Development of an improved three-dimensional rough discrete fracture network model: Method and application

Abstract

Structure plane is one of the important factors affecting the stability and failure mode of rock mass engineering. Rock mass structure characterization is the basic work of rock mechanics research and the important content of numerical simulation. A new 3-dimensional rough discrete fracture network (RDFN3D) model and its modeling method based on the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot (W-M) function were presented in this paper. The RDFN3D model, which improves and unifies the modelling methods for the complex structural planes, has been realized. The influence of fractal dimension, amplitude, and surface precision on the modeling parameters of RDFN3D was discussed. The reasonable W-M parameters suitable for the roughness coefficient of JRC were proposed, and the relationship between the mathematical model and the joint characterization was established. The RDFN3D together with the smooth 3-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN3D) models were successfully exported to the drawing exchange format, which will provide a wide application in numerous numerical simulation codes including both the continuous and discontinuous methods. The numerical models were discussed using the COMSOL Multiphysics code and the 3-dimensional particle flow code, respectively. The reliability of the RDFN3D model was preliminarily discussed and analyzed. The roughness and spatial connectivity of the fracture networks have a dominant effect on the fluid flow patterns. The research results can provide a new geological model and analysis model for numerical simulation and engineering analysis of jointed rock mass.