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Concept
Fracture (geology)
Summary
A fracture is any separation in a geologic formation, such as a joint or a fault that divides the rock into two or more pieces. A fracture will sometimes form a deep fissure or crevice in the rock. Fractures are commonly caused by stress exceeding the rock strength, causing the rock to lose cohesion along its weakest plane. Fractures can provide permeability for fluid movement, such as water or hydrocarbons. Highly fractured rocks can make good aquifers or hydrocarbon reservoirs, since they may possess both significant permeability and fracture porosity.
Fractures are forms of brittle deformation. There are two types of primary brittle deformation processes. Tensile fracturing results in joints. Shear fractures are the first initial breaks resulting from shear forces exceeding the cohesive strength in that plane.
After those two initial deformations, several other types of secondary brittle deformation can be observed, such as frictional sliding or cataclastic flow on reactivated joints or faults.
Most often, fracture profiles will look like either a blade, ellipsoid, or circle.
Fractures in rocks can be formed either due to compression or tension. Fractures due to compression include thrust faults. Fractures may also be a result from shear or tensile stress. Some of the primary mechanisms are discussed below.
First, there are three modes of fractures that occur (regardless of mechanism):
Mode I crack – Opening mode (a tensile stress normal to the plane of the crack)
Mode II crack – Sliding mode (a shear stress acting parallel to the plane of the crack and perpendicular to the crack front)
Mode III crack – Tearing mode (a shear stress acting parallel to the plane of the crack and parallel to the crack front)
For more information on this, see fracture mechanics.
Rocks contain many pre-existing cracks where development of tensile fracture, or Mode I fracture, may be examined.
The first form is in axial stretching. In this case a remote tensile stress, σn, is applied, allowing microcracks to open slightly throughout the tensile region.
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