Effect of Cyclic Freeze–Thaw Treatments on Progressive Failure Characteristics and Local Damage of Granite

ABSTRACT Rock deterioration induced by freeze–thaw (FT) weathering threatens the stability and safety of rock engineering in cold areas. To investigate the effect of cyclic FT treatments on progressive failure characteristics and damage evolution of rocks, the uniaxial compression test and digital image correlation technology were conducted on granite specimens treated with different FT cycles. Results indicate that with increasing FT cycles, the characteristic stresses decrease linearly to varying degrees. The progressive failure process is accompanied by the change in the distribution characteristics of full‐field strains and the development of local damage. The skewness and kurtosis of strain distribution curves decrease gradually with increasing stress levels and decreasing FT cycles, while the shape is always right‐skewed and steep. Furthermore, the local damage development is progressively improved during loading, exhibiting the enhancements of severity and linearity. Additionally, the cyclic FT treatments exert a promoting effect on the local damage development. The increased FT cycles expand the strain difference and weaken the material stiffness, resulting in a higher level of local damage development.