AUTHOR=Hope Sigmund M., Davy Philippe , Maillot Julien , Le Goc Romain , Hansen Alex TITLE=Topological impact of constrained fracture growth JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics VOLUME=3 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2015.00075 DOI=10.3389/fphy.2015.00075 ISSN=2296-424X ABSTRACT=

The topology of two discrete fracture network models is compared to investigate the impact of constrained fracture growth. In the Poissonian discrete fracture network model the fractures are assigned length, position and orientation independent of all other fractures, while in the mechanical discrete fracture network model the fractures grow and the growth can be limited by the presence of other fractures. The topology is found to be impacted by both the choice of model, as well as the choice of rules for the mechanical model. A significant difference is the degree mixing. In two dimensions the Poissonian model results in assortative networks, while the mechanical model results in disassortative networks. In three dimensions both models produce disassortative networks, but the disassortative mixing is strongest for the mechanical model.