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Environmental and Engineering Geoscience

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A Laboratory Investigation of the Effects of Cyclic Heating and Cooling, Wetting and Drying, and Freezing and Thawing on the Compressive Strength of Selected Sandstones

¹ Gannett Fleming, Inc., Foster Plaza III, Suite 200, 601 Holiday Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15220
² Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242

Six different sandstones were studied to investigate and quantify the effects of heating and cooling, wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing (climatic changes) on their unconfined compressive strength values. The unconfined compressive strength was measured on NX-size (54-mm) core samples after subjecting them to 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 cycles of heating and cooling, wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing treatments. Results indicated that neither heating and cooling nor wetting and drying reduced the strength of the sandstones tested by any significant amount, but freezing and thawing did significantly diminish the strength of at least three of the six sandstones. The results also indicated that there is a range of porosity values (2 to 7 percent) over which significant deterioration occurs during multiple freeze-thaw cycles.

Key Words: Heating and Cooling • Wetting and Drying • Freezing and Thawing • Sandstone • Durability • Unconfined Compressive Strength