Reconstruction and Sampling Analysis of Parent Fracture Group in Underground Mining

The size of a fracture within a rock mass can be obtained using borehole sampling data or exposed surfaces. This paper aims at building a method to estimate the fracture size, without the presupposed size distribution, based on full three-dimensional geometric parameters (shape, orientation and position). In this study, the rock fracture was considered as an elliptical plane, and each set of fractures had the same aspect ratio. The statistical parameters of fracture size were derived, from sample (sub fracture group) to population (parent fracture group), based on multiple borehole samples. Parent fracture group simulations were realized using MATLAB, and the codes were designed by the authors. Moreover, in-situ time domain electromagnetic methods (TEM) and borehole induced polarization methods (BPM) were used to validate the Monte Carlo simulation. The results revealed that the statistical rules of Monte Carlo simulation of the parent fracture group are similar to those of the in-situ detection.

Automated summary

This paper presents a method to estimate the size of fractures within a rock mass using three-dimensional geometric parameters and statistical analysis. Results show that the Monte Carlo simulation of fracture groups is consistent with in-situ detection methods.