Quantifying the Mechanical Properties of White Sandstone Based on Computer Fractal Theory.

The work presented in this paper was conducted to quantify the relationship between the pore characteristics and mechanical properties of white sandstone. The study include tests carried out under the coupling effects of chemical corrosion, temperature, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mechanical tests. Computer fractal theory was employed to describe and quantify the characteristics of the growth of pores in white sandstone under the same coupling effect. A custom developed program code, in the MATLAB software platform, was used for calculating the growths of the pores in white sandstone when subjected to coupling effects. The correlation between the computer fractal dimension of the growth of the pores in rock and characteristics of mechanical damage was accordingly analyzed. The results showed that when the temperature was set at a level lower than 100°C, it caused damage to the rock and strength reduction, primarily due to the rates of chemical reactions, the generation, and evolution of pores in the rock mass under the coupling effects of chemical corrosion and temperature. Overall, it was observed that the higher the value of the computer fractal dimension, the higher the growth of the pores, and the lower the uniaxial compressive strength of the white sandstone.