Numerical Simulation on Propagation of a Ubiquitiform Crack in Rock Materials

Abstract

In this paper, quasi-static crack propagation in the rock materials is modelled using the extended element method (X-FEM). In the proposed model, the heterogeneity of material properties was characterized by the Weibull distribution. The complexity of the ubiquitiformal crack can then be determined by the box counting dimension. A ubiquitiformal fracture surface which is resulted from the heterogeneity of the material properties is obtained, which is more consistent with experimental result than the fracture surface obtained in the homogenous materials. Moreover, the calculated numerical result of the complexity is found to be in good agreement with previous experimental data.