Applications of Fractography to Core and Outcrop Investigations

Abstract

Purpose of this paper is to introduce geologists to the principles of fractography, especially those principles that govern the formation of fracture surface structures commonly observed in rocks. A knowledge of the inception mechanics governing the formation of a fracture\u27s tendential and transient structures should provide geologists with a method to distinguish natural from coring-induced and handling-induced fractures in oriented core samples, and show how coring-induced fractures may be assisted in their formation by stresses that can be attributed to the drilling process