Developing a Discrete Fracture Network through Applying Roughness for Simulating Discontinuities Properties of Rock Mass

Accurate simulation of geometrical properties of fractures is an important goal in rock engineering. One of the most capable methods for simulating the random nature of geometrical properties of fractures is Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) random modelling, which presents the heterogeneous nature of fractured rock mass with statistically defined geometrical properties. Up to now, all properties of fractures such as location, shape, orientation, size (persistence), spacing, and opening of joints have been simulated and applied in 3D DFN modelling. In this research, a statistical solution based on Kernel’s non-parametric distribution is used for simulating roughness. Through this method, even those geometric properties of fractures which do not have their own specific distribution functions can be simulated. After simulating the roughness value, the roughness geometry should also be simulated in a way that evokes the roughness value. Therefore, in order to simulate the surface of fractures in this research, the DRS method is applied in 2D and then, developed into 3D. At the end, simulation of discontinuity’s roughness is added as a separate package to DFN-FRAC3D computer program. DFN-FRAC3D computer program, as one of the most capable tools in this field, is able to develop a 3D fracture network block model by using the surveyed data and then simulating geometrical properties of the fracture; thus, by applying the results of this research in this compute software, all geometrical properties of fractures can be simulated. Finally, in order to explain the results of this research, outcomes of DFN-FRAC3D computer program for both with and without applying the roughness property on DFN are compared.