The shear-creep behavior of the weak interlayer mudstone in a red-bed soft rock in acidic environments and its modeling with an improved Burgers model

Acid rain is often formed in southwestern China. Red-bed landslides often occur and cause major social and economic losses. The shear-slip process of red-bed landslides is affected by the creep characteristics of the weak interlayers in the rock mass. Samples of red-bed soft rock with weak interlayers of mudstone in Lufeng County of the Central Yunnan Water Diversion Project were tested in shear-creep tests in an acid environment. Combining with the functional relationship between the viscoelastic modulus and the acidic environment change, a stress-acidity-strain-time model is established based on the Burgers model. The results show that the long-term strength of the red-bed soft-rock weak interlayer in a mudstone gradually decreases with the increase of acidity. The viscoelastic modulus is linearly related to acidity. Compared with the traditional Burgers model, the improved Burgers model taking into account the effect of the acidic environment provides improved accuracy in describing the shear-creep behavior of the red-bed soft-rock weak interlayers.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of acidity on red-bed landslides and establishes a stress-acidity-strain-time model, providing improved accuracy in describing the shear-creep behavior of red-bed soft-rock weak interlayers.