Predicting opening mode fracture patterns through stress corrosion cracking

Start date: 1 August 2025
End date: 31 July 2028
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Value: £950k
Partners and collaborators: Professor Steve Laubach, University of Texas at Austin | Professor Phil Meredith, University College London
Primary investigator: Dave Healy
Co-investigators: Professor Sandra Piazolo
External co-investigators: Prof Cathy Hollis, Manchester

OpenFrac will develop a new fundamental model to quantify the evolution of opening mode fractures – such as economically important joints and veins – through the diagenetic evolution of sedimentary rocks. We will measure the growth of single sub-critical fractures in sandstone and limestone as a function of the chemical composition of pore water, temperature, and pressure. Our new understanding of the physico-chemical processes of sub-critical fracture in rocks will provide parameters for numerical models designed to explore the evolution of more complex patterns of multiple fractures in space and time.