Creep Properties of Altered Rock Subjected to Water Influx-Lost Cycles

Creep properties of altered granite were changed due to water level rise and fall in the tailings ponds. In this paper, the effects of water influx-lost cycles on the creep properties were tested. The axial load was applied with the 30%, 40%, 60%, 75% and 100% of the triaxial compressive strength, the rock creep test results showed that: (1) Significant creep effects of altered granite subjected to water influx-lost cycles, the creep stages were included decay creep stage, steady creep stage, and accelerated creep stage. It was found that the creep strain gradually increases with of the number of water influx-lost cycles increases, and the ratio of the maximum creep strain to total strain can reach 10.42%. (2) The degradation of long-term strength of altered granite subjected to water influx-lost cycles was studied, the long-term strength was decreased from 32.13 to 5.46 MPa. The relationship between the long-term strength and number of cycles was indicated by an exponential function. It was found that water influx-lost cycles have adversely effects on the long-term stability of the tailing pond slope, and the research results are of great significance to the prevention of slope engineering disasters.