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Adelaide Research and Scholarship
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Schools and Disciplines
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School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering
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Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications
Permanent link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/36295
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| Type: | Article |
| Title: | A connectivity index for discrete fracture networks |
| Author: | Xu, Chaoshui
Dowd, Peter Alan
Mardia, K. V.
Fowell, Robert J. |
| Citation: | Mathematical Geology, 2006; 38 (5):611-634 |
| Publisher: | Kluwer Academic/Plenum |
| Issue Date: | 2006 |
| ISSN: | 0882-8121 |
| School/Discipline: | School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering |
Statement of
Responsibility: | C. Xu, P. A. Dowd, K. V. Mardia and R. J. Fowell |
| Abstract: | Connectivity is an important measure for assessing flow transport in rock, especially through fractures. In this paper, rock fracture systems are modelled by a discrete fracture model simulated by a marked point process. A connectivity index is then introduced to quantify the connectivity between any two points in space. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the connectivity index for stationary cases and relationships between the connectivity index and the parameters of the discrete fracture model are analysed. The average number of intersections per fracture, Xf, and the fracture intensity, P12 (P32), are calculated and the relationships between these parameters and the connectivity index are investigated, concluding that Xf is the more suitable parameter for the classification of rock mass flow properties. The relationships between the connectivity index and the percolation state of the fractured medium are also discussed. An edge correction is briefly discussed and a practical example is used to demonstrate the method of computing the connectivity index. |
| Keywords: | Connectivity index ; marked point process ; discrete fracture model ; rock fracture system ; rock mass flow property classification ; percolation |
| RMID: | 0020062146 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11004-006-9029-9 |
| Published version: | http://www.springerlink.com/content/l6682772173j417g/ |
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| Appears in Collections: | Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications
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