Fig. 2: Fractures in X-ray tomography scans.
From: Deformation evolves from shear to extensile in rocks due to energy optimization
Two-dimensional slices and three-dimensional volume renderings of fractures identified in X-ray tomography scans of experiments performed on intact (a) and damaged granite (b) with confining stress, \({\sigma }_{2}\) = 15 MPa, and fluid pressure, \({P}_{F}\) = 10 MPa, at 99.9% of the differential stress at macroscopic failure. The largest fractures develop parallel to the direction of the maximum compression direction, \({\sigma }_{1}\), indicative of extensile-dominated deformation (orange arrows in a). Some fractures are aligned more obliquely to the direction of \({\sigma }_{1}\), indicative of shear-dominated deformation (blue arrow in b).
