We present a discussion of the state-of-the-art on the use of discrete fracture networks
(DFNs) for modelling geometrical characteristics, geomechanical evolution and …

Fracture pattern development has been a challenging area of research in the Earth sciences
for more than 100 years. Much has been learned about the spatial and temporal complexity …

The patterns of fractures in deformed rocks are rarely uniform or random. Fracture
orientations, sizes, and spatial distributions often exhibit some kind of order. In detail …

In two-dimensions, a fracture network consist of a system of branches and nodes that can be
used to define both geometrical features, such as length and orientation, and the …

Although permeability data for different gas shales have been reported previously and
attempts have been made to match permeability with empirical correlations, theoretical …

A major use of DFN models for industrial applications is to evaluate permeability and flow
structure in hardrock aquifers from geological observations of fracture networks. The …

We introduce new estimators for fracture trace intensity, trace density and mean trace length
that exploit the use of circles as efficient sampling tools. A fracture trace is the commonly …

The connectivity of a fracture network depends on both its geometry and topology, which
may be characterized in terms of the types of nodes and branches in the system. A number …

This paper presents an approach for estimating the intensity of discontinuities and
formulating intensity and orientation as a fracture tensor. Specifically the size distribution …

A synthetic rock mass (SRM) model coupling discrete fracture networks (DFNs) and a
discrete element grain-based model (DEM) is used to characterize the mechanical …