Along with horizontal drilling techniques, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing has improved shale
gas production significantly in past decades. In order to understand the mechanism of …

The purpose of this paper is to review the development and the state of the art in desiccation
cracking characterization methods and review the desiccation cracking behaviors of soils …

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 …

Under extreme climate conditions, clayey soils experience not only seasonal drying and
wetting but also frequent freezing and thawing. Cracking would also occur in clayey soils …

This paper presents the lattice element models, as a class of discrete models, in which the
structural solid is represented as an assembly of one-dimensional elements. This idea …

Phase-field modeling has already proved to be a suitable framework to predict the initiation
and propagation of drying cracks in variably saturated porous media. In this paper, we focus …

Original vertical joints (OVJs), which are highly correlated with loess anisotropy, have been
considered a non-tectonic source of extensive erosion, gully development, and landform …

Rock fractures are crucial conduits for fluid flow in fractured rock masses. Three-dimensional
(3D) discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling approach, which can explicitly characterize …

In this work, porosity-property relationships of quasi-brittle materials are explored through a
combined experimental and numerical approach. In the experimental part, hemihyrate …

This paper presents a numerical study on the desiccation cracking process of clayey soil.
The initiation and propagation of cracks were investigated using finite element code …