IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/fracta/v29y2021i08ns0218348x2150239x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis Of Porosity, Permeability, And Anisotropy Of Sandstone In Freeze–Thaw Environments Using Computed Tomography And Fractal Theory

Author

Listed:
  • HAO TAN

    (College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, 58 Yanta Middle Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710054, P. R. China)

  • YONGJUN SONG

    (College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, 58 Yanta Middle Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710054, P. R. China)

  • XIXI GUO

    (College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, 58 Yanta Middle Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710054, P. R. China)

Abstract

An in-depth understanding of the deterioration characteristics of porous rock materials in freeze–thaw (F–T) environments is very important for rock mass engineering in cold regions. However, quantitative descriptions of key rock indicators such as porosity, permeability, and anisotropy are lacking. In this paper, computed tomography (CT) was used to study saturated intact sandstone, saturated fractured sandstone, and ice-filled fractured sandstone under various F–T cycles and stress states. Meso-structural parameters were obtained by reconstructing the three-dimensional fracture networks from CT images. Then, based on fractal geometry theory, the fractal dimension (DF), tortuosity fractal dimension (DT), and anisotropic two-dimensional fractal dimension (DA) of the sandstone samples were analyzed quantitatively. The DF gradually increased during the F–T process, while DT gradually decreased. Compared with DF, DT was found to describe changes in the absolute permeability of rocks under F–T cycling more accurately. Anisotropy in sandstone was enhanced by F–T cycling. After uniaxial compression, the DA value was the greatest in ice-filled fractured sandstone. In addition, the tree-like fracture structure produced by F–T cycling expanded the range of self-similarity, which enhanced the fractal characteristics of sandstone. However, due to the large frost heave pressure of ice-filled sandstone, fracture expansion accelerated in the later period of F–T cycling, which destroyed the self-similarity. These results assist in understanding the F–T characteristics of porous rock materials. The method described provides a new way to better evaluate and predict F–T-related engineering disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Hao Tan & Yongjun Song & Xixi Guo, 2021. "Analysis Of Porosity, Permeability, And Anisotropy Of Sandstone In Freeze–Thaw Environments Using Computed Tomography And Fractal Theory," FRACTALS (fractals), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 29(08), pages 1-16, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wsi:fracta:v:29:y:2021:i:08:n:s0218348x2150239x
    DOI: 10.1142/S0218348X2150239X
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0218348X2150239X
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S0218348X2150239X?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wsi:fracta:v:29:y:2021:i:08:n:s0218348x2150239x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscinet/fractals .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.