The competition between fracture nucleation, propagation, and coalescence in dry and water-saturated crystalline rock

McBeck, Jessica A.; Zhu, Wenlu; Renard, François

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021

Articles | Volume 12, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Thermo-hydro-mechanical–chemical (THMC) processes in natural...

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 2

Research article

|

16 Feb 2021

Research article |

| 16 Feb 2021

The competition between fracture nucleation, propagation, and coalescence in dry and water-saturated crystalline rock

Jessica A. McBeck, Wenlu Zhu, and François Renard

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-375-2021-supplement

Data sets

Critical evolution of damage towards system size failure in a crystalline rock Francois Renard https://doi.org/10.11582/2017.00025

Volumetric and shear processes in crystalline rock during the approach to faulting Francois Renard https://doi.org/10.11582/2018.00023

Short summary

The competing modes of fault network development, including nucleation, propagation, and coalescence, influence the localization and connectivity of fracture networks and are thus critical influences on permeability. We distinguish between these modes of fracture development using in situ X-ray tomography triaxial compression experiments on crystalline rocks. The results underscore the importance of confining stress (burial depth) and fluids on fault network development.