Effects of Cyclic Heating and Water Cooling on the Physical Characteristics of Granite

• Main Authors: Xiangchao Shi, Leiyu Gao, Jie Wu, Cheng Zhu, Shuai Chen, Xiao Zhuo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: granite; physical characteristics; cyclic; thermal treatment; water cooling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/9/2136

This paper aims to study the effect of cyclic heating and flowing-water cooling conditions on the physical properties of granite. Ultrasonic tests, gas measured porosity, permeability, and microscope observations were conducted on granite after thermal treatment. The results showed that the velocity of P- and S-waves decreased as the number of thermal cycles increased. The porosity increased with the number of the thermal cycles attained at 600 °C, while no apparent changes were observed at 200 and 400 °C. The permeability increased with the increasing number of thermal cycles. Furthermore, microscope observations showed that degradation of the granite after thermal treatment was attributed to a large network of microcracks induced by thermal stress. As the number of thermal cycles increased, the number of transgranular microcracks gradually increased, as well as their length and width. The quantification of microcracks from cast thin section (CTS) images supported the visual observation.