Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
- B.G. Mousa 1
- Marzouk Mohamed Aly Abdelhamid 2
- Mohamed Elgharib Gomah 3
- M. M. Zaki 3
- H.A. Farag 3
- W.M. Draz 3
- Remonda Dimian 4
- Yousef A. Al-Masnay 4
1 1Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Science, Urumqi 830011, China 2Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
2 Nasr city, Cairo, Egypt
3 Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
4 Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Science, Urumqi 830011, China
Abstract
Rock damage due to severe environmental conditions may affect durability over time. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the degradation of igneous rocks triggered by freezing-thawing weathering and to predict their loss of integrity. Four types of igneous rocks were collected from the Saint Katherine mountain area, Sinai, Egypt, and subjected to 100 cycles of the freeze-thaw method. The land surface temperature variation was analyzed using remote sensing data as an indicator for selecting the freeze-thaw temperature for our experiments. The physical and mechanical characteristics of the studied rocks, such as dry bulk density, effective porosity, ultrasound pulse velocity, abrasion loss, unconfined compressive strength, and point load strength, were measured after 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 cycles of the freeze-thaw process and evaluated using deterioration ratios and statistical models. Exponential and linear decay function models were established to statistically assess the integrity loss rate of the mechanical strength properties of the selected rocks. Two critical factors, decay constant and half-life, were derived from the studied models and used to predict rock durability. This evaluation suggests that the behavior of rock decay is very similar across different types of igneous rocks, exhibiting a strong correlation and high precision. Therefore, these models are reliable and valid for predicting the durability of the studied igneous rocks. Results also showed that the tested igneous rocks can be used as construction stones in regions exposed to repeated cyclic freezing-thawing weathering and harsh environmental conditions over long periods without disintegration.
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