Influence of Different Humidity Environments on the Rock Weathering

Purpose In humid and hot regions of geologic disaster frequently happens, most of the landslides and other geological disasters are often associated with rocks weathering. In order to study the effects of different humidity conditions on rock weathering, the diffusion of water gas molecules in basalt was studied in this paper.

Method Under the condition of normal temperature, it is assumed that only until the concentration of water molecules in the rock reaches the value of water molecular storage for rock weathering, can the rocks begin to weather. Numerical simulation analysis was carried out of the diffusion of water vapor molecules in the rock during the process of rock weathering in different humidity environments.

Result The numerical simulation results showed that the higher the relative humidity was, the faster the weathering rate of the rock was. In the course of ideal weathering process, the weathering rate decreased firstly and then increased later. Under the low humidity conditions, the weathering rate was mainly controlled by the actual water pressure. And under the condition of high humidity conditions, it was mainly controlled by the concentration gradient.

Conclusion The research results have certain practical significance for geological disasters such as rock collapse and landslide and engineering problems.