FRACTAL PROPERTIES OF ROCK FRACTURE SURFACES

To give a better understanding of the morphological features of rock fracture surfaces within the framework of fractal geometry, the fractal characters of the rough surfaces in“ rock are analyzed according to the variogram method. The study elaborates the significance of the geometric parameters-fractal dimension D and the intercept A on a log-log plot to the surface structure. Investigation extends to the anisotropy and heterogeneity of rock fracture surfaces, and the scale effect on the fractal estimation. The present study indicates that fractal dimension alone may not be sufficient to characterize the surface roughness of rock joints. A reliable estimation should take into account the combination of D and A.