Linking the mechanical properties of frozen sandstone to phase composition of pore water measured by LF-NMR at subzero temperatures

Water-bearing porous rocks can be greatly strengthened by freezing; its microscopic mechanisms lie in how subzero temperature modifies pore structure but have not yet been clearly defined. In this study, we link the mechanical properties of frozen sandstone to phase composition of pore water (i.e., relative amount of unfrozen water and ice). Both the strength (uniaxial compressive strength and tensile strength) and the phase composition of pore...