Application of geostatistical characteristics of rock mass fracture systems in 3D model generation

• Published in: International journal of rock mechanics and mining sciences (Oxford, England : 1997) Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 644 - 652
• Main Authors: Rafiee, A., Vinches, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2008; Elsevier Science; Pergamon and Elsevier
• Subjects: Applications; Applied geology; Applied sciences; Buildings. Public works; Computational Complexity; Computer Science; Earth Sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Geotechnics; Modeling and Simulation; Other Statistics; Sciences of the Universe; Soil mechanics. Rocks mechanics; Statistics; Three dimensional model; Rock mechanics; Fracture mechanics; Characteristics; Geostatistics; Rock mass; Application
• ISSN: 1365-1609; 1873-4545
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2007.09.009

The mechanical behaviour and the state of stability of a jointed rock mass depend on how the fracture systems were propagated in this medium. In fact, obtaining an accurate description of the fracture spatial distribution is one of the main problems to be solved in rock mass stability studies. The purpose of this paper is to apply the geostatistical method to find the spatial correlation between joint systems. Geostatistics enable us to quantify the spatial characteristics of fracture patterns, which can not be derived by ordinary statistical method or structural analysis. The combination of the traditional method used in structural analysis and of the geostatistical method is used in order to get a better insight into the fracture distribution in the rock mass. The results obtained, are then applied to generate 3D numerical jointed rock mass models.