The Effect of Chemical Corrosion on Mechanics and Failure Behaviour of Limestone Containing a Single Kinked Fissure

This study concerns the influence of chemical corrosion and geometric parameters on the macroscopic damage characteristics of brittle limestone containing a kinked fissure under uniaxial compression. The specimens are prepared in chemical solutions with different NaCl concentrations and pH values. The acoustic emission (AE) technique is adopted to detect the inner distortion of the failure behaviour. The physical process of the crack coalescence of kinked fissures is synchronously captured by a high-speed camera. Seven failure patterns are identified based on the final failure mode and the failure process. Furthermore, the stress intensity factor of kinked cracks under chemical corrosion is obtained by a theoretical analysis. Chemical erosion with an acidic solution has a relatively strong effect on the compressive strength of the tested specimen, while the initial crack angle is not affected by short-term chemical corrosion.