Time-dependent swell–shrink behavior of red-bed mudstone under cyclic wetting and drying

Red-bed mudstone experiences periodic swelling and shrinkage behaviors due to alternating wetting and drying cycles, leading to a series of engineering disasters such as foundation settlement and excessive deformation of high-speed railway roadbeds and reservoir bank slopes. This paper examines the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Bulletin of engineering geology and the environment Vol. 82; no. 12
Main Authors:	Zhong, Zhibin, Zhou, Qijian, Lyu, Lei, Wu, Peipei, Li, Tianbin, Yang, Baowen, Fan, Xuanmei
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2023
Subjects:	Earth and Environmental Science Earth Sciences Foundations Geoecology/Natural Processes Geoengineering Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences Hydraulics Nature Conservation Original Paper Swell–shrink deformation Cyclic wetting and drying test Red-bed mudstone Crack evolution Time-dependent swelling
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Summary:	Red-bed mudstone experiences periodic swelling and shrinkage behaviors due to alternating wetting and drying cycles, leading to a series of engineering disasters such as foundation settlement and excessive deformation of high-speed railway roadbeds and reservoir bank slopes. This paper examines the effect of cyclic wetting and drying on the swell–shrink deformation and cracking to simulate the time-dependent behavior of such rocks for high-speed railway subgrades. Red-bed mudstone specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Guankou Formation (K 2 g) of central Sichuan Basin, Southwest China, were subjected to laboratory tests under oedometric conditions. The swelling and shrinkage deformations in each wetting and drying cycle under different cycles were measured over time. A theoretical model with elastic and viscous elements connected parallelly was put forward, and the time-varying swelling strain was derived. The results showed that the swell–shrink strain and fractures mainly occurred in the first dry–wet cycle. With increasing number of cycles, the accumulated swelling deformation increased gradually due to the progressive evolution of the cracks, and the maximum swelling stress σ m and swelling deformation modulus k increased, indicating an underestimation of the swelling potential in conventional swelling tests. The time correlation parameters of B and η also increased, verifying the significant time-dependent deformation of red-bed mudstone. The time-dependent swell–shrink behavior is an important factor in evaluating the long-term stability of rocks in deformation-sensitive engineering.
ISSN:	1435-9529 1435-9537
DOI:	10.1007/s10064-023-03496-7