Macroscopic and mesoscopic mechanism of hydration instability of the rock-grout coupled structure

In order to investigate the macroscopic and mesoscopic mechanism of hydration instability of rock-grout structure under the influence of moisture content, a direct shear test combined with particle flow code (PFC) simulation was conducted subject to various moisture content levels and normal stresses. The results show that a higher moisture content would compromise the load bearing capacity of soft rock anchorage structures by deteriorating the structural integrity of the surrounding rock and the bonding effect between the anchorage interfaces. The load bearing capacity of the surrounding rock is also rapidly reduced. The rock-grout structure has four main shear damage modes, which are influenced by both moisture content and normal stress. When the saturated moisture content is reached, the anchorage structure has lost its bearing capacity, and the rock is muddied and subsequently debonded from the bolt. The energy required to break the internal adhesion of the rock-grout structure under the effect of hydration is greatly reduced, resulting in easy decoupling and dispersion between the rock skeleton particles. In turn, the rock surface particles bonded by the anchor agent are separated from the deeper particles, resulting in the failure of the bonding surface and weakening the coupling effect between the anchor and the surrounding rock. According to the test results, the control measures for surrounding rock of muddy roadway are put forward.