Publications related to Weathering

Water weakening and the compressive brittle strength of carbonates: Influence of fracture toughness and static friction

Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Corentin Jean-Marie Rémi Noël, Barnaby Padraig Fryer

Water is ubiquitous within the pore space of rocks and has been shown to affect their physical and mechanical behaviour. Indeed, water can act on the rock strength via mechanical (i.e., reducing the effective stresses) or chemical effects (e.g., mineral di ...

2024

Durability Challenges of Low-Grade Calcined Clay Opposed to High-Volume Fly Ash in General Purpose Concrete

Karen Scrivener, Matea Flegar

With the decrease in availability of common supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash in Europe, the search for appropriate SCMs should be dealt with locally. A com-bination of abundant low-grade calcined clay and limestone powder has pro ...

AMER SOC TESTING MATERIALS2023

Investigation of the effect of mineral dissolution on the geomechanical behaviour of geomaterials

Taeheon Kim

Geotechnical engineering scenarios engaged in internal erosion or mineral dissolution were found worldwide, from CO2 sequestration projects to internal erosion of earth dams. Materials subjected to loss of solid phase from their internal fabric vary from s ...

EPFL2022

Two-dimensional atomically bridged nanoporous silicate-based membranes for gas separation

Mostapha Dakhchoune

The synthesis of molecular-sieving two-dimensional zeolitic membranes by the assembly of crystalline building blocks without resorting to the secondary growth process is highly desirable. The precise pore size for molecular sieving, ultrathin thickness, an ...

EPFL2021

Improving the Accuracy of Fracture Toughness Measurement in Burst Experiments

Guanyi Lu, Yixuan Zhang

Experimental studies suggest that the fracture toughness of rocks increases with the confining pressure. Among many methods to quantify this dependency, a so-called burst experiment (Abou-Sayed, 1978) may be the most widely applied in practice. Its thick w ...

SPRINGER WIEN2022

Effect of different ions on dissolution rates of silica and feldspars at high pH

Karen Scrivener, Barbara Lothenbach, Mahsa Bagheri, Mahdieh Shakoorioskooie

The dissolution kinetics of silica-containing minerals in aggregates influences strongly the process of ASR in concrete. In this paper, the effect of different ions on the dissolution rates of SiO2 (amorphous and quartz) and feldspars at high pH values was ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2022

Aggregate dissolution in different pore solutions

Mahsa Bagheri

The occurrence of cracking due to alkali silica reaction (ASR) affects the service life of concrete structures. The dissolution of silica-containing minerals within aggregates causes the formation of ASR products, which fill macroscopic cracks and cause th ...

EPFL2021

Inorganic and Metal-Organic Heterogeneous Catalysts for Hydrogen Energy Applications

Fatma Pelin Uran

The main focus of this thesis is the exploration of inorganic and metal-organic heterogeneous catalysts for hydrogen (H2) energy applications. In particular, we investigated metal nanoparticles (NPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for their employment ...

EPFL2021

Dissolved major and trace geochemical dynamics in Antarctic lacustrine systems

Tyler Joe Kohler

Clearwater Mesa Uames Ross Island, northeast Antarctic Peninsula) provides a unique opportunity to study solute dynamics and geochemical weathering in the pristine lacustrine systems of a high latitude environment. In order to determine major controls on t ...

Elsevier2020

A new data set of granitic rock strength values from Yosemite Valley, California: applications to rock fall assessment

To explore connections between rock strength and rock falls, we undertook a comprehensive rock mechanics testing program for six granitic rock types in Yosemite Valley (California, USA) where rock falls are a common geomorphic and sometimes hazardous proce ...

2020

Increasing the kaolinite content of raw clays using particle classification techniques for use as supplementary cementitious materials

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

The adoption of blended cements to reduce the carbon footprint has increased significantly over the last decades. Clays containing kaolinite are a promising choice due to their widespread availability. Kaolinite content is the major factor controlling the ...

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2020

Investigation of subglacial weathering under the Greenland Ice Sheet using silicon isotopes

Tyler Joe Kohler

Subglacial chemical weathering plays a key role in global silicate weathering budgets, contributing to the cycling of silicon (Si) in terrestrial and marine systems and the potential drawdown of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Here, we use data from tw ...

2019

Hydro-mechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale: dependency on composition and burial depth

Eleonora Crisci

Shales are sedimentary formation currently studied for their involvement in many geo-energy related applications, such as radioactive waste disposal, CO2 sequestration, oil and gas extraction. In Switzerland the Opalinus Clay shale has been selected has ho ...

EPFL2019

Shock-produced high-pressure (La, Ce, Th)PO4 polymorph revealed by microstructural phase heritage of monazite

Cyril Cayron

The responses of uranium-bearing accessory minerals to shock metamorphism have received growing interest, because under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, these phases can form unique microstructures and/or polymorphs and their radiometric ages c ...

GEOLOGICAL SOC AMER, INC2019

Phyllomanganate vein-infillings in faulted and Al-poor regoliths of the New Caledonian ophiolite: periodic and sequential crystallization of Ni-asbolane, Alk-birnessite and H-birnessite

Gabrielle Dublet

Mineralogy, chemistry and spatial distribution of phyllomanganates, found in abundance at the bottom of thick Ni-laterite deposits, were established on dislocated vein-infillings showing banded and fibrous patterns (i.e. colloforms with rows of tiny boxwor ...

2019

Mineral equilibria and thermodynamic uncertainties in the geothermometrical characterisation of carbonate geothermal systems of low temperature. The case of the Alhama-Jaraba system (Spain)

Javier Reguera Gomez, Maria Pilar Asta Andres

Geothermometrical characterisation of low-temperature, carbonate-evaporitic geothermal systems is usually hampered by the lack of appropriate mineral equilibria to successfully use most of the classical geothermometers and/or by the thermodynamic uncertain ...

2019

Seismic Dispersion and Attenuation in Fluid-Saturated Carbonate Rocks: Effect of Microstructure and Pressure

Lucas Xan Pimienta

The frequency dependence of seismic properties of fully saturated rocks can be related to wave-induced fluid flows at different scales. The elastic dispersion and attenuation of four fluid-saturated carbonate rocks, with different microstructures, have bee ...

2019

Dissolution-reprecipitation reaction of dolomite: investigation of self- and tracer-diffusion using SIMS mini-spot and NanoSIMS profiles

Anders Meibom, Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Lukas Baumgartner

Recrystallization of minerals due to fluid infiltration modifies their original chemical and isotopic signature. Such processes are sought after as they give access to timescales of geologic processes, which are commonly quantified using diffusion chronome ...

2019

Reactivity and Performance of Limestone Calcined-Clay Cement (LC3) Cured at Low Temperature

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Limestone calcined-clay cements (LC3) take advantage of the synergetic effects of calcium carbonate reaction with the additional aluminium provided by the calcined clay. As temperature decreases, calcium carbonate solubility increase, therefore, the early- ...

SPRINGER2018

Anomalous Vp/Vs ratios at seismic frequencies might evidence highly damaged rocks in subduction zones

Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Lucas Xan Pimienta

Unusually high compressional (P) to shear (S) wave velocity ratios (V-p/V-s) were measured at different subduction zones and interpreted as fluid-pressurized regions. Because no laboratory data reported such high values in isotropic rocks, mineralogical or ...

2018