Macro- and micro-mechanical response and damage mechanism of sandstone under high-temperature conditions

Abstract

The thermal effects of coal combustion considerably influence the physical and chemical properties, structural characteristics, and stability of rocks, posing a serious threat to the safety of coal mining operations. In this study, the impacts of temperature on the physical and chemical characteristics (i.e., mineral phase, microstructure, and mechanical strength) of sandstone were investigated by employing experimental methods, including microstructural analysis, uniaxial acoustic emission (AE), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results indicate that temperature alters the mineral phase and the pore characteristics, and these two factors jointly affect the mechanical properties of sandstone. The influence of temperature on the mechanical strength of sandstone is categorized into low-temperature strengthening and high-temperature damage, with a threshold temperature identified at 600 °C. The low-temperature strengthening effect encompasses both pore strengthening and mineral phase strengthening, while the high-temperature damage effect primarily results from pore damage. As the experimental temperature rises, both the number of AE events and the AE energy transition from a surge in the post-peak failure stage to a stepwise increase during the loading process. This transition implies that the failure mode of the sandstone sample evolves from brittle failure to tensile failure.

Keywords

Thermal effects / Mineral phase / Pore structure / Acoustic emission energy / Microscopic morphology

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Deep Earth Probe and Mineral Resources Exploration-National Science and Technology Major Project (No. 2024ZD1004104), the Xinjiang Key Research and Development Special Project (Nos. 2023B03009-1 and 2022B03028-3), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52104103, 52174128, and 52364021), and the Teaching Research Project of China University of Mining and Technology (No. 2024JY013).

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