Effect of dry-wet cycles on dynamic properties and microstructures of sandstone: Experiments and modelling

Underground pumped storage power plant (UPSP) is an innovative concept for space recycling of abandoned mines. Its realization requires better understanding of the dynamic performance and durability of reservoir rock. This paper conducted ultrasonic detection, split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) impact, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and backscatter electron observation (BSE) tests to investigate the dynamical behaviour and microstructure of sandstone with cyclical dry-wet damage. A coupling FEM-DEM model was constructed for reappearing mesoscopic structure damage. The results show that dry-wet cycles decrease the dynamic compressive strength (DCS) with a maximum reduction of 39.40%, the elastic limit strength is reduced from 41.75 to 25.62 MPa. The sieved fragments obtain the highest crack growth rate during the 23rd dry-wet cycle with a predictable life of 25 cycles for each rock particle. The pore fractal features of the macropores and micro-meso pores show great differences between the early and late cycles, which verifies the computational statistics analysis of particle deterioration. The numerical results show that the failure patterns are governed by the strain in pre-peak stage and the shear cracks are dominant. The dry-wet cycles reduce the energy transfer efficiency and lead to the discretization of force chain and crack fields.