Wave Propagation in the Vicinities of Rock Fractures Under Obliquely Incident Wave

Though obliquely incident plane wave across rock fractures has been extensively investigated by theoretical analysis, the quantitative identification of each wave emerged from fractures has not been achieved either in numerical simulation or laboratory experiment. On the other hand, there are no theoretical results describing the stress/velocity state of the rocks beside a fracture. The superposition of the multiple waves propagating in the media results in the variation of the stress/velocity state. To understand the superposition of the wave components in the adjacent rocks of a facture, based on the geometrical analysis of the wave paths, the lag times among passing waves at an arbitrary point are determined. The normalised critical distances from the fracture to the measuring locations where the corresponding harmonic waves depart from other waves for a certain duration are then derived. Discussion on the correction for an arbitrary incident wave is then carried out considering the changes of the duration of the reflected and transmitted waves. Under the guidance of the analysis, wave superposition is performed for theoretical results and separated waves are obtained from numerical model. They are demonstrated to be consistent with each other. The measurement and the data processing provide an approach for wave separation in a relatively unbounded media. In addition, based on the mechanical analysis on the wave front, an indirect wave separation method is proposed which provides a possibility for laboratory experiments of wave propagation with an arbitrary incident angle.