Abstract
Stress concentration occurs owing to the presence of cracks and sharp corners, causing rock failures; even the intact rock has a very high strength. Inglis and Griffith theories are introduced to study the stress and displacement relationships when fractures exist in the rock. Stress distributions around the fracture tips in three fracture modes are introduced. The stresses and fracture intensity factors in an inclined fracture under anisotropic far-field stresses are also discussed, which may be applicable for inclined wellbore and hydraulic fracturing problems. Sneddon's solutions of fracture widths in both 2-D and 3-D conditions are discussed, which can be applied to hydraulic fracturing modeling and wellbore strengthening design. Fracture propagation in rock is characterized by the generation of microcracks around the crack tip, i.e., an inelastic zone or the fracture process zone is formed. This zone is examined using fracture mechanics theory. The mechanical properties and stress-deformation behaviors in fractured rock mass are also discussed.
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