Exploring the mechanical behavior and microstructure of compacted loess subjected to dry-wet cycles and chemical contamination

Due to climatic factors and rapid urbanization,the soil in the Loess Plateau,China,experiences the coupled effects of dry-wet cycles and chemical contamination.Understanding the mechanical behavior and corresponding microstructural evolution of contaminated loess subjected to dry-wet cycles is essential to elucidate the soil degradation mechanism.Therefore,direct shear and consolidation tests were performed to investigate the variations in mechanical properties of compacted loess contaminated with acetic acid,sodium hydroxide,and sodium sulfate during dry-wet cycles.The mechanical response mechanisms were investigated using zeta potential,mineral chemical composition,and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests.The results indicate that the mechanical deterioration of sodium hydroxidecontaminated loess during dry-wet cycles decreases with increasing contaminant concentration,which is mainly attributed to the thickening of the electrical double layer(EDL)by Nat and the precipitation of calcite,as well as the formation of colloidal flocs induced by OH,thus inhibiting the development of large pores during the dry-wet process.In contrast,the attenuation of mechanical properties of both acetic acid-and sodium sulfate-contaminated loess becomes more severe with increasing contaminant concentration,with the latter being more particularly significant.This is primarily due to the reduction of the EDL thickness and the erosion of cement in the acidic environment,which facilitates the connectivity of pores during dry-wet cycles.Furthermore,the salt expansion generated by the drying process of saline loess further intensifies the structural disturbance.Consequently,the mechanical performance of compacted loess is sensitive to both pollutant type and concentration,exhibiting different response patterns in the dry-wet cycling condition.

Effects of dry-wet cycles on the mechanical properties of sandstone with unloading-induced damage

Sandstone is the fundamental material in various engineering and construction projects.However,the mechanical integrity of sandstone can be compromised by initial unloading damage resulting from activities such as engineering excavations.Furthermore,this degradation is further exacerbated under periodic dry-wet environmental conditions.This study investigated the effects of dry-wet cycles and unloading on the mechanical properties of jointed fine sandstone using uniaxial and triaxial compression tests.These tests were performed on rock samples subjected to varying unloading degrees and different numbers of dry-wet cycles.The results demonstrate that with an increase in the unloading degree from 0%to 70%,there is a corresponding decrease in peak stress ranging from 10%to 33%.Additionally,the cohesion exhibits a reduction of approximately 20%to 25%,while the internal friction angle experiences a decline of about 3.5%to 6%.These findings emphasize a significant unloading effect.Moreover,the degree of peak stress degradation in unloading jointed fine sandstone diminishes with an increase in confining pressure,suggesting that confining pressure mitigates the deterioration caused by dry-wet cycles.Additionally,as the number of dry-wet cycles increases,there is a notable decline in the mechanical properties of the sandstone,evidencing significant dry-wet degradation.Utilizing the Drucker Prager criterion,this study establishes a strength criterion and fracture criterion,denoted as σ_(1)(m,n) and K_(T)^(Ⅱ)(m, n), to quantify the combined impacts of dry-wet cycles and unloading on jointed fine sandstone,which provides a comprehensive understanding of its mechanical behavior under such conditions.

Effect of dry-wet cycles on dynamic properties and microstructures of sandstone:Experiments and modelling

Underground pumped storage power plant(UPSP)is an innovative concept for space recycling of abandoned mines.Its realization requires better understanding of the dynamic performance and durability of reservoir rock.This paper conducted ultrasonic detection,split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)impact,mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP),and backscatter electron observation(BSE)tests to investigate the dynamical behaviour and microstructure of sandstone with cyclical dry-wet damage.A coupling FEM-DEM model was constructed for reappearing mesoscopic structure damage.The results show that dry-wet cycles decrease the dynamic compressive strength(DCS)with a maximum reduction of 39.40%,the elastic limit strength is reduced from 41.75 to 25.62 MPa.The sieved fragments obtain the highest crack growth rate during the 23rd dry-wet cycle with a predictable life of 25 cycles for each rock particle.The pore fractal features of the macropores and micro-meso pores show great differences between the early and late cycles,which verifies the computational statistics analysis of particle deterioration.The numerical results show that the failure patterns are governed by the strain in pre-peak stage and the shear cracks are dominant.The dry-wet cycles reduce the energy transfer efficiency and lead to the discretization of force chain and crack fields.

Coupling Effect of Cryogenic Freeze-Thaw Cycles and Chloride Ion Erosion Effect in Pre-Cracked Reinforced Concrete

Chloride (Cl−) ion erosion effects can seriously impact the safety and service life of marine liquefied natural gas(LNG) storage tanks and other polar offshore structures. This study investigates the impact of different low-temperaturecycles (20°C, –80°C, and −160°C) and concrete specimen crack widths (0, 0.3, and 0.6 mm) on the Cl−ion diffusion performance through rapid erosion tests conducted on pre-cracked concrete. The results show thatthe minimum temperature and crack width of freeze-thaw cycles enhance the erosive effect of chloride ions. TheCl− ion concentration and growth rate increased with the increasing crack width. Based on the experimental modeland in accordance with Fick’s second law of diffusion, the Cl− ion diffusion equation was modified by introducingcorrection factors in consideration of the freeze-thaw temperature, crack width, and their coupling effect.The experimental and fitting results obtained from this model can provide excellent reference for practical engineeringapplications.

NMR research on deterioration characteristics of microscopic structure of sandstones in freeze-thaw cycles

In order to study the deterioration characteristics of the microscopic structure of sandstones in freeze-thaw cycles, tests of180 freeze-thaw cycles were performed on sandstone specimens. The nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） technique was applied tothe measurement of sandstone specimens and analysis of the magnetic resonance imaging. Then, the fractal theory was employed tocompute the fractal dimension values of pore development of rocks after different freeze-thaw cycles. The results show that the massand porosity of rocks grow with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles. According to the NMR T2 distribution of sandstones, the poresizes of rock specimens increase after 180 freeze-thaw cycles, especially that of the medium-sized and small-sized pores. The spatialdistribution of sandstone pores after freeze-thaw cycles has fractal features within certain range, and the fractal dimension ofsandstones tends to increase gradually.

Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on fracture behavior of epoxy asphalt concrete

According to the winter temperature of Peking,the freeze-thaw（FT） condition in laboratory was determined.Seven groups of epoxy asphalt concrete（EAC） specimen were exposed to different FT cycles.The flexural modulus and fracture energy（G_F） of EAC exposed to different FT cycles were obtained through the 3-point bending test.Meanwhile,the plane strain fracture toughness（K_（IC）） of EAC was obtained through numerical simulation.The results show that the flexural modulus of the FT conditioned EAC samples decreases with the increase of FT cycles.The FT damage of flexural modulus is 60%after 30 FT cycles.Nevertheless,with the increase of FT cycles,the G_F and K_（IC） of EAC decrease first and then increase after 15 FT cycles.

Ultimate load bearing capacity evaluation of concrete beams subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

A theoretical prediction method based on the change of concrete material is proposed to evaluate the ultimate bending moment of concrete beams which have undergone freeze-thaw cycles （PTCs）. First, the freeze-thaw damage on concrete material is analyzed and the residual compressive strength is chosen to indicate the freeze-thaw damage. Then, the equivalent block method is employed to simplify the compressive stress-strain curve of the freeze-thaw damaged concrete and the mathematical expression for the ultimate bending moment is obtained. Comparisons of the predicted results with the test data indicate that the ultimate bending moment of concrete beams affected by FTC attack can be predicted by this proposed method. However, the bond-slip behavior and the randomness of freeze-thaw damage will affect the accuracy of the predicted results, especially when the residual compressive strength is less than 50%.

Determination of Optimum Conditions for Cell-wall Destruction of Auricularia auricula Mycelia under the Synergistic Effect of Ultrasonic Waves and Repeated Freeze-thaw Cycles

We aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of ultrasonic waves and repeated freeze-thaw cycles on cel-wal destruction of Auricularia auric-ula mycelia, and determine the best combination of conditions for cel-wal destruc-tion of Auricularia auricula mycelia. [Method] The effects of destruction time, added water, destruction times, freeze time and number of freeze-thaw cycles during ultra-sonic treatment on polysaccharide yield were investigated by single-factor test in our research. The optimum conditions for cel-wal destruction of Auricularia auricula mycelia by the synergistic effect of ultrasonic waves and repeated freeze-thaw cycles were ascertained by orthogonal test. [Result] The results of single test indicated the best combination of conditions was as fol ows： freeze time, 30 min; destruction time, 20 min; added water, 15 times; destruction times, 2 times; number of freeze-thaw cycles, 3 cycles. The results of orthogonal test indicated the influencing factors ranked as destruction time 〉 destruction times 〉 freeze time. The best combination of conditions was as fol ows： freeze time, 30 min; destruction time, 25 min; destruc-tion times, 2 times. Under above conditions, the polysaccharide yield reached 57.76 mg/g. [Conclusion] This research would provide a basis and reference for practical production.

Effect of Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Mechanical Properties and Permeability of Red Sandstone under Triaxial Compression

Geological disasters will happen in cold regions because of the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on rocks or soils, so studying the effects of these cycles on the mechanical characteristics and permeability properties of rocks is very important. In this study, red sandstone samples were frozen and thawed with o, 4, 8 and 12 cycles, each cycle including 12 h of freezing and 12 h of thawing. The P-wave velocities of these samples were measured, and the mechanical properties and evolution of the steady-state permeabilities were investigated in a series of uniaxial and triaxial compression tests. Experimental results show that, with the increasing of cyclic freeze-thaw times, the P-wave velocity of the red sandstone decreases. The number of freeze-thaw cycles has a significant influence on the uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, cohesion, and angle of internal friction. The evolution of permeability of the rock samples after cycles of freeze-thaw in a complete stress-strain process under triaxial compression is closely related to the variation of the microstructure in the rock. There is a highly corresponding relationship between volumetric strain and permeability with axial strain in all stages of the stress-strain behaviour.

Damage mechanism of soil-rock mixture after freeze-thaw cycles

As a widely distributed geological and engineering material,the soil-rock mixture always undergoes frequentative and short-term freeze-thaw cycles in some regions.Its internal structure is destroyed seriously,but the damage mechanism is not clear.Based on the damage factor,the damage research of properties of soil-rock mixture after different times of freeze-thaw cycles is investigated.Firstly,the size-distributed subgrade gravelly soil samples are prepared and undergo different times of freeze-thaw cycles periodically(0,3,6,10),and indoor large-scale triaxial tests are completed.Secondly,the degradation degree of elastic modulus is considered as a damage factor,and applied to macro damage analysis of soil-rock mixture.Finally,the mesoscopic simulation of the experiments is achieved by PFC3D,and the influence on strength between soil-rock particles caused by freeze-thaw cycles is analyzed.The results show that freeze-thaw cycles cause internal damage of samples by weakening the strength between mesoscopic soil-rock particles,and ultimately affect the macro properties.After freeze-thaw cycles,on the macro-scale,elastic modulus and shear strength of soil-rock mixture both decrease,and the decreasing degree is related to the times of cycles with the mathmatical quadratic form;on the meso-scale,freeze-thaw cycles mainly cause the degradation of the strength between soil-rock particles whose properties are different significantly.

Experimental studies on the pore structure and mechanical properties of anhydrite rock under freeze-thaw cycles

To study the deterioration mechanisms of anhydrite rock under the freeze-thaw weathering process,the physico-mechanical characteristics and microstructure evolutions of anhydrite samples were determined by a series of laboratory tests.Then,a descriptive-behavioral model was used to measure the integrity loss in anhydrite samples caused by cyclic freeze-thaw.Finally,the freeze-thaw damage mechanisms of anhydrite rock were revealed from the macro and micro aspects.The results show that the pore size of the anhydrite rock is mainly concentrated in the range of 0.001-10μm.As the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases,there is a growth in the proportion of macropores and mesopores.However,the proportion of micropores shows a declining trend.The relations of the uniaxial compressive strength,triaxial compressive strength,cohesion,and elastic modulus versus freeze-thaw cycles can be fitted by a decreasing exponential function,while the internal friction angle is basically unchanged with freezethaw cycles.With the increase of confining pressure,the disintegration rates of the compressive strength and the elastic modulus decrease,and the corresponding half-life values increase,which reveals that the increase of confining pressures could inhibit freeze-thaw damage to rocks.Moreover,it has been proven that the water chemical softening mechanism plays an essential role in the freeze-thaw damage to anhydrite rock.Furtherly,it is concluded that the freeze-thaw weathering process significantly influences the macroscopic and microscopic damages of anhydrite rock.

Deterioration Mechanism of Sulfate Attack on Concrete under Freeze-thaw Cycles

The experiments of concrete attacked by sulfate solution under freeze-thaw cycles were investigated. The sulfate solution includes two types of 5% Na2SO4 and 5% MgSO4. Through the experiment, microstructural analyses such as SEM, XRD and TGA measurements were performed on the selected samples after freeze-thaw cycles. The corrosion products of the concrete were distinguished and quantitatively compared by the thermal analysis. Besides, the damage mechanism considering the dynamic modulus of elastically of concrete under the coupling effect was also investigated. The experimental results show that, under the action of freeze-thaw cycles and sulfate attack, the main attack products in concrete are ettringite and gypsum. The corrosion products exposed to MgSO4 solution are more than those to Na2SO4 solution. Furthermore, the content of gypsum in concrete is less than that of ettringite in test, and some of gypsum can be observed only after a certain corrosion extent. It is also shown that MgSO4 solution has a promoting effect to the damage of concrete under freeze-thaw cycles. Whereas for Na：SO4 solution, the damage of concrete has restrained before 300 freeze-thaw cycles, but the sulfate attack accelerates the deterioration process in its further test period.

Effect of Freeze-thaw Cycles on Bond Strength between Steel Bars and Concrete

The effect of freezing and thawing cycles on mechanical properties of concrete （compressive, splitting tensile strength） was experimentally investigated. According to the pullout test data of three kinds of deformed steel bars, the bond stress-slip curves after freezing and thawing were obtained. The empirical equations of peak bond strength were proposed that the damage accounted for effects of freezing and thawing cycle. Meanwhile, the mechanism of bond deterioration between steel bars and concrete after freezing and thawing cycles was discussed. All these conclusions will be useful to the durability design and reliability calculation of RC structures in cold region.

Shear behavior of ultrafine magnetite tailings subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

To study the shear behavior of the ultrafine magnetite tailings subjected to freeze-thaw cycles,unconsolidated-undrained shear tests were conducted on ultrafine-grained tailings that were subjected to 1-11 cycles of freeze-thaw and defined as a type of clayey silt under confining pressures of 100,200,and 300 kPa.Taking the number of freeze-thaw cycles,cooling temperature,initial dry density,and moisture content as the four main influencing factors of shear behavior of the tailings samples,the shear stress-strain curve,compression modulus,failure strength,cohesion,and internal friction angle were measured.The results show that the freeze-thaw cycle has an obvious weakening effect on the shear behavior of the tailings material,and the shear mechanical parameters are affected by a combination of confining pressure,freeze-thaw cycle condition,and initial physical-mechanical properties of the tailings samples.Through the microstructural analysis of the tailings samples subjected to freeze-thaw cycles,it shows that the freeze-thaw cycle mainly affects the porosity,bound water,and arrangement of the tailings particles.Subsequently,the macroscopic changes in shear strength indexes emerge,and then the stability of the tailings dam will decrease.

BEHAVIOR OF AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE AFTER FREEZE-THAW CYCLES

The experimental study of air-entrained concrete specimens subjected to different cycles of freeze-thaw was completed. The dynamic modulus of elasticity, weight loss, the cubic compressive strength, compressive strength, tensile strength and cleavage strength of air-entrained concrete were measured after 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 cycles of freeze-thaw. The experimental results showed that the dynamic modulus of elasticity and strength decreased as the freeze-thaw was repeated. The influences of freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties, the dynamic modulus of elasticity and weight loss were analyzed according to the experimental results. It can serve as a reference for the maintenance, design and the life prediction of dams, hydraulic structures, offshore structures, concrete roads and bridges in northern cold regions.

The influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the granulometric composition of Moscow morainic clay

The freeze-thaw cycling process considerably changes the composition, structure, and properties of soils. Since the grain size is the most important factor in determining soil characteristics, our current research primarily aims to investigate dynamic changes of the soil fraction when exposed to freeze-thaw conditions. We observed two series of Moscow morainic clayey specimens （gQⅡm）： （Ⅰ） the original series, and （Ⅱ） the remolded series. We subjected each series of soil specimens to different frequencies of freeze-thaw cycles （3, 6, 20, and 40 cycles）, and we used granulometric tests to analyze both series before and after exposure to freeze-thaw conditions. As a result of our experiments, the granulometric compositions tended to be distributed evenly after 40 freeze-thaw processes （i.e., content of fraction for 0.1-0.05 mm was increased after 40 freeze-thaw cycles） because the division of coarse grains and the aggregation of fine grains were synchronized during the freeze-thaw process. The soil grains in both series changed bi-directionally. In the original series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the clay grains, and in the remolded series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the silt grains, because potential energy difference caused the division and aggregation processes to relate to the counteraction process. The even distribution of soil grain size indicated the state of equilibrium or balance. The granulometric compositions were altered the most during the sixth freeze-thaw cycle, because the coefficient of the intensity variation of the grain fineness （Kvar） had its maximum value at that time.

Effects of dry-wet cycles on three-dimensional pore structure and permeability characteristics of granite residual soil using X-ray micro computed tomography

Due to seasonal climate alterations,the microstructure and permeability of granite residual soil are easily affected by multiple dry-wet cycles.The X-ray micro computed tomography(micro-CT)acted as a nondestructive tool for characterizing the microstructure of soil samples exposed to a range of damage levels induced by dry-wet cycles.Subsequently,the variations of pore distribution and permeability due to drywet cycling effects were revealed based on three-dimensional(3D)pore distribution analysis and seepage simulations.According to the results,granite residual soils could be separated into four different components,namely,pores,clay,quartz,and hematite,from micro-CT images.The reconstructed 3D pore models dynamically demonstrated the expanding and connecting patterns of pore structures during drywet cycles.The values of porosity and connectivity are positively correlated with the number of dry-wet cycles,which were expressed by exponential and linear functions,respectively.The pore volume probability distribution curves of granite residual soil coincide with the χ^(2)distribution curve,which verifies the effectiveness of the assumption of χ^(2)distribution probability.The pore volume distribution curves suggest that the pores in soils were divided into four types based on their volumes,i.e.micropores,mesopores,macropores,and cracks.From a quantitative and visual perspective,considerable small pores are gradually transformed into cracks with a large volume and a high connectivity.Under the action of dry-wet cycles,the number of seepage flow streamlines which contribute to water permeation in seepage simulation increases distinctly,as well as the permeability and hydraulic conductivity.The calculated hydraulic conductivity is comparable with measured ones with an acceptable error margin in general,verifying the accuracy of seepage simulations based on micro-CT results.

Review of the influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the physical and mechanical properties of soil

Seasonally frozen soil is a four-phase material and its physical-mechanical properties are more complex compared to the unfrozen soil. Its physical properties changes during the freeze-thaw process; repeated fieeze-thaw cycles change the characteristics of soil, which can render the soil from an unstable state to a new dynamic equilibrium state. The freezing process changes the structttre coupled between the soil particle arrangements, which will change the mechanical properties of the soil. The method of significance and interaction between different fac tors should be considered to measure the influence on the propties of soil under freeze-thaw cycles.

Acoustic experimental study of two types of rock from the Tibetan Plateau under the condition of freeze-thaw cycles

Under the condition of freeze-thaw cycles, two types of rocks （granite and andesite）, used as slope protection for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, were tested according to the special climatic conditions in the Tibetan Plateau, and their various damage processes in ap- pearance were carefully observed. Observation results show that damage of andesite was more serious than that of granite. Using an acoustic instrument, ultrasonic velocity was tested. The changing trends of velocity with the number of freeze-thaw cycles were analyzed, and the freeze-thaw cycle damaging the physical and mechanical properties of rocks can be seen. According to the changing trends of ultrasonic velocity with the number of freeze-thaw cycles, mechanical parameters of rocks, such as dynamic elasticity modulus, Poisson＇s ratio, and dynamic bulk modulus were analyzed. It is found that they all have declining trends as the number of fi＇eeze-thaw cycles increases, and in particular, when the cycle number reaches a certain extent, the Poisson＇s ratio of rocks begins to become negative.

Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on soil engineering properties of reservoir bank slopes at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain

The instability of soil bank slopes induced by freeze-thaw cycles at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain is very common.The failure not only caused a large amount of soil erosion,but also led to serious reservoir sedimentation and water quality degradation,which exerted a lot of adverse effects on agricultural production in the local irrigation areas.Based on field investigations on dozens of irrigation reservoirs there,laboratory tests were carried out to quantitatively analyze the freeze-thaw effect on the soil engineering characteristics to reveal the facilitation on the bank slope instability.The results show that the softening characteristics of the stressstrain curves gradually weaken,the effective cohesions decline exponentially,the seepage coefficients enlarge,and the thermal conductivities decrease after 7 freeze-thaw cycles.The freeze-thaw effect on the specimens with low confining pressures,low dry densities and high water contents is more significant.The water migration and the phase transition between water and ice result in the variations of the soil internal microstructures,which is the main factor affecting the soil engineering characteristics.Sufficient water supply and the alternation of positive and negative temperatures at the reservoir bank slopes in cold regions make the water migration and phase transition in the soil very intensely.It is easy to form a large number of pores and micro cracks in the soil freezing and thawing areas.The volume changes of the soil and the water migration are difficult to reach a dynamic balance in the open system.Long-term freeze-thaw cycles will bring out the fragmentation of the soil particles,resulting in that the micro cracks on the soil surfaces are developing continuously.The soil of the bank slopes will fall or collapse when these cracks penetrate,which often happens in winter there.