Rock Mech. Rock Engng.

(2008) 41 (4), 587599

DOI 10.1007/s00603-006-0098-3
Printed in The Netherlands

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity

Networks
By

E. Hamdi
Unit
e de recherche Ing
enierie G
eotechnique, Ecole Nationale dIng
enieurs de Tunis, Tunisia
Received November 5, 2004; accepted March 9, 2006
Published online September 8, 2006 # Springer-Verlag 2006

Summary
Fractal descriptions have been proved to be a valuable tool in characterising irregular natural
shapes. In particular, the discontinuity network of a real rock mass shows such a property.
Therefore, the fractal geometry could help in describing the in situ state of the rock mass, which
is an important task to be conducted before the practical implementation of any project involving
rock mechanics problems. The present paper presents the results of an investigation conducted to
estimate the box-counting fractal dimension using 3D stochastic simulations of discontinuity networks generated by the SIMBLOC program. The first part presents the adopted algorithm whereas
the second part is devoted to the application of the algorithm to three quarry sites: Klinthagen
(Sweden), Eibenstein (Austria) and El Alto (Spain). The computed fractal dimension parameter is
used as a measure of the irregularity of the discontinuity network at each site and to assess the
differences between the three rock masses with regards to the discontinuity network density and
joint size distribution.
Keywords: Rock mass, 3D simulation, fractal geometry, limestone, amphibolite, Austria, Spain,
Sweden.

1. Introduction
Fractal geometry has shown a spectacular development in the last decades of the 20th
century, due to its ability to characterise the disordered state of any real object.
Mandelbrot (1982) was the first to use the word fractal to describe the irregular
nature of the geometry of real things. If an object could be divided into N(R) b subintervals, each one having a dimension R 1=b, then the fractal dimension is defined
by the so-called Hausdorff-Besicovitch law:
D

lnNR
:
ln1=R

588

E. Hamdi

This equation is equivalent to the power-law relation of the fractal distribution:

NR R
D :
Since this first definition was developed, several other fractal expressions have
been suggested to describe the irregularity of natural objects. Xie (1989) presented a
list of definitions from the literature of fractal geometry. Developments in the rock
mechanics field concerned the characterisation scale definition problem (micro, meso
and macro scales) and the method employed in performing this characterisation. This
leads to one or another definition of the fractal dimension. A bibliographic review of
the different theories presented in soil and rock mechanics research work was presented by Perfect (1997). Recent investigations deal with the use of the fractal geometry in rock damage and the establishment of behaviour models under static and
dynamic loads.
Carpinteri and Yang (1996) suggested a definition of the fractal dimension in order
to describe the size distribution of 2D cracks in a soft, damaged material. If we define
the cumulative probability for existing cracks longer than a1 by:
1
Pa1
pxdx;
a1

and if we choose as the probability density:

px kNx
N1 ;
then:
Pa1 ka1 N :
Carpinteri and Yang (1996) introduced the following fractal dimension:
D

N 2
;
N 1

N is always positive.
Three particular cases could be considered:
N ! 1 or D 1: this is the case of an ideally ordered material.
N 1 or D 1:5: this corresponds to the limit of self-similarity as defined by
Carpinteri (1994).
N ! 0 or D 2: this is the case of a completely disorganised material.
The variation of this fractal dimension during the loading and crack propagation
processes was monitored by Carpinteri and Yang (1996) in the case of a 2D crack network. Several numerical examples, corresponding to different initial crack densities and
crack size distributions were presented showing that the fractal dimension increases
with the development of the crack network.
Based on image analysis technique using SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscope),
Zhao (1998) analysed the development of microcracks in a marble sample submitted
to increasing stresses. He presented a constitutive fractal damage model of deformation and soft rupture. He calculated, in particular, the box-counting fractal dimension
of the cracks and monitored its variation as a function of the applied stress level applied

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

589

to the sample. He verified the model by applying it to a simple compression test

loading case.
Ehlen (2000) observed the stability of the fractal dimension of the discontinuity
network of a granite rock mass as a function of the number of necessary measurements. She concluded that the fractal dimension depends of the spatial distribution of
the joints in every discontinuity set. She also used the invariance principle with regards to scale to calculate the stable fractal dimension using some data of different
types (1D field data and 2D image data). According to Ehlen (2000), using a combination of these data may remove the instability problem and could contribute to a
better evaluation of the stable fractal dimension.
Xie and Gao (2000) used video and electronic microscopy techniques together
with image analysis to systematically investigate the structure of the intact rock. The
damage evolution within the material is described statistically taking into account
the fractal effects of its discontinuous structure. Based on the fractal distribution of
the cracks and on the weakest link theory, a statistical formula giving the rock strength
under complex loading was developed. This formula takes into account the influence
of the crack orientation and the irregular development of these cracks.
Several programs were previously suggested for simulating discontinuity networks
in rock masses. SIMBLOC (Xu and Cojean, 1990) and FRACMAN (Dershowitz,
1993) are only two examples of these programs. The major worth of these programs
is that they reproduce in a fixed objective volume, an estimation of the real discontinuity network using real discontinuity mapping data coming from field investigations
using a standardised sampling method (scanline or scan-window methods).
In particular, the SIMBLOC program was designed to study the fluid flow in a
fractured rock mass and to derive the block size distribution of the rock mass. This
distribution provides information only on the coarseness of the existing blocks within
the rock mass. Indeed, the transition from the simulated discontinuity network to the
block volume distribution loses a considerable amount of information concerning the
discontinuity geometrical parameters and discontinuity network density. Therefore,
for a more precise description of the in situ state of the rock mass, one has to work
directly with the simulated discontinuities.
On the other hand, rock mass heterogeneity can be seen as having two-components: the heterogeneity of nature and the heterogeneity of structure. The first goal of
this paper is to show the possibility of mixing the 3D stochastic simulations of discontinuity networks with the fractal dimension determined using the box-counting
method. This will allow quantification of the structure heterogeneity component of the
rock mass because the evaluated fractal dimension will represent simultaneously the
discontinuity size distribution and the joint density. The second part of this paper shows
the application of mixing these two techniques on data from three quarry sites with
different geological contexts.
2. 3D Simulation of Discontinuity Networks
The SIMBLOC program (Xu and Cojean, 1990) is based on the stochastic simulation
of discontinuity networks, and has been used by several authors (Baecher, 1983;
Long et al., 1985). This method is based on the disk model according to which a

590

E. Hamdi

Fig. 1. Parameters of discontinuity orientation

discontinuity is represented in 3D by a flat disk of radius r, of dip direction
and of

dip angle  (Fig. 1). These parameters could be either deterministic or probabilistic.
For a discontinuity set of finite extension, the number of simulated discontinuities is
determined either according to the Poisson law or by the product of the volumic density by the volume of the simulation domain. For a discontinuity set of infinite extension, the discontinuities are placed on a fixed line and their number is determined by
simulating the spacing according to the exponential law and keeping only the discontinuities which intersect the volume of simulation. The centres are placed according to a uniform law. The dip angle and the dip direction are simulated according to a
hemispheric, normal, or uniform law. The radius is simulated according to an exponential, normal, or log-normal law. The appropriate statistical law corresponds to the
one determined by the statistical analysis applied to the raw field data collected using
the scanline method. This statistical analysis consists of two principal parts:
the identification of discontinuity sets using pole stereograms (Wulf or Schmidt) is
first performed together with the automatic classification using a mathematical
orientation criterion:
1. Starting with all the discontinuities as discontinuity sets (each set contains one
discontinuity) and for all the possible combinations, calculate the following classification index:
Dij jni  nj j
where ni and nj are the normal vectors corresponding to discontinuities N i
and j.
2. The two discontinuity sets Fi (number of discontinuities Ni) and Fj (number
of discontinuities Nj) which give the maximum value of the classification index are

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

591

grouped into one unique discontinuity set Fk (number of discontinuities Nk Ni Nj)

having the following normal vector nk:
8
0
1 > Ni ni Nj nj
>
if nkz 5 0
nkx
<
jNi ni Nj nj j
@
A
nk nky
N
>
i ni Nj nj
>
if nkz 4 0
nkz
:
jNi ni Nj nj j
The directions of the normal vectors ni and nj are chosen so that ni  nj 5 0. Once
the normal vector nk is determined, the dip direction
and the dip angle  can be
easily derived from the following equation:
0
1
sin  sin

nk @ sin  cos
A
cos 

Fig. 2. 3D stochastic discontinuity network simulation by the SIMBLOC program

592

E. Hamdi

once the discontinuity sets are identified (for each one: number of discontinuities,
mean and standard deviation of dip direction and dip angle), theoretical statistical
distribution laws for dip angle, dip direction, extension and spacing are fit to the
experimental data to identify discontinuity sets.
Once the discontinuity network is simulated (Fig. 2a), SIMBLOC performs a
connectivity analysis to determine the discontinuities which participate in the formation of blocks within the rock mass (Fig. 2b). These discontinuities are recognized
using the Euler criterion:
V
E C 2;
where V is the number of vertices, E is the number of edges and C is the number of
faces.
Therefore, a discontinuity which bounds to a discrete block must be linked to at
least three other discontinuities.
Next, SIMBLOC determines the volume of all the identified blocks using:
Vb

N
1X
ri  ni  Si ;
3 i1

where N is the number of faces forming the block, Si, ni and ri are, respectively,
the area, the normal vector and the position vector of a reference point of the
face N i,
Finally, SIMBLOC establishes the block size distribution of the rock mass
(Fig. 2c, d).
Hamdi and du Mouza (2005) used the SIMBLOC program to assess the density,
the interconnectivity, and the anisotropy of the discontinuity system. Their work was
based on evaluation of the area of each simulated discontinuity within the rock mass.
It was shown, in particular, that the proposed parameters could be a valuable tool in
assessing the actual differences between sites in terms of each of the three investigated
characteristics.

3. Evaluation of the Fractal Dimension of the Simulated

Discontinuity Network
The proposed method is based on counting all the boxes with a fixed size which cover
all the simulated discontinuity system. More precisely, if we fix the number m of
boxes for the three reference directions of the space, then the number of boxes which
cover the simulated discontinuity system is given by:
Nm

m X
m X
m
X

Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 \V ;

i1 1 i2 1 i3 1

where S is the characteristic function of the set S, defined by:

S 1 si S 6 ;
S 0 si S :

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

593

Fig. 3. Box Bi1 ; i2 ; i3 is a cube of side L=m and centred in point 2i1
1L=2m; 2i2
1L=2m;
2i3
1L=2m

Bi1 ; i2 ; i3 is the box, referenced by (i1, i2, i3), where 1 < i1, i2, i3 < m (Fig. 3). This
box is obtained from the objective volume of simulation, which has a cubic shape of
side L, using an linear transformation given by the following equations:
8
1
>
>
> xsi m xSi i1
1L
>
<
1
y y i2
1L
> si m Si
>
>
>
: z 1 z i
1L;
si
S
3
m i
where si and Si (1 < i < 8) are, respectively, the eight vertices of the box Bi1 ; i2 ; i3
and of the simulation volume V.
V is the discontinuity system simulated in the volume V. If we denote by Dj the
discontinuity number j, marked by the position of its centre, its radius, its dip angle
and dip direction, and by p, the number of the simulated discontinuities, then V
can be written as:
V

p
[

Dj :

j1

The expression of N(m) becomes then:

Nm

m X
m X
m
X
i1 1 i2 1 i3 1

Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 \

 Sp
j1

Dj

m X
m X
m
X
i1 1 i2 1 i3 1

S p
j1

Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 \Dj :

This last relation shows that it is sufficient that the box Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 intersect one of the
discontinuities to associate the value 1 to the function  relatively to (i1, i2, i3).
Now, considering the six faces Fik 1 ;i2 ;i3 (1 < k < 6) of the box Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 (see conventional numbering of the faces on Fig. 4), the box can be described by:
Bi1 ;i2 ;i3

6
[
k1

Fik 1 ;i2 ;i3 :

594

E. Hamdi

Fig. 4. Global numbering of the simulation volume and the box Bi1 ; i2 ; i3 vertices

The expression of N(m) then becomes:

m X
m X
m
X
S p  S 6 
Nm
i1 1 i2 1 i3 1

j1

k1

Fik

1 ;i2 ;i3

\Dj



So, it is sufficient that only one of the faces of Bi1 ;i2 ;i3 intersects a discontinuity to
associate the value 1 to the function  relatively to (i1, i2, i3).
The evaluation of N(m) is therefore equivalent to verifying whether a set A(i,j,k) is
empty or not. This set A(i,j,k) is the intersection between the face k of the box number
i (i1, i2, i3) and the discontinuity j:
Ai; j; k Fik 1 ;i2 ;i3 \ Dj :

Fig. 5. Flowsheet showing the automatic evaluation of the number N(m) needed to cover all the discontinuity system Nd: number of simulated discontinuities; m: number of boxes in (x, y, z) directions

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

595

The determination of this intersection set is done using a SIMBLOC procedure

developed by Xu and Cojean (1990) based on the determination of the intersection
line between a discontinuity plane and a face plane and on the evaluation of the power
of the discontinuity centre with regards to this line. The comparison of this power to
the extension of the discontinuity indicates the existence of any intersection between
the discontinuity and the box face.
The flowsheet of the proposed algorithm for the evaluation of the number N(m) is
shown in the Fig. 5.

4. Application to the Test Sites

4.1 Presentation of the Sites
The presented methodology was applied to three quarry sites with different geological
contexts: Klinthagen (Sweden), Eibenstein (Austria) and El Alto (Spain). A more precise description of these sites was presented by Hamdi and du Mouza (2005). For sake
of clarity, a short description of each site is presented here:
The Klinthagen quarry is composed of a sedimentary limestone of the Silurian age
(430 Ma). The exploitation is done in two benches. The first bench is composed of
two rock types: Crinoid and Stromatoporoid limestones whereas the second bench
is formed of Reef and Fragmentory limestones. Field scanline mapping of discontinuities was conducted in these two benches. Statistical analysis of the field data
identified two different zones for each bench, corresponding to different layering
dip angles in the case of bench 1 (Zones 1 and 2) and to different rock types in the
case of bench 2 (Reef limestone zone and Fragmentory limestone zone).
The second quarry site, called El Alto, is located near the city of Morata de Taju~na,
about 30 km from Madrid (Spain). The site of the quarry is called La Concha (the
shell). The rock is a hard limestone, belonging to the Paramo formation of Miocene
age (20 Ma). Here also, the bench in the quarry was subdivided into three zones due
to the different layering dip directions in each zone (East, Middle and West zones).
Finally, the third site is an aggregate quarry, called Eibenstein, located near the city
of Eibenstein (Austria). The rock is mainly composed of metamorphic formations
of schists, micaschists, marbles, and amphibolites. The quarry has seven benches.
The exploitation is conducted bench by bench. The field mapping of discontinuities
was performed mainly in the amphibolite part of the quarry which corresponds to
the three benches, 410, 420 and 430. In these three benches, the analysis was
conducted bench per bench due to the complex geological context of the quarry.

4.2 Results of the Statistical Analysis of Discontinuity Sets

Statistical analysis of the raw field data from the three investigated sites revealed the
existence of four to six discontinuity sets depending on the site. Table 1 groups the
data resulting from the statistical analysis concerning the theoretical distribution laws
of geometrical parameters and the mean and standard deviation values which were
found to best fit the experimental data.

Table 1. Statistical analysis of the identified discontinuity sets

Site

Set N

Dip direction

Dip angle

Radius

Law

Law

Law

Eibenstein
Bench 410

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5 (F)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

66.0
347.0
258.5
116.7
250.0

16.1
19.2
3.5
12.3
250.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

74.6
89.2
47.0
52.8
40.0

13.5
10.7
2.0
7.5
40.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform

1.006
1.2991
0.5887
0.9949
infinite

Eibenstein
Bench 420

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5 (F)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

255.0
161.0
43.1
91.3
230.0

9.1
14.5
8.2
14.0
230.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

71.4
86.9
72.9
66.9
35.0

14.5
9.4
9.8
11.6
35.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform

0.7673
0.6731
0.5671
0.571
infinite

Eibenstein
Bench 430

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5 (F)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

56.1
294.1
265.0
161.0
235.0

17.4
14.1
0.0
8.9
235.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

65.4
86.5
50.0
86.5
45.0

15.6
12.2
0.0
6.5
45.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform

0.6515
1.0342
0.9812
0.6495
infinite

El Alto
East zone

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5
6 (S)
1
2
3
4
5
6 (S)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

205.9
237.5
38.3
99.4
26.2
90.0
205.9
271.3
327.5
324.8
26.2
130.0

20.6
17.5
15.7
18.9
30.3
90.0
20.6
12.0
12.5
14.2
30.3
130.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

83.8
40.0
82.9
83.1
83.6
15.0
83.8
86.5
26.5
81.3
83.6
10.0

20.0
0.0
7.4
13.7
10.0
15.0
20.0
12.9
6.5
10.3
10.0
10.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Uniform
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Uniform

0.414
0.2453
0.3846
0.4082
infinite
infinite
0.4847
0.3159
0.3140
0.4960
infinite
infinite

El Alto
West zone

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5
6 (S)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

63.5
221.2
90.7
315.6
26.2
185.0

20.6
21.8
18.8
11.3
30.3
185.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

72.8
66.0
39.2
79.3
83.6
10.0

13.2
10.5
10.6
13.8
10.0
10.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Uniform

0.3022
0.3846
0.5063
0.3336
infinite
infinite

Klinthagen
Bench 1
Zone 1

Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4 (S)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

113.0
61.5
183.7
315.0

9.8
11.1
19.8
315.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

80.1
84.0
85.7
15.0

9.7
8.9
11.3
15.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform

0.3106
0.2000
0.2198
infinite

Klinthagen
Bench 1
Zone 2

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4 (S)
1
2
3
4
5
6 (S)

Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

313.3
245.7
188.2
55.0
133.5
8.4
240.6
327.4
62.5
160.0

21.9
9.5
132.2
55.0
16.1
12.2
11.9
22.1
2.5
160.0

Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Uniform

80.6
78.5
86.4
15.0
87.1
82.8
86.9
86.7
41.0
15.0

13.0
10.1
12.2
15.0
9.3
7.9
13.9
6.1
1.0
15.0

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Exponential
Uniform

0.3460
0.3205
0.3401
infinite
0.3693
0.3595
0.3297
infinite
0.3700
infinite

Set
Set
Set
Set
Set

1
2
3
4
5

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal

58.3
254.9
11.5
2.3
59.1

21.9
41.7
8.5
15.3
29.6

Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal

74.8
36.6
83.4
80.0
80.3

17.3
12.1
6.7
11.3
6.5

Exponential
Exponential
Exponential
Uniform
Uniform

0.5200
0.4530
0.4960
0.5423
infinite

El Alto
Middle zone

Klinthagen
Bench 2
Fragmentory

Klinthagen
Bench 2
Reef

S Stratification, F foliation, X mean value,  standard-deviation

E. Hamdi: A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

597

4.3 3D Stochastic Discontinuity Network Simulation

SIMBLOC was applied on the regionalized data (including only the discontinuities
mapped in each zone=bench). 10 cases were simulated corresponding to 10 investigated benches=zones of the three quarries. For each case, ten simulations were conducted
and the subroutine was called twice for each simulation: one before the discontinuity
connectivity analysis, thus providing information about the irregular state of the discontinuity network containing all the simulated discontinuities (N1) and a second time
after the elimination of the discontinuities which did not participate in the formation
of blocks within the rock mass (N2).
The volume of simulation was chosen to have a cubic form of side 10 m. When
varying the box dimension R from 1 m down to 15 cm and plotting the number N(R)
versus R in a bi-logarithmic plot, the fractal dimension of the discontinuity network is
given by the opposite of the slope of the line best fitting the computed data. Without
exception, a direct linear relationship has been shown for all the simulated cases with
a determination coefficient greater than 0.99. An example from the zone 1 of the
bench 1 of Klinthagen quarry is shown in Fig. 6.
Table 2 presents the mean value obtained on the ten simulations corresponding to
each zone=bench. It shows that the site where the discontinuity network is the most
disordered is the Eibenstein site with the highest fractal dimension N2 varying from
2.76 for the bench 430 to 2.92 for the bench 410. This latter has the highest fractal
dimension of all the studied sites.
In the same order of fractal dimension, we can also include the bench 1 of
Klinthagen quarry which has a fractal dimension of 2.85 for the zone 1 and 2.87 for
the zone 2. Bench 2 of the same quarry has a lower fractal dimension values with 2.56
for the Reef limestone rock mass and 2.67 for the Fragmentory limestone rock mass.
For the El Alto quarry, the fractal dimension values progressively vary from the
East zone (maximum value of 2.68) to the West zone of the bench (minimum value of

Fig. 6. Determination of the fractal dimension before (N1) and after (N2), the connectivity analysis, for the
zone 1 of bench 1 at Klinthagen quarry

598

E. Hamdi
Table 2. Mean value of the fractal dimension computed before (N1) and after (N2)
the connectivity analysis in SIMBLOC program (10 simulations for each site)
Site

Simulation

N1

N2

Klinthagen bench 1

Zone 1
Zone 2

2.85
2.86

2.85
2.87

Klinthagen bench 2

Reef
Fragmentory

2.56
2.65

2.56
2.67

El Alto

East zone
Middle zone
West zone

2.68
2.55
2.42

2.68
2.57
2.45

Eibenstein

Bench 410
Bench 420
Bench 430

2.92
2.83
2.75

2.92
2.83
2.76

2.92

2.92

Regionalized

2.42

2.45

Maximum value
Minimum value

2.45) with a medium value (2.57) obtained in the case of the middle zone. The West
zone of the quarry is shown to have the lowest fractal dimension value among all those
obtained in the different surveyed sites.

5. Conclusion
The SIMBLOC program was developed in order to evaluate the block size distribution
of a rock mass by using the Rosin-Rammler distribution that best fits the volume
histogram of the identified discrete blocks determined by 3D stochastic simulation
of the discontinuity network. This is a direct estimation of the block size distribution
of the rock mass but is not a direct assessment of the irregularity of the discontinuity
system. In this paper, we proposed an algorithm for the determination of the fractal
dimension using the 3D simulations by the SIMBLOC program to assess this irregularity. Two major contributions are:
This approach provides direct means to evaluate the degree of disorder within the
discontinuity network.
This assessment can be performed in different stages of the simulation (including
all the simulated discontinuities or only those which actually participate to the formation of blocks).
The application of this approach to three quarry sites in Austria (Eibenstein aggregates quarry), Sweden (Klinthagen limestone quarry) and Spain (El Alto limestone
quarry) proved its applicability to the characterisation of the irregularity of the discontinuity system of the rock mass. In addition to assessment of the irregularity of the
discontinuity system at each site by a unique parameter, it was found that the fractal
dimension could differ from one part of the quarry to another showing the importance
of differences in geology.
It is thought that this approach could be helpful in a more general analysis aimed
at global characterisation of the in situ rock mass structure. Further investigations are

A Fractal Description of Simulated 3D Discontinuity Networks

599

planned to be performed, especially with regards to the comparison between the calculated values and other common rock mass structure characterisation parameters.

Acknowledgements
This work has been conducted under the financial support of the Commission of the European
Communities. The author wishes to thank Partek Nordkalk AB (Sweden), Hengl-Bitustein
(Austria) and Cementos Portland (Spain) for assistance during the discontinuity mapping campaigns. In addition, the author particularly appreciates the excellent input and feedback of the
scientific and industrial team of the CCE LESS FINES project.

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Authors address: Dr. Essaieb Hamdi, D
epartement de G
enie Civil Ecole Nationale
dIng
enieurs de Tunis, BP 37, Le Belv
edere 1002 Tunis, Tunisia; e-mail: essaieb.hamdi@enit.
rnu.tn