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Detailed Reference Information
Wang et al. 1988
Wang, J.S.Y., Narasimhan, T.N. and Scholz, C.H. (1988). Aperture correlation of a fractal fracture. Journal of Geophysical Research 93: doi: 10.1029/88JB01279. issn: 0148-0227.

A rough-walled facture is modeled by fractal geometry. In the fractal fracture model, the rock surfaces are characterized by a fractal dimension D between 2 and 3, with lower D for smoother surfaces and higher D for rougher surfaces. The mismatch due to shear displacement between two mirror-image fractal surfaces determines the fracture aperture distribution. An analytic equation is derived for the varioram &ggr;f(r) describing the spatial correlation of the aperture of a fractal fracture. The aperture of a smooth fracture with low D is highly correlated over distances much larger than the shear displacement. The aperture of a rough fracture with high D becomes uncorrelated within a range shorter than the shear displacement. Near the origin, r=0, of the variogram, the variogram is proportional to r6-2D. For the special case of Brownian fractal with D=2.5, the variogram is proportional to r, which is the same r dependence exhibited by the spherical model widely used in geostatistical analyses. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Physical Properties of Rocks, Fracture and flow, Hydrology, Stochastic processes, Physical Properties of Rocks, Permeability and porosity
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
http://www.agu.org/journals/jb/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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