Abstract
The physical and chemical characteristics of water critically influence the mechanical and chemical breakdown of rocks. The physical properties of rocks, such as porosity (n), water content (wa), apparent specific gravity (Gs(A)), and dry and saturated densities (ρd, ρs, respectively), may be adversely affected by the acidity/alkalinity of water. This study aimed to investigate the variability of certain physical properties of carbonate rocks using the second-cycle slake durability index (second-cycle SDI, Id2) under acidic and alkali conditions. Laboratory SDI tests were conducted on 21 rock samples (seven from each of the Rus, Asmari, and Dammam carbonate rock formations) using slaking fluids with various pH levels, i.e., 2–14 (acidic to basic). Results show that the n and wa values were negatively correlated with pH for carbonate rocks from the Rus, Asmari, and Dammam Formations. However, the Gs(A), ρd, and ρs values of carbonate rocks from the Rus Formation showed decreasing trends with pH, whereas increasing trends were observed for the Asmari and Dammam Formations. This may have been either due to variations in the mineralogical and textural features of the carbonate rocks or chemical reactions with CaCO3 caused by the different pH levels of the slaking fluid, especially under acidic conditions. Such findings will likely improve our understanding of the durability of carbonate rocks in the study region and elsewhere.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Code availability
No specific software was used for this study.
References
Arman H, Abdelghany O, Hashem W, Aldahan A (2017) Effects of lithofacies and environment on in situ and laboratory Schmidt hammer tests: a case study of carbonate rocks. Q J Eng Geol Hydroge 50:179–186. https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2016-049
Arman H, Hussein S, Abouhaligah HEY, Osman M, Baloch MA, Hag DBA, Algaishi HAA (2019) Predicting weathering characteristics of carbonate rocks under different geo-environmental conditions. IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ Sci 362:012016. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/362/1/012016
ASTM D4644–16 (2016) Standard test method for slake durability of shales and other similar weak rocks, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA
ASTM D2216–98 (1999) Standard test method for laboratory determination of water (moisture) content of soil and rock by mass. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA
BS 812 1995 (2004) Testing aggregates-Part 2: Method of determination of density. British Standard Institute. pp 1–5
Dhakal G, Yoneda T, Kato M, Kaneko K (2002) Slake durability and mineralogical properties of some pryroclastic and sedimentary rocks. Eng Geol 65:31–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(01)00101-6
Dunham RJ (1962) Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional texture. In: Ham, W. E. (Eds.), Classification of carbonate rocks. AAPG Bulletin Memoir 1:108–121
Folk RL (1959) Practical petrographic classification of limestones. AAPG Bull 43:1–38. https://doi.org/10.1306/0BDA5C36-16BD-11D7-8645000102C1865D
Franklin JA, Chandra R (1972) The slake-durability test. Int J Rock Mech Min 9:325–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-9062(72)90001-0
Geological Map of Al Ain. Digital Map (2006) 1:100 000. United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy, Department of Geology and Mineral Resources.
Ghobadi MH, Momeni AA (2011) Assessment of granitic rocks degradability susceptive to acid solutions in urban area. Environ. Earth Sci 64:753–760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0895-6
Ghobadi MH, Mousavi S (2014) The effect of pH and salty solutions on durability of sandstones of Aghajari Formation in Khouzestan province, southwest of Iran. Arab J Geosci 7:641–653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-012-0741-0
Ghobadi MH, Kapelehe M (2017) The influence of pH of water and chemical composition on the durability of different rocks from Qom Formation, East and Northeast of Hamedan, Iran. J Eng Geol 10:3699–3718. https://doi.org/10.18869/acadpub.jeg.10.4.3699
Gupta V, Ahmed I (2007) The effect of pH of water and mineralogical properties on the slake durability (degradability) of different rock from the Lesser Himalaya, India. Eng Geol 95:79–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2007.09.004
Kamon M, Ying C, Katsumi T (1996) Effect of acid rain on lime and cement stabilized soil. Soils Found 36:91–96. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf.36.4_91
Kayabali K, Beyaz T, Kolay E (2006) The effect of the pH of the testing liquid on the slake durability of gypsum. Bull Eng Geol Environ 65:65–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-005-0027-9
Rodrigues JG (1991) Physical characterization and assessment of rock durability through index properties. In: das Neves E.M. (Eds.), Advances in Rockfill Structures. NATO ASI Series (Series E: Applied Sciences) 200:7–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3206-0_2
Singh TN, Singh SK, Misra A, Singh PK, Singh VK (1999) Effect of acidic water on physico-mechanical behavior of rock. Indian J Eng Mater Sci 6:66–72. http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/21983
Singh TN, Sharma PK, Khandelwal M (2007) Effect of pH on the physico-mechanical properties of marble. Bull Eng Geol Environ 66:81–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-006-0047-0
Sunil BM, Nayak S, Shrihari S (2006) Effect of pH on the geotechnical properties of laterite. Eng Geol 85:197–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2005.09.039
Yagiz S (2010) Geomechanical properties of construction stones quarried in Southwestern Turkey. Sci Res Essays 5:750–757. https://doi.org/10.5897/SRE.9000526
Yagiz S (2011) Correlation between slake durability and rock properties for some carbonate rock. Bull Eng Geol Environ 70:377–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-010-0317-8
Yagiz S (2018) The effect of pH of the testing liquid on the degradability of carbonate rocks. Geotech Geol Eng 36:2351–2363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-018-0467-1
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Dr. Saber Hussein, Dr. Osman Abdelghany, Dr. Mahmoud Abu Saima, and Dr. Baha Al-deen for their involvement in the preparation of slake fluid, mineralogical, and textural characterizations of rock samples. Further, I would like to express special appreciation for our technicians, research assistants, and undergraduate students who participated in the different stages of this study and Enago (www.enago.com) for the English language review.
Funding
This work was supported by a grant from the United Arab Emirates University, Research Affairs, under the title of SUREPLUS 2018–2019 Program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
This is a single author paper. Moreover, the author already listed appreciated names for their valuable insights, interpretations, comments, etc. for this manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arman, H. Effects of Slaking fluid pH on the Index Properties of Carbonate Rocks. Geotech Geol Eng 39, 5843–5855 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-021-01870-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-021-01870-4