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An experimental study on the corrosion characteristics of the karst tunnel engineering area in Southwest China

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Abstract

The construction and protection of tunnels in karst areas face many difficulties and challenges. The Wulong tunnel, which is located in a karst area in Southwest China, was s elected as an case study to analyze and evaluate the corrosion of tunnel rock under different environmental conditions. A series of field and laboratory experiments aimed at studying the impact of temperature and flow rate on tunnel rock corrosion was conducted, and the results were analyzed in terms of total corrosion amount, corrosion rate, and the features and mechanisms of the chemical and physical corrosion processes. The key factors affecting the chemical and physical corrosion processes were also determined. A mathematical expression for the corrosion rate as a function of the flow rate and temperature was constructed from the experimental results, and this mathematical model was then used to analyze tunnel rock corrosion under field environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the China Geological Survey Project (No. DD20189504-18-4;DD20160229-w03;), by the Graduate Innovation Fund of Jilin University (No. 2017148) and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41372334). The paper also supported by Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Environment, Jilin University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China

    Fugang Wang, Yanjie Zhao, Chuang Li, Tianshan Lan, Shifei Ping & Yuqing Cao

  2. China Construction Water Affairs Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100070, China

    Yanjie Zhao

  3. China Railway Southwest Research Institute Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China

    Cangsong Li

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  1. Fugang Wang
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  2. Yanjie Zhao
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  3. Chuang Li
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  4. Cangsong Li
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  5. Tianshan Lan
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  7. Yuqing Cao
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Correspondence to Fugang Wang.

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Wang, F., Zhao, Y., Li, C. et al. An experimental study on the corrosion characteristics of the karst tunnel engineering area in Southwest China. Bull Eng Geol Environ 78, 4047–4061 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1411-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-018-1411-6

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