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SELF-AFFINE ROCK JOINT PROFILES
Abstract
The two-dimensional profile curves created by Barton are often used in geotechnics for the determination of the rock joint coefficients. These two-dimensional profiles of solid surfaces show self-affine properties, i.e. they are scaled differently in x- and y- directions. Similarly, the three-dimensional reliefs (3D) of solid surfaces are scaled differently in z-direction in comparison to x- or y-directions. Therefore, the vertical sections of surface reliefs (two-dimensional profiles) are self-affine curve (self-affine fractals) whereas the horizontal sections (horizontal contours) correspond to self-similar fractals. The two-dimensional self-affine profiles require a special treatment when their fractal dimensions are computed. Many papers devoted to the fractal properties of these profiles were published in the past but only a few of those papers employed a convenient computational method that would have guaranteed a sound value of that dimension. As a consequence, anomalously low dimensions were presented. This paper briefly describes one of the possible way of performing fractal analysis of the 2D self-affine profiles of rock joints whose fractal dimensions are occasionally used for classification of joint rock coefficients. These coefficients enters the formula of shear strength of inclined rock joints and in this way they assist to evaluate mechanical stability of rocky terrains.
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References7
Barton N., Review of a new shear strength criterion for rock joints. Eng. Geol., vol. 7, pp 87–332, 1973.
Barton N., Choubey V., The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice. Rock. Mech., vol. 10, pp 1–65, 1977.
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Malinverno A., A simple method to estimate fractal dimension of a self-affine series, Geophys. Res. Lett., vol. 17, pp. 1953-1956, 1990.
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