Mechanical Properties and Damage Constitutive Model of Saturated Sandstone Under Freeze-Thaw Action

In order to investigate the impact of freeze-thaw damage on sandstone under the coupling of ground stress and pore water pressure, three types of porous sandstone were subjected to freezing at different negative temperatures (-5 °C, -10 °C, -15 °C, and -20 °C). Subsequently, hydraulic coupling triaxial compression tests were conducted on the frozen and thawed sandstone. We analyzed the effects of porosity and freezing temperature on the mechanical properties of sandstone under hydraulic coupling and performed nuclear magnetic resonance tests on sandstone samples before and after freezing and thawing. The evolution of the pore structure in sandstone at various freezing and thawing stages was studied, and a statistical damage constitutive model was established to validate the test results. The results indicate that the stress-strain curves of sandstone samples under triaxial compression after a freeze-thaw cycle exhibit minimal changes compared to those without freezing at normal temperature. The peak deviator stress shows a decreasing trend with decreasing freezing temperature, particularly between -5 °C and -10 °C, and then gradually stabilizes. The elastic modulus of sandstone with different porosity decreases with the decrease in freezing temperature, and the decrease is more obvious in the range of -5 °C~-10 °C, decreasing by 2.33%, 6.11%, and 10.5%, respectively. Below -10 °C, the elastic modulus becomes similar to that at -10 °C, and the change tends to stabilize. The nuclear magnetic porosity of sandstone samples significantly increases after freezing and thawing. The smaller the initial porosity, the greater the rate of change in nuclear magnetic porosity after a freeze-thaw cycle. The effects of freeze-thaw damage on the T2 distribution of sandstone with different porosity levels vary. We established a statistical damage constitutive model considering the combined effects of freeze-thaw damage, ground stress, and pore water pressure. The compaction coefficient K was introduced into the constitutive model for optimization. The change trend of the theoretical curve closely aligns with that of the test curve, better characterizing the stress-strain relationship of sandstone under complex pressure environments. The research findings can provide a scientific basis for wellbore wall design and subsequent maintenance in complex environments.