Influence of Freeze-thaw Cycles on the Velocity of Elastic Waves in Saturated Rock Specimens

Abstract

The rock mass in the cold regions is affected by alternate cycles of snowfall and normal weather. Water enters into the cracks in rocks during rainfall; subsequently, it freezes, leading to cracks enlargement due to the volumetric expansion of ice. This, in turn, weakens the rock structure leads to a reduction of the rock mass strength. Therefore, recurrent freeze-thaw cycles in hilly slopes result in instability in the rock slope. Several studies were carried out on the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the various physical and mechanical properties of the rock. For most of the research, dry rock specimens were used to determine the physical and mechanical degradation of rock properties due to freeze-thaw cycles. However, limited research is available on saturated rock specimens. Therefore, in this paper, multiple freeze-thaw tests were performed on rock specimens in the laboratory and its effect on the velocity of elastic waves was observed. The results indicated a gain of about 13 to 34% in the velocity of elastic waves with respect to the repeated freeze-thaw cycle in the saturated rock specimens. This happens because the travel time taken by elastic waves is less for denser material than dry rock specimens. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.