Environmentally enhanced crack propagation in a chemically degrading isotropic shale

Crack propagation is studied in a geomaterial subject to weakening by the presence of water, which dissolves a mineral component. Such weakening is common when tensile microcracks develop, constituting sites of enhanced mineral dissolution. A previous concept is adopted of reactive chemo-plasticity, with the yield limit depending on the mineral mass dissolved, causing chemical softening. The dissolution is described by a rate equation and is a...