Mechanical properties and energy evolution law of marble under the coupled effects of chemical corrosion and dry-wet cycles

The main factors affecting the safety of underground structures are groundwater chemical corrosion and water level fluctuations. To investigate the mechanical properties of marble and the energy evolution pattern during the failure process under the coupled effects of chemical corrosion and dry-wet cycling, samples were subjected to 5, 10 and 20 cycles of dry-wet ageing in chemical solutions with pH values of 4, 7 and 10, respectively, followed by mechanical property testing. The energy evolution pattern during the failure process of the specimens was also studied. It was found that there is a strong correlation between number of dry-wet cycles and pH value of chemical solution. Chemical corrosion at the early stage of dry-wet cycling has the greatest effect on the deterioration of the rock. As the number of dry-wet cycles increases, the degree of corrosion in acidic solutions is most evident, with the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decreasing by 27.88% and 33.52% respectively, followed by alkaline solutions, and the degree of corrosion in neutral solutions is the lowest. In addition, dry-wet cycling and chemical corrosion lead to an increase in the internal pores of the rock samples and a decrease in the energy storage capacity. Nevertheless, the proportion of energy loss increases with the number of dry and wet cycles, with the proportion of energy loss in acidic media increasing from 35.61% to 41.63%, indicating that the plastic deformability of marble increases under the action of chemical corrosion and dry and wet cycles. The research results have certain guiding significance for the design, construction and maintenance reinforcement of underground structures under the conditions of chemical corrosion and dry-wet cycling.