Rocks

A fully funded PhD position is immediately available in the area of multi-scale modeling of geomaterials within the research project "Failure of cohesive geomaterials: bridging the scales - GEOBRIDGE" at Laboratoire Sols, Solides, Structures - Risques (3S-R), Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France.

As you know, the volumetric expansion by 9% during the water-to-ice transition can generate tremendous pressure in a confined space is a common sense. As a result, one may expect freezing water to also fracture rocks.

However, in a recent article in Science, Bernard Hallet explains the power of the 9% water-to-ice expansion in confined spaces is undeniable, but it may rarely be significant for rocks under natural conditions, because it requires a tight orchestration of unusual conditions. Unless the rocks are essentially saturated with water and frozen from all sides, the expansion can simply be accommodated by the flow of water into empty pores, or out of the rock through its unfrozen side.

I think it may be of interest to mechanics. Read more
I hope to hear opinions from people who know about the breaking mechanics of rocks.