Study on the process of mass transfer and deterioration of limestone under dynamic dissolution of CO2 solution

Abstract The long-term erosion of rock by solution can induce a series of karst problems. Therefore, this study focused on limestone and conducted dynamic dissolution experiments under deionized water and CO2 solution conditions to study the deterioration mechanism of limestone under nonequilibrium conditions. The results showed that the degree of degradation of the mechanical properties of the samples in a CO2 solution was obviously greater. In a deionized water environment, the degradation of the mechanical properties of the sample is mainly controlled by the physical softening action of the solution. In the CO2 solution environment, the degradation process can be divided into two stages. In the early stage of the experiment (10 days to 20 days), the degradation of mechanical properties of the sample is also controlled by the physical softening action of the solution. With increasing soaking time, the main rock-forming minerals of limestone gradually react with the CO2 solution, the degradation of the sample is controlled mainly by the chemical corrosion of the CO2 solution, and its degradation rate is much greater than that of physical softening. The results can be used as a reference for assessing the long-term stability of underground engineering in limestone karst development areas.