Analysis of the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the degradation of mechanical parameters and slope stability

The changes that occur to the physicomechanical features of rocks during freeze-thaw cycles are crucial to research on the stability of slope engineering in cold regions. In this study, granite specimens underwent freeze-thaw cycling and uniaxial compression testing. The mechanics of the freeze-thaw deterioration were analyzed based on the changes that occurred in the uniaxial compression strength, stress-strain curve, freeze-thaw coefficient, and degree of weathering of the rocks during freeze-thaw cycles. The results were applied in an analysis of the slope stability of a rock mass in an open-pit mine, and the safety factors of the slope before and after freeze-thaw cycling were computed with the Hoek-Brown empirical criterion. The results show that the mass of the granite increased and its uniaxial compression strength decreased after freeze-thaw cycling. The safety factor of the slope decreased due to the freeze-thaw cycling. This research thus shows the importance of studying the mechanics of slope engineering deterioration in cold regions.