Since rock fracture is a key property for different rock engineering applications, rock fracture measurement is often carried out in classifying the rock mass. Most geo-mechanics models (e.g. finite element) are of the equivalent continuum type in which fractures are represented not individually, but by their influence on a large element of the rock mass. Elastic modulus, for example, is obtain...

three-dimensional surface geometry of rock discontinuities and its evolution with shearing are of great importance in understanding the deformability and hydro-mechanical behavior of rock masses. in the present research, surfaces of three natural rock fractures were digitized and studied before and after the direct shear test. the variography analysis of the surfaces indicated a strong non-line...

8 [1] In this paper we quantify the influence of geometry and 9 distribution of surface roughness to the directional 10 anisotropy of fluid flow and transport properties of a 11 single fracture. Roughness of fractures appears to have first 12 order control on how they behave mechanically and 13 hydraulically. We directly quantified the surface roughness 14 of a single fracture using high-resolu...

The irregular morphology of single rock fracture significantly influences subsurface fluid flow and gives rise to a complex and unsteady flow state that typically cannot be appropriately described using simple laws. Yet the fluid flow in rough fractures of underground rock is poorly understood. Here we present a numerical method and experimental measurements to probe the effect of fracture roug...

Based on the field measurements of the physical properties of fractured rocks, the anisotropic properties of hydraulic conductivity (HC) of the fractured rock aquifer can be assessed and presented using a tensor approach called hydraulic conductivity tensor. Three types of HC values, namely point value, axial value and flow direction one, are derived for their possible applications. The HC valu...

Using the lattice Boltzmann method, we study fluid flow in a two-dimensional (2D) model of fracture network of rock. Each fracture in a square network is represented by a 2D channel with rough, self-affine internal surfaces. Various parameters of the model, such as the connectivity and the apertures of the fractures, the roughness profile of their surface, as well as the Reynolds number for flo...

Seismic techniques, which are known as nondestructive geophysical methods, are commonly used by engineers working in various fields such as mining, civil, and geotechnical engineering. They are frequently employed to investigate certain properties of rocks. Ultrasonic measurements can be applied in various application areas such as rockbolt reinforcement1, blasting efficiencies in the rock mass...

High resolution measurements of fracture aperture of granite and sandstone rocks were performed using CAT scanner. The aperture distribution was statistically characterized for future experimental and numerical studies on single and multiphase flow and transport. The fracture aperture can be measured in-situ and nondestructively with CAT-scanning. The minimum pixel size is 0.27 x 0.27 mm, but f...

Fracture flow of two-phase mixtures is particularly applicable to the coal mining and coal bed methane projects in Australia. A one-dimensional steady-state pseudo-two-phase flow model is proposed for fractured rock. The model considers free flow of a compressible mixture of air and water in an inclined planar fracture and is based upon the conservation of momentum and the “cubic” law. The flow...