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Characterization Of Fractures Subjected To Normal And Shear Stress, Min-Kwang Choi

Open Access Dissertations

Results from a series of laboratory experiments to determine fracture specific stiffness, for a fracture subjected to shear and normal stress, are presented and analyzed. The experimental work focuses on the determination of relations between normal and shear fracture specific stiffness and between spatial distribution of fracture specific stiffness and fluid flow through the fracture

The ratio of shear to normal fracture specific stiffness is experimentally investigated on a fracture subjected to shear as well as normal stress. Synthetic fractures made of gypsum and lucite were prepared with different fracture surface conditions: either well-mated or non-mated. For well-mated fracture surfaces, …