Modelling dynamic fracture propagation in rock

Authors

Gaetano Venticinque, University of WollongongFollow
Jan Nemcik, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

115370

Publication Details

Venticinque, G. & Nemcik, J. (2017). Modelling dynamic fracture propagation in rock. Procedia Engineering, 191 1185-1193. Ostrava, Czech Republic ISRM European Rock Mechanics Symposium EUROCK 2017

Abstract

Fracture propagation in brittle rock is very fast and highly dynamic. Typically this process consists of fracture initiation, propagation and termination. Growth of micro-fractures is conceptually and numerically well established, however, current practices to model fracture propagation in rock employs slow evolving static regimes that do not represent the true nature of fracture propagation in the laboratory or the field. This paper presents a newly developed numerical approach using Micro-Brittle Dynamics theory to model the propagation of fractures through rock in real time. This work presented here is based on a newly developed Dynamic Rock Fracture Model (DRFM^2D ) and validated against laboratory experiments.