The effect of chemical erosion on mechanical properties and fracture of sandstone under shear loading: an experimental study

In order to study the effect of water-rock interactions on shear strength characteristics, we performed shearing tests under varying hydrochemical environments. Moreover, a custom meso-shear test equipment for coal rock was used for the tests. Through 3D scanning of the shear fractures and scanning electron microscope imaging, we studied the effect of different pH chemical solutions on the shear strength and fracture characteristics of sandstones. We obtained three main results. With increasing solution acidity or alkalinity, water-hemical solution corrosivity increases. Moreover, the shear strength of sandstones reduces almost linearly and the fracture surfaces become smoother. The erosive effect is evidenced by the decrease in fracture surface fluctuations, roughness and the high-order microbulges, and scaling of the grain structure. A collection of characteristic parameters, including the maximum height S(h), the root mean square deviation S(q), the area ratio S(A), and the slope root mean square S(∆q), can be used to quantitatively describe the rough and irregular texture of the fracture surface.