Study on meso-deformation and failure mechanism of rock mass with micro-cracks under freeze-thaw loading

The long-term freeze-thaw effect leads to the development of rock fractures and strength degradation in cold region engineering construction, which poses a serious challenge to the stability of the project. In this paper, the microscopic model of sandstone freeze-thaw cycles was established using a particle flow code (PFC2D). Through numerical simulation, the variation law of mechanical properties of rock mass with micro-cracks is systematically studied from the aspects of displacement, crack development, strain and strength. The results show that: (i) The freeze-thaw loading displacement is concentrated on both sides of the initial micro-cracks, and the crack development is not controlled by it. When the number of freeze-thaw cycles is greater than 17, the displacement and crack development are significant. The crack increases with the increase of the crack distance ratio. (ii) When the number of freeze-thaw cycles is less than 15, the compressive crack develops at the end of the initial micro-crack, and the development is controlled by it. When the number of freeze-thaw cycles is greater than 21, the crack increases sharply, and the development is no longer controlled by the initial micro-cracks. When the number of freeze-thaw cycles is less than 15, the damage strain shows minimal variation but decreases sharply with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles. (iii) Under each crack distance ratio, the strength changes in three stages: when the number of freeze-thaw cycles is less than 15, the strength changes little, and the strength decreases sharply with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles. With the increase of the crack distance ratio, it increases first and then decreases. And it is more significant when the number of freeze-thaw cycles is greater than 17. The research results can provide theoretical support for the influence and evaluation of rock freeze-thaw action in cold regions.