Effect of Block Size and Joint Geometry on Jointed Rock Hydraulics and REV

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Abstract
The effect of joint geometry parameters and the size of jointed rock block on the hydraulic properties of jointed rock, including the equivalent continuum behavior, was investigated through numerical experimentation. The chance to reach equivalent continuum behavior for a rock mass having a certain joint configuration increases with the increase of block size. The REV (representative elementary volume) size to show hydraulic equivalent continuum behavior for a jointed rock system was found to depend on the orientation of the joint sets; the REV size seems to decrease with increasing joint density and joint size. The REV does not seem to exist for some rock masses having joint systems with low relative orientation angles (systems with two joint sets) and low densities. The average block permeability (K0) value at the REV size for a joint system increases with increase in joint size and joint density. The equivalent continuum behavior of a joint system can be expressed with respect to a cut-off value for th...

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