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

• DOI: 10.1007/s10064-018-1411-6
• Publication Date: 2018-11-16T09:21:56Z
• Authors: Fugang Wang; Yanjie Zhao; Chuang Li; Cangsong Li; Tianshan Lan; Shifei Ping; Yuqing Cao
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

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.