Statistical distribution of natural fractures and the possible physical generating mechanism

We have fitted field measurements of fracture spacings (from the vicinity of Lake Strom Thurmond, Georgia, U.S.A.) to the Weibull, Schuhmann and fractal distributions. The fracture spacings follow a fractal and Weibull distribution which implies that they were formed as a result of a repetitive fragmentation process. The limited variation of the fracture density with orientation in the study area suggests that the stress distribution generating these fractures may be uniform.

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