To investigate the stability of geotechnical engineering in alpine and high -altitude regions subjected to prolonged freeze-thaw cycles,this study elucidates the damage evolution characteristics of sandstone under such conditions.By performing uniaxial compression tests on sandstone samples subjected to varying numbers of freeze-thaw cycles,and analyzing the results using energy dissipation theory in conjunction with PFC discrete element software,the study examines the crack propagation and energy evolution laws.The findings indicate that with an increasing number of freeze-thaw cycles,both the peak strength and Young’s modulus of the sandstone exhibit a declining trend.Concurrently,the proportion of energy dissipation rises,particularly when the number of cycles reaches 60,at which point there is a marked increase in energy dissipation,signifying substantial internal damage to the sandstone.The study further validates the use of the energy evolution law to characterize strength degradation under freeze-thaw conditions by modeling the relationship between energy and strength.Through further study,numerical simulation of uniaxial compression experiments on sandstone specimens were conducted using PFC software.Based on these simulations and corresponding experimental results,the deformation and damage morphology of sandstone subjected to varying numbers of freeze-thaw cycles were analyzed.The study observed trends in crack propagation and variations in contact force between particles.The findings indicate that internal cracks in the rock expand gradually during the initial stages of freeze-thaw cycles,followed by rapid expansion in later stages,with tensile cracks being the predominant type.The internal contact force within the sandstone model decreases throughout the simulation,this phenomenon characterized by the dissipation of contact energy stored between particles as per the analysis of the energy evolution law.This simulation outcome aligns closely with the energy evolution observed in experimental results,underscoring the adequacy of the energy modeling approach.Furthermore,significant differences were noted in the damage patterns of sandstone subjected to different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles.When subjected to fewer than 60 freeze-thaw cycles,sandstone predominantly exhibits splitting at the left and right ends,resulting in a “wedge-shaped body” damage pattern.However,sandstone exposed to 60 freeze-thaw cycles demonstrates a markedly different damage pattern compared to other samples,instead of forming a “wedge” it develops a smaller damaged area near the lower surface.This observation indicates that the degradation of sandstone due to freeze-thaw cycles can significantly diminish its load-bearing capacity and residual strength.The findings of this study hold substantial theoretical and practical significance for understanding and predicting the mechanical behavior and stability of geotechnical materials subjected to freeze-thaw cycles in cold engineering contexts.Furthermore,they provide a scientific foundation for geotechnical engineering design in alpine regions.
近年来,众多学者针对冻融岩石力学特性的演化规律展开了大量的试验与理论研究,取得了诸多成果。在微观结构演化方面,通过应用核磁共振技术揭示了冻融循环导致岩石孔径增大的规律(Li et al.,2016;Liu et al.,2022;王飞等,2022;王文通等,2025),研究还发现岩石抗压强度与裂隙长度密切相关(赵建军等,2019)。关于红砂岩的冻融循环试验研究发现,随着冻融次数的增加,砂岩孔隙度增大,抗变形能力和抗压强度显著降低(Meng et al.,2023)。在宏观力学性能方面,声发射监测结果表明,随冻融循环次数的增加砂岩峰值应力和弹性模量减小,应变显著增大(Wang et al.,2024)。基于数字图像相关技术的研究发现,裂纹尖端应力强度因子与尖端倾角呈正相关关系,与冻融循环次数呈负相关关系(Ma et al.,2023)。此外,对玄武岩纤维混凝土内部热应力的数值模拟分析揭示了冻融破坏诱导混凝土损伤的详细机理(Zhang et al.,2024b)。在数值模拟研究方面,基于PFC软件的模拟工作揭示了岩石冻融过程中颗粒破碎和滑移等微观机制,提出了多种裂纹扩展模式(王中文等,2023;Zhang et al.,2024a)。岩石损伤过程中的能量分析也备受关注,研究表明岩石破坏过程伴随着能量的耗散与释放(田威等,2017),且能量特征参数可有效表征岩石冻融损伤程度(刘享华等,2023)。通过核磁共振技术分析冻融循环对类砂岩材料微观孔隙的影响,发现摩擦能在峰值强度前后2个阶段始终呈增大趋势(Xiao et al.,2023)。研究人员基于离散元方法的研究提出了一种水冰颗粒相变耦合膨胀方法,揭示了冻融循环作用下岩石内部孔隙水体积膨胀及持续补水是造成其损伤的根本原因(宋勇军等,2023)。
图6给出了不同冻融循环次数下总能量、弹性能和消散能随轴向应变的变化。由图6(a)可知,在低应力条件下总能量变化很小,不同冻融循环次数试样的总能量差别不明显。随着荷载持续增加,总能量逐渐增加,且增加的速度不断加快,最终达到最高值。同时,不同冻融循环次数试样的总能量差别越来越大,表现出冻融循环次数越多,总能量越低。由图6(b)可知,弹性能随应变的变化特征与总能量相似。当应力达到峰值点时,弹性能达到最高,随后快速下降至某个定值,主要原因是断裂面相互之间的摩擦使得弹性能没有下降至零值。随着冻融循环次数的增加,弹性能释放量出现先增大后减小的规律。由图6(c)可知,在很长的一段时间内消散能随应变的变化幅度较小,随着荷载增加,进入裂纹不稳定扩展阶段,消散能突然激增并迅速达到最高值,能量瞬间释放。此时储存在砂岩中的消散能以塑性应变能、破坏产生的动能、摩擦产生的热能、裂缝扩展产生的表面能以及破裂产生的辐射能等形式释放出来(董昱霞,2020;Luo et al.,2022;Zuo et al.,2024)。冻融循环次数越高,消散能越低。消散能释放反映岩石在受荷过程中裂纹萌生、发展、贯通和聚集的动态变化,预测岩石破坏前兆。
在冻融循环下,岩石的能量—强度模型是研究岩石在经历反复冻融过程时的力学行为和破坏机理的重要工具,通过建立冻融循环下岩石的能量—强度模型,可以为工程设计、施工和科学研究提供准确的预测和评估,从而确保工程安全和环境可持续性。为了研究冻融强度损伤与能量的关系,进一步建立二者之间的联系,根据冻融循环下砂岩强度损失模型,假设经过次冻融循环后砂岩的强度峰值为,未冻融砂岩的强度峰值为,为可微函数。从个冻融循环周期过渡到个冻融循环周期时,砂岩的峰值强度损失率(Liu et al.,2022)可表示为
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