-11Si-2Cu-0.8Zn die cast alloy treated with Bi, Sb and Sr additions were investigated. The results of mechanical testing showed that all additions increased impact toughness, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation of the alloy as a result of change in eutectic Si morphology. The analysis of fracture surfaces revealed that with addition of Sr and to lesser extent Bi and Sb, the alloy exhibited a predominantly ductile fracture rather than quasi-cleavage brittle fracture. Moreover, with the additions of Sr, Bi and Sb, the quality index increased to 164.7 MPa, 156.3 MPa and 152.6 MPa respectively from 102 MPa for the base alloy. Polarization corrosion tests conducted in sodium chloride solution showed that the corrosion potential shifted to more negative values with additions of Sb, Bi and Sr, respectively. Corrosion immersion tests also revealed that the element additions have a detrimental effect on the corrosion rate of alloys, due to the increase of boundaries between the Al and eutectic Si phases.展开更多
In order to perfectly reflect the dynamic corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) cover in practical engineering,an analytic model of non-uniform corrosion induced cracking was presented based on the elastic-plastic fra...In order to perfectly reflect the dynamic corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) cover in practical engineering,an analytic model of non-uniform corrosion induced cracking was presented based on the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics theory.Comparisons with the published experimental data show that the predictions given by the present model are in good agreement with the results both for natural exposed experiments and short-time indoor tests (the best difference is about 2.7%).Also it obviously provides much better precision than those models under the assumption of uniform corrosion (the maximal improved precision is about 48%).Therefore,it is pointed out that the so-called uniform corrosion models to describe the cover cracking of RC should be adopted cautiously.Finally,the influences of thickness of local rusty layer around the reinforcing steel bar on the critical corrosion-induced crack indexes were investigated.It is found that the thickness of local rusty layer has great effect on the critical mass loss of reinforcing steel,threshold expansion pressure,and time to cover cracking.For local rusty layer thickness with a size of a=0.5 mm,the time to cover cracking will increase by about one times when a/b (a,semi-minor axis;b,semi-major axis) changes from 0.1 to 1 mm.展开更多
The corrosion fatigue fracture mechanism of friction stir welding(FSW) joints of 7075 aluminium alloy in3.5% NaCl solution is investigated. The corrosion fatigue crack source originates from the junction of nugget zon...The corrosion fatigue fracture mechanism of friction stir welding(FSW) joints of 7075 aluminium alloy in3.5% NaCl solution is investigated. The corrosion fatigue crack source originates from the junction of nugget zone(NZ)and thermo-mechanical affected zone(TMAZ). Multiple crack sources are developed at the same time, and they merge into large cracks along the boundary line of NZ and TMAZ during the propagation stage. Furthermore, a mutual reinforcement coupling always exists between corrosion and cyclic loading during the initiation and propagation of corrosion fatigue crack. It is necessary to consider the effect of welding residual stress for understanding the mechanism of corrosion fatigue fracture of FSW joints.展开更多
An AZ31 HP magnesium alloy was laser beam welded in autogenous mode with AZ61 filler using Nd-YAG laser system.Microstructural examination revealed that the laser beam weld metals obtained with or without filler mater...An AZ31 HP magnesium alloy was laser beam welded in autogenous mode with AZ61 filler using Nd-YAG laser system.Microstructural examination revealed that the laser beam weld metals obtained with or without filler material had an average grain size of about 12 μm.The microhardness and the tensile strength of the weldments were similar to those of the parent alloy.However,the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviour of both the weldments assessed by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests in ASTM D1384 solution was found to be slightly inferior to that of the parent alloy.It was observed that the stress corrosion cracks originated in the weld metal and propagated through the weld metal-HAZ regions in the autogenous weldment.On the other hand,in the weldment obtained with AZ61 filler material,the crack initiation and propagation was in the HAZ region.The localized damage of the magnesium hydroxide/oxide film formed on the surface of the specimens due to the exposure to the corrosive environment during the SSRT tests was found to be responsible for the SCC.展开更多
The general corrosion and environmental cracking resistances of Al-Cu-Li alloy AA2195 were investigated in 3.5% NaCl environment and compared with those of another high strength alloy AA2219. The general corrosion re...The general corrosion and environmental cracking resistances of Al-Cu-Li alloy AA2195 were investigated in 3.5% NaCl environment and compared with those of another high strength alloy AA2219. The general corrosion resistance of these alloys was examined using immersion corrosion and potentiodynamic polarization tests, while the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance was evaluated by slow strain rate test (SSRT) method. The tested samples were further characterized by SEM-EDS and optical profilometry to study the change in corrosion morphology, elemental content and depth of corrosion attack. The reduction in ductility was used as a parameter to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of the alloys. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of AA2195 alloy was better than that of AA2219 alloy as it exhibited lower corrosion rate, along with lower pit depth and density. However, the SCC index (εNaCl/εair) measured was greater than 0.90, indicating good environmental cracking resistance of both the alloys. Detailed fractography of the failed samples under SEM?EDS, in general, revealed a typical ductile cracking morphology for both the alloys.展开更多
Roads are conspicuous components in a river landscape;however,their impacts on river landscape patterns and ecological processes have not been systematically studied at the watershed scale.In this paper,the Lancang Ri...Roads are conspicuous components in a river landscape;however,their impacts on river landscape patterns and ecological processes have not been systematically studied at the watershed scale.In this paper,the Lancang River Valley in Yunnan Province,China was selected as a case to study road lateral disconnection and crossing impacts and identify river-road network interaction.This study was primarily focused on the road impacts on soil erosion intensity and patch density by using GIS analysis at different scales and explored their distribution with terrain factors.The results showed that river density revealed spatial autocorrelation although both of the roads and rivers were distributed unevenly in the valley.The lateral road(road curvature≥1.1)proportion correlated with soil erosion intensity(p 0.01)at the small sub-basin scale.Soil erosion intensity decreased with increasing lateral road buffer width.Light erosion generally accounted for a large proportion of the erosion in the lateral road buffer zones(1.0–4.0 km),while higher class lateral roads imposed greater impacts on soil erosion than lower class roads,which primarily had a moderate erosion level.In addition,the results of road-river intersection density indicated that road crossing impacts were significantly correlated with patch density at the small sub-basin scale.Topography factor(percent of slope>25°in each sub-basin had a close relationship with the ratio of total length of road line with curvature value≥1.1 to the total number of intersections.The correlation(p 0.01)between road impacts and terrain factor revealed that topography affected the road impact distribution in the Lancang River Valley.展开更多
Shangzhuang gold deposit located in the Wangershan fault zone of northwestern Jiaodong is of meso- hypogenic altered rock type. The ore bodies occur at the hanging wall and footwall of Wangershan fault in vein or irre...Shangzhuang gold deposit located in the Wangershan fault zone of northwestern Jiaodong is of meso- hypogenic altered rock type. The ore bodies occur at the hanging wall and footwall of Wangershan fault in vein or irregular shapes with the NE strike, NW trend, 30° -60°~ in dip and the lateral trending of SW. The ores are composed of pyrite, quartz, sericite, bismuthinite, native gold, bismuth sulfosah minerals, chalcopyrite, etc. , shown as brecciated structure and vein structure with metasomatic dissolution textures. The wall rock altera- tion is mainly described as phyllic alteration and silicification. The mineralization of this deposit is controlled by structure and altered rocks. The ore-controlling fault structures of this deposit is Wangershan fault, of which the intersection of major fault and secondary fault is the main ore-bearing position of this gold deposit, and the lar- ger arc curved position is a favorable part for ore body occurrence. On the plane, the ore body is shown as equi- distant pinch-out reproduction.展开更多
The Grand Canyon is a massive rift in the Colorado Plateau. How and when it developed has been debated for nearly 150 years. Most geologists believe the unusual landscape was primarily shaped by water erosion.Here we ...The Grand Canyon is a massive rift in the Colorado Plateau. How and when it developed has been debated for nearly 150 years. Most geologists believe the unusual landscape was primarily shaped by water erosion.Here we propose a stress-rifting model to provide an alternative explanation for the origin of Grand Canyon.This paper adopts a brittle–ductile double layer model to simulate the deformation and rifting of the plateau due to the mantle-melting-induced expansion. Our results show that the uplift induced by thermal expansion and its associated horizontal extension can cause open fractures that extend from the brittle surface to the underlying ductile layer in a top-down way. In addition, we find that episodic uplift can deepen and connect multiple fractures together to form a larger fracture network. Our findings suggest that the formation of the Grand Canyon might have been driven by plateau uplift and its associated rifting under crustal extension, wherein water erosion played only a minor role in shaping the course of the Colorado River. The new paradigm provides simpler explanations to some of the long-standing geological mysteries surrounding the canyon.展开更多
基金Projects(2010CB731701,2012CB619502)supported by the National Basic Research Program of ChinaProjects(51201186,51327902)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The influences of heat treatment on stress corrosion cracking (SCC), fracture toughness and strength of 7085 aluminum alloy were investigated by slow strain rate testing, Kahn tear testing combined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the fracture toughness of T74 overaging is increased by 22.9% at the expense of 13.6% strength, and retrogression and reaging (RRA) enhances fracture toughness 14.2% without reducing the strength compared with T6 temper. The fracture toughness of dual-retrogression and reaging (DRRA) is equivalent to that of T74 with an increased strength of 14.6%. The SCC resistance increases in the order: T6〈RRA〈DRRA≈T74. The differences of fracture toughness and SCC were explained on the basis of the role of matrix precipitates and grain boundary orecioitates.
文摘To investigate the effect of grain refinement on the material properties of recently developed Al-25 Zn-3 Cu based alloys,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-0.01 Ti,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si-0.01 Ti alloys were produced by permanent mold casting method.Microstructures of the alloys were examined by SEM.Hardness and mechanical properties of the alloys were determined by Brinell method and tensile tests,respectively.Tribological characteristics of the alloys were investigated by a ball-on-disc type test machine.Corrosion properties of the alloys were examined by an electrochemical corrosion experimental setup.It was observed that microstructure of the ternary A1-25 Zn-3 Cu alloy consisted ofα,α+ηandθ(Al2Cu)phases.It was also observed that the addition of 3 wt.%Si to A1-25Zn-3Cu alloy resulted in the formation of silicon particles in its microstructure.The addition of 0.01 wt.%Ti to the Al-25Zn-3Cu and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si alloys caused a decrement in grain size by approximately 20%and 39%and an increment in hardness from HRB 130 to 137 and from HRB 141 to 156,respectively.Yield strengths of these alloys increased from 278 to 297 MPa and from 320 to 336 MPa while their tensile strengths increased from 317 to 340 MPa and from 334 to 352 MPa.Wear resistance of the alloys increased,but corrosion resistance decreased with titanium addition.
基金Project(2017GK2261)supported by the Science and Technology Program of Hunan Province,ChinaProject(41423040204)supported by National Key Laboratory of Light Weight and High Strength Structural Materials Equipment Pre-research Laboratory Foundation,China。
文摘The microstructure,mechanical properties and stress corrosion cracking(SCC)of 7136 aluminum alloy under T 6,T 79 and T 74 aging treatments were studied and the effects of microstructure on the mechanical properties and SCC were discussed.The results show that the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the aging 7136 alloys follow this sequence from high to low:T 6>T 79>pre-aging>T 74.For 7136 Al alloy after T 6 aging,the average diameter of the precipitates was(5.7±1.7)nm,and the diameter of 60.7%(number fraction)precipitates was 2−6 nm,leading to a good precipitation strengthening.The K_(IC)of T 74-aging alloy is 38.2 MPa·m^(1/2),which is 26.1%more than that of T 6-aging alloy and 17.5%more than that of T 79-aging alloy.The improved fracture toughness in T 74-aging alloy is mainly due to the reduction of the strength difference between intragranular and grain boundary.The SCC resistance of the aging 7136 alloys follows this sequence from high to low:T 79>T 74>T 6.After T 79 aging,the discontinuous grain boundary precipitates and narrow precipitate free zones were obtained in 7136 alloy,which was beneficial to SCC resistance.
文摘The microstructure evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties of Al-11Si-2Cu-0.8Zn die cast alloy treated with Bi, Sb and Sr additions were investigated. The results of mechanical testing showed that all additions increased impact toughness, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation of the alloy as a result of change in eutectic Si morphology. The analysis of fracture surfaces revealed that with addition of Sr and to lesser extent Bi and Sb, the alloy exhibited a predominantly ductile fracture rather than quasi-cleavage brittle fracture. Moreover, with the additions of Sr, Bi and Sb, the quality index increased to 164.7 MPa, 156.3 MPa and 152.6 MPa respectively from 102 MPa for the base alloy. Polarization corrosion tests conducted in sodium chloride solution showed that the corrosion potential shifted to more negative values with additions of Sb, Bi and Sr, respectively. Corrosion immersion tests also revealed that the element additions have a detrimental effect on the corrosion rate of alloys, due to the increase of boundaries between the Al and eutectic Si phases.
基金Project(50925829) supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of ChinaProject(50908148) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProjects(2009-K4-23,2010-11-33) supported by the Research of Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development of China
文摘In order to perfectly reflect the dynamic corrosion of reinforced concrete (RC) cover in practical engineering,an analytic model of non-uniform corrosion induced cracking was presented based on the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics theory.Comparisons with the published experimental data show that the predictions given by the present model are in good agreement with the results both for natural exposed experiments and short-time indoor tests (the best difference is about 2.7%).Also it obviously provides much better precision than those models under the assumption of uniform corrosion (the maximal improved precision is about 48%).Therefore,it is pointed out that the so-called uniform corrosion models to describe the cover cracking of RC should be adopted cautiously.Finally,the influences of thickness of local rusty layer around the reinforcing steel bar on the critical corrosion-induced crack indexes were investigated.It is found that the thickness of local rusty layer has great effect on the critical mass loss of reinforcing steel,threshold expansion pressure,and time to cover cracking.For local rusty layer thickness with a size of a=0.5 mm,the time to cover cracking will increase by about one times when a/b (a,semi-minor axis;b,semi-major axis) changes from 0.1 to 1 mm.
基金Project(KYGYJQZL2204) supported by the Basic Frontier Science and Technology Innovation Project of Army Engineering University of PLA,ChinaProjects(30110010403, 30110030103) supported by the Preliminary Research of Equipment,China。
文摘The corrosion fatigue fracture mechanism of friction stir welding(FSW) joints of 7075 aluminium alloy in3.5% NaCl solution is investigated. The corrosion fatigue crack source originates from the junction of nugget zone(NZ)and thermo-mechanical affected zone(TMAZ). Multiple crack sources are developed at the same time, and they merge into large cracks along the boundary line of NZ and TMAZ during the propagation stage. Furthermore, a mutual reinforcement coupling always exists between corrosion and cyclic loading during the initiation and propagation of corrosion fatigue crack. It is necessary to consider the effect of welding residual stress for understanding the mechanism of corrosion fatigue fracture of FSW joints.
文摘An AZ31 HP magnesium alloy was laser beam welded in autogenous mode with AZ61 filler using Nd-YAG laser system.Microstructural examination revealed that the laser beam weld metals obtained with or without filler material had an average grain size of about 12 μm.The microhardness and the tensile strength of the weldments were similar to those of the parent alloy.However,the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviour of both the weldments assessed by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests in ASTM D1384 solution was found to be slightly inferior to that of the parent alloy.It was observed that the stress corrosion cracks originated in the weld metal and propagated through the weld metal-HAZ regions in the autogenous weldment.On the other hand,in the weldment obtained with AZ61 filler material,the crack initiation and propagation was in the HAZ region.The localized damage of the magnesium hydroxide/oxide film formed on the surface of the specimens due to the exposure to the corrosive environment during the SSRT tests was found to be responsible for the SCC.
文摘The general corrosion and environmental cracking resistances of Al-Cu-Li alloy AA2195 were investigated in 3.5% NaCl environment and compared with those of another high strength alloy AA2219. The general corrosion resistance of these alloys was examined using immersion corrosion and potentiodynamic polarization tests, while the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance was evaluated by slow strain rate test (SSRT) method. The tested samples were further characterized by SEM-EDS and optical profilometry to study the change in corrosion morphology, elemental content and depth of corrosion attack. The reduction in ductility was used as a parameter to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of the alloys. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of AA2195 alloy was better than that of AA2219 alloy as it exhibited lower corrosion rate, along with lower pit depth and density. However, the SCC index (εNaCl/εair) measured was greater than 0.90, indicating good environmental cracking resistance of both the alloys. Detailed fractography of the failed samples under SEM?EDS, in general, revealed a typical ductile cracking morphology for both the alloys.
基金Under the auspices of Nonprofit Environment Protection Specific Project of China(No.201209029-4)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.50939001)
文摘Roads are conspicuous components in a river landscape;however,their impacts on river landscape patterns and ecological processes have not been systematically studied at the watershed scale.In this paper,the Lancang River Valley in Yunnan Province,China was selected as a case to study road lateral disconnection and crossing impacts and identify river-road network interaction.This study was primarily focused on the road impacts on soil erosion intensity and patch density by using GIS analysis at different scales and explored their distribution with terrain factors.The results showed that river density revealed spatial autocorrelation although both of the roads and rivers were distributed unevenly in the valley.The lateral road(road curvature≥1.1)proportion correlated with soil erosion intensity(p 0.01)at the small sub-basin scale.Soil erosion intensity decreased with increasing lateral road buffer width.Light erosion generally accounted for a large proportion of the erosion in the lateral road buffer zones(1.0–4.0 km),while higher class lateral roads imposed greater impacts on soil erosion than lower class roads,which primarily had a moderate erosion level.In addition,the results of road-river intersection density indicated that road crossing impacts were significantly correlated with patch density at the small sub-basin scale.Topography factor(percent of slope>25°in each sub-basin had a close relationship with the ratio of total length of road line with curvature value≥1.1 to the total number of intersections.The correlation(p 0.01)between road impacts and terrain factor revealed that topography affected the road impact distribution in the Lancang River Valley.
文摘Shangzhuang gold deposit located in the Wangershan fault zone of northwestern Jiaodong is of meso- hypogenic altered rock type. The ore bodies occur at the hanging wall and footwall of Wangershan fault in vein or irregular shapes with the NE strike, NW trend, 30° -60°~ in dip and the lateral trending of SW. The ores are composed of pyrite, quartz, sericite, bismuthinite, native gold, bismuth sulfosah minerals, chalcopyrite, etc. , shown as brecciated structure and vein structure with metasomatic dissolution textures. The wall rock altera- tion is mainly described as phyllic alteration and silicification. The mineralization of this deposit is controlled by structure and altered rocks. The ore-controlling fault structures of this deposit is Wangershan fault, of which the intersection of major fault and secondary fault is the main ore-bearing position of this gold deposit, and the lar- ger arc curved position is a favorable part for ore body occurrence. On the plane, the ore body is shown as equi- distant pinch-out reproduction.
基金Financial support to the first and second authors was provided by Shaoxing University and Dalian University of TechnologyFinancial support to the third author was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51579031, 41502321)Taishan Scholor Program and Aoshan Elite Scientist Plan
文摘The Grand Canyon is a massive rift in the Colorado Plateau. How and when it developed has been debated for nearly 150 years. Most geologists believe the unusual landscape was primarily shaped by water erosion.Here we propose a stress-rifting model to provide an alternative explanation for the origin of Grand Canyon.This paper adopts a brittle–ductile double layer model to simulate the deformation and rifting of the plateau due to the mantle-melting-induced expansion. Our results show that the uplift induced by thermal expansion and its associated horizontal extension can cause open fractures that extend from the brittle surface to the underlying ductile layer in a top-down way. In addition, we find that episodic uplift can deepen and connect multiple fractures together to form a larger fracture network. Our findings suggest that the formation of the Grand Canyon might have been driven by plateau uplift and its associated rifting under crustal extension, wherein water erosion played only a minor role in shaping the course of the Colorado River. The new paradigm provides simpler explanations to some of the long-standing geological mysteries surrounding the canyon.