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Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials
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Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2025 | Viewed by 3459

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Meng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: rock mechanics; computational mechanics
Dr. Lei Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: rock mechanics; fracture mechanics
Prof. Dr. Li Ren

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: rock mechanics; geological engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The materials used in civil engineering construction are complex, involving natural and composite materials like rock and concrete, etc. As foundational materials, rocks and their composite materials significantly influence various domains of human existence. In engineering, their mechanical characteristics play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and stability of engineering projects. Additionally, as integral components of the natural environment, rocks' mechanical properties affect research and construction in diverse sectors, such as resource exploration, environmental impact assessment, and investigating natural disasters. Exploring the mechanical attributes and applications of rocks and their composite materials holds the utmost significance in ensuring the security, efficiency, and sustainability of various engineering, construction, and environmental endeavors.

From within this context we would like to announce the inauguration of a Special Issue devoted to exploring "Advances in natural rocks and their composite materials". This Special Issue serves as a platform for disseminating original research and comprehensive reviews highlighting emerging trends along these foundational trajectories. Contributions are encouraged across various domains, including inventive testing instruments and methodologies, the characterization of mechanical attributes in rocks and their composite materials, advanced theoretical analyses rooted in mechanics, state-of-the-art numerical simulations and applications of intelligent algorithms, innovative engineering approaches to tackle rock mass challenges, and forward-looking techniques for anticipating and mitigating engineering disasters.

Dr. Meng Wang
Dr. Lei Zhou
Prof. Dr. Li Ren
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • concrete
  • rock
  • mechanical properties of rocks and their composite materials
  • material fracture
  • material test
  • numerical simulation
  • geological engineering
  • civil engineering

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 12893 KiB  
Article
Study on the Inhibition Mechanism of Hydration Expansion of Yunnan Gas Shale using Modified Asphalt
by Zhiwen Dai, Jinsheng Sun, Jingping Liu, Kaihe Lv, Xianfa Zhang, Zonglun Wang and Zhe Xu
Materials 2024, 17(3), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17030645 - 29 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 602
Abstract
Drilling fluids play an essential role in shale gas development. It is not possible to scale up the use of water-based drilling fluid in shale gas drilling in Yunnan, China, because conventional inhibitors cannot effectively inhibit the hydration of the illite-rich shale formed. [...] Read more.
Drilling fluids play an essential role in shale gas development. It is not possible to scale up the use of water-based drilling fluid in shale gas drilling in Yunnan, China, because conventional inhibitors cannot effectively inhibit the hydration of the illite-rich shale formed. In this study, the inhibition performance of modified asphalt was evaluated using the plugging test, expansion test, shale recovery experiment, and rock compressive strength test. The experimental results show that in a 3% modified asphalt solution, the expansion of shale is reduced by 56.3%, the recovery is as high as 97.8%, water absorption is reduced by 24.3%, and the compression resistance is doubled compared with those in water. Moreover, the modified asphalt can effectively reduce the fluid loss of the drilling fluid. Modified asphalt can form a hydrophobic membrane through a large amount of adsorption on the shale surface, consequently inhibiting shale hydration. Simultaneously, modified asphalt can reduce the entrance of water into the shale through blocking pores, micro-cracks, and cracks and further inhibit the hydration expansion of shale. This demonstrates that modified asphalt will be an ideal choice for drilling shale gas formations in Yunnan through water-based drilling fluids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials)
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16 pages, 2977 KiB  
Article
Fracture Toughness Testing of Brittle Laminated Geomaterials Using Hollow Double-Wing Slotted Specimens
by Zilong Yao, Zidong Fan, Qin Zhou, Xiaofang Nie and Li Ren
Materials 2023, 16(20), 6754; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16206754 - 18 Oct 2023
Viewed by 570
Abstract
The fracture toughness of shale is a key parameter guiding hydraulic fracturing design and optimization. The hollow double-wing slotted (HDWS) specimen is a typical specimen configuration for measuring the mode I fracture toughness of rock. The calibration of the shape factor (f [...] Read more.
The fracture toughness of shale is a key parameter guiding hydraulic fracturing design and optimization. The hollow double-wing slotted (HDWS) specimen is a typical specimen configuration for measuring the mode I fracture toughness of rock. The calibration of the shape factor (f) is the basis for accurately obtaining the fracture toughness of rocks. In this study, the influences of crack length, hole size, and the anisotropy of elastic parameters on f for specimens with three typical bedding orientations—arrester (A), divider (D), and short-transverse (ST) orientations—are systematically investigated using finite element software. The numerical simulation results support the following findings. The mode I f increases monotonically with an increase in hole size. The influence of crack length on f varies depending on hole sizes. Under different bedding orientations, significant anisotropy in f was observed. In addition, the degree of anisotropy in Young’s modulus has a major impact on f, which is related to the bedding orientation of the specimen. The apparent shear modulus ratio has relatively little influence on f. As the hole size and crack length increase, the influence of the anisotropy of elastic parameters on f increases. Based on numerical calculations, hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted on HDWS specimens of Longmaxi shale with three bedding orientations, and the results showed that the peak pressure and fracture toughness of the samples in the ST direction were the lowest, while those in the A direction were the highest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials)
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22 pages, 3372 KiB  
Article
Elasticity and Characteristic Stress Thresholds of Shale under Deep In Situ Geological Conditions
by Xiaofang Nie, Zidong Fan, Qin Zhou, Zilong Yao, Zheming Zhu and Li Ren
Materials 2023, 16(19), 6550; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16196550 - 04 Oct 2023
Viewed by 720
Abstract
The mechanical properties of shale are generally influenced by in situ geological conditions. However, the understanding of the effects of in situ geological conditions on the mechanical properties of shale is still immature. To address this problem, this paper provides insight into the [...] Read more.
The mechanical properties of shale are generally influenced by in situ geological conditions. However, the understanding of the effects of in situ geological conditions on the mechanical properties of shale is still immature. To address this problem, this paper provides insight into the elasticity and characteristic stress thresholds (i.e., the crack closure stress σcc, crack initiation stress σci, and crack damage stress σcd) of shales with differently oriented bedding planes under deep in situ geological conditions. To accurately determine the elastic parameters and crack closure and initiation thresholds, a new method—i.e., the bidirectional iterative approximation (BIA) method—which iteratively approaches the upper and lower limit stresses of the linear elastic stress-strain regime, was proposed. Several triaxial compression experiments were performed on Longmaxi shale samples under coupled in situ stress and temperature conditions reflecting depths of 2000 and 4000 m in the study area. The results showed that the peak deviatoric stress (σp) of shale samples with the same bedding plane orientation increases as depth increases from 2000 m to 4000 m. In addition, the elastic modulus of the shale studied is more influenced by bedding plane orientation than by burial depth. However, the Poisson’s ratios of the studied shale samples are very similar, indicating that for the studied depth conditions, the Poisson’s ratio is not influenced by the geological conditions and bedding plane orientation. For the shale samples with the two typical bedding plane orientations tested (i.e., perpendicular and parallel to the axial loading direction) under 2000 and 4000 m geological conditions, the ratio of crack closure stress to peak deviatoric stress (σcc/σp) ranges from 24.83% to 25.16%, and the ratio of crack initiation stress to peak deviatoric stress (σci/σp) ranges from 34.78% to 38.23%, indicating that the σcc/σp and σci/σp ratios do not change much, and are less affected by the bedding plane orientation and depth conditions studied. Furthermore, as the in situ depth increases from 2000 m to 4000 m, the increase in σcd is significantly greater than that of σcc and σci, indicating that σcd is more sensitive to changes in depth, and that the increase in depth has an obvious inhibitory effect on crack extension. The expected experimental results will provide the background for further constitutive modeling and numerical analysis of the shale gas reservoirs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials)
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13 pages, 9045 KiB  
Article
A Novel Amphoteric Ion-Modified, Styrene-Based Nano-Microsphere and Its Application in Drilling Fluid
by Xianfa Zhang, Jingping Liu, Jinsheng Sun, Zonglun Wang, Zhiwen Dai, Yuanwei Sun and Taifeng Zhang
Materials 2023, 16(18), 6096; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16186096 - 06 Sep 2023
Viewed by 731
Abstract
With the gradual depletion of shallow oil and gas, deep oil and gas has become the focus of development. However, deep formations generally face the challenge of high-temperature and high-salinity, and drilling fluid agents are prone to failure, leading to drilling fluid intrusion [...] Read more.
With the gradual depletion of shallow oil and gas, deep oil and gas has become the focus of development. However, deep formations generally face the challenge of high-temperature and high-salinity, and drilling fluid agents are prone to failure, leading to drilling fluid intrusion into the formation that can cause serious drilling accidents such as well bore collapse. For this, a styrene-based nano-microsphere (SSD) modified with amphoteric ions was developed, with a particle size of 228 nm which could resist temperatures up to 200 °C and sodium chloride (NaCl) up to saturation. SSD has significant salt-responsive properties and its aqueous dispersion becomes transparent with increasing salinity. The SSD provided superior plugging performance in solutions containing NaCl, with a core plugging efficiency of 95.2%, and it was significantly better than the anion-modified microspheres. In addition, in drilling fluids under high temperature and high-salinity conditions, the SSD promotes particle gradation of drilling fluids and improves the zeta potential through its own plugging and synergistic effect with clay, which significantly improves the comprehensive performance of drilling fluids, such as stability, rheological performance, and filtration reduction performance. The development of SSD provides a new idea for research of high-temperature and high-salinity-resistant drilling fluid agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Rocks and Their Composite Materials)
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