Deterioration Regularity of Sodium Sulfate Solution Attack on Cemented Coal Gangue-Fly Ash Backfill under Drying-Wetting Cycles

To research the properties of cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill (CGFB) exposed to different concentrations of sodium sulfate solutions under drying-wetting cycles, the mass changes, uniaxial compressive strengths, sulfate ion contents at different depths, and microstructures of CGFB samples were measured in this study. The results show that the CGFB samples were damaged by salt crystallization in the dry state and attacked by the expansive products in the wet state. The sulfate ion contents in CGFB samples increased with the sulfate concentrations and drying-wetting cycles and decreased from the surface to the inside of the samples. The damage process of CGFB samples evolved from the surface to the inside. In the early stage of corrosion, sulfate ions adsorbed to the surface of CGFB samples and consumed nonhydrated particles to form acicular ettringite and other products that filled the material pores. For this stage, the driving force of sulfate ions to enter into the CGFB samples was the highest for the samples immersed in 15% sodium sulfate solution, and the masses and strengths increased the fastest. As the drying-wetting cycles continued, the nonhydrated particles inside the samples were nearly completely hydrated, and the samples were constantly damaged by salt crystallization and dissolution. The corrosion ions entered into the samples and consumed portlandite to produce a large amount of prismatic ettringite and aggravated the internal corrosion of CGFB samples. At the fifteenth drying-wetting cycle, the higher the salt concentration of the immersion solution was, the faster the masses and the strengths of CGFB samples decreased. Moreover, the surface spalling and failure of CGFB samples were more severe.