The phenomenon of silting and spalling is very common during glutenite weathering in Maijishan grottoes. Previous studies have shown that the participation of salt greatly accelerates the weathering process of rock. In this paper

several sets of cylindrical specimens made of glutenite were used in two tests

namely capillary migration test and cycle degradation test. The migration patterns of sulfate in samples and the failure characteristics of the glutenite specimens were discussed. Based on the experimental data and theoretical analysis

the crystallization pressure in glutenite samples was calculated. This is an important parameter for judging the damage of glutenite caused by salt crystallization. The results show that: the crystallization of sodium sulfate caused substantial damage to glutenite; the migration of sulfate in glutenite had regularity; when the concentration of sodium sulfate solution was between 0.95 mol/L and 1.13 mol/L

the destruction of the conglomerate began. The theoretical maximum crystallization pressure could reach 33 MPa under the experimental conditions.