Damage evolution and microscopic failure characteristics of dense sandstone at different water contents
- 1Key Laboratory of Safe and Effective Coal Mining, Anhui University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education
- 2National Key Laboratory of Safe Mining of Deep Coal and Environmental Protection, Anhui University of Science and Technology
Abstract
To reveal the mechanical degradation, damage evolution, and failure mechanism of dense sandstone under varying water content, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on sandstone with different water contents. Combined with acoustic emission monitoring, scanning electron microscopy, and energy evolution analysis, constitutive models of damage evolution in sandstone with different water contents were established. The deformation and failure characteristics of water-bearing sandstone were systematically studied at both macroscopic and microscopic scales. The results show that with increasing water content, the peak strain, compressive strength, and elastic modulus of sandstone generally decrease, and the degradation pattern is initially steep and then gradual. Increasing water content gradually lowers the damage threshold of sandstone, leading to earlier damage evolution. The cumulative acoustic emission count and cumulative energy decrease overall, and moisture has a significant inhibitory effect on crack propagation and energy release. In terms of failure mode, sandstone gradually shifts from shear failure to tensile failure, with the proportion of tensile cracks increasing significantly with increasing water content. Microscopically, the fracture morphology gradually transforms from relatively smooth transgranular fractures in the dry state to rougher intergranular fractures and coupling fractures. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for the analysis of the mechanical properties of deep water-bearing dense sandstone surrounding rocks and their engineering applications.
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BibTeX
@article{qi2026damage,
title = {{Damage evolution and microscopic failure characteristics of dense sandstone at different water contents}},
author = {Chao Qi and Jucai Chang and Zhiqiang Yin and Wenbao Shi and Jiliang Kan and Lei Fan and Xin Huang and Hongda Wang},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-62946-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62946-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Damage evolution and microscopic failure characteristics of dense sandstone at different water contents
AU - Chao Qi
AU - Jucai Chang
AU - Zhiqiang Yin
AU - Wenbao Shi
AU - Jiliang Kan
AU - Lei Fan
AU - Xin Huang
AU - Hongda Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-62946-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62946-w
AB - To reveal the mechanical degradation, damage evolution, and failure mechanism of dense sandstone under varying water content, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on sandstone with different water contents. Combined with acoustic emission monitoring, scanning electron microscopy, and energy evolution analysis, constitutive models of damage evolution in sandstone with different water contents were established. The deformation and failure characteristics of water-bearing sandstone were systematically studied at both macroscopic and microscopic scales. The results show that with increasing water content, the peak strain, compressive strength, and elastic modulus of sandstone generally decrease, and the degradation pattern is initially steep and then gradual. Increasing water content gradually lowers the damage threshold of sandstone, leading to earlier damage evolution. The cumulative acoustic emission count and cumulative energy decrease overall, and moisture has a significant inhibitory effect on crack propagation and energy release. In terms of failure mode, sandstone gradually shifts from shear failure to tensile failure, with the proportion of tensile cracks increasing significantly with increasing water content. Microscopically, the fracture morphology gradually transforms from relatively smooth transgranular fractures in the dry state to rougher intergranular fractures and coupling fractures. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for the analysis of the mechanical properties of deep water-bearing dense sandstone surrounding rocks and their engineering applications.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -