Investigation of Anisotropy on Deterioration of Mechanical Parameters of Layered Rock Under Freeze-thaw Cycles

Abstract

The evaluation of slope deformation and stability under freeze-thaw cycles is an important research direction and a challenge for geotechnical engineering in cold regions. However, most previous studies only considered the influence of the number of freeze-thaw cycles, but ignored the anisotropic characteristics of layered rock slopes. Meanwhile, the number of freeze-thaw cycles and the bedding dip are rarely considered in previous numerical simulations. Based on this background, the carbonaceous slate of the Pulang copper mine in China was used as the sample material to perform uniaxial compression tests on seven types of carbonaceous slate with different bedding dip angles after completing six different times of freeze-thaw cycles. The test results are applied to the numerical simulation analysis of the deformation characteristics and stability of the layered rock slope of the copper mine. The results show that freezing and thawing will cause layered rock degradation effects, thereby reducing rock mechanical parameters, and the influence is most obvious when the bedding dip is approximately 45°. In the numerical simulation, it is found that the deformation characteristics and stability change trend of the layered rock slope are similar to the above-mentioned experiments. In addition, it is necessary to consider the number of freeze-thaw cycles and the bedding dip to avoid too much difference for the maximum horizontal displacement of a layered rock slope. This study provides a feasible evaluation plan for the deformation characteristics and stability of the layered rock slope in Pulang area of China.