Chemical characteristics of saturated loose rocks in Badong, Three Gorges reservoir

摘要

Landslides comprised of loose rock are widely distributed in Badong area of the Three Gorges reservoir. Much research about mechanical effects of water-rock interaction had been done, while the geochemical reactions are generally ignored. To investigate the geochemical characteristics, experiments on the interaction between loose rocks and water were carried out by sampling soil from the Zhaoshuling landslide and water in the Three Gorges reservoir area. In this paper, the concentration of anions and cations in water mixed with soil samples and the composition, as well as microscopic structure of soil samples in different water-saturated mixtures have been studied. The concentration of anions and cations varied markedly while the soil elemental content was essentially unchanged. The SEMs showed that the saturated soil microstructure had obviously changed. These results implied that the structure of saturated soil had been destroyed due to several geochemical reactions including hydration, ions exchange and corrosion.