Nucleation of thermal cracks at the wall of a rock mass

摘要

The conditions of cracks nucleation due to thermal shock at the wall of a rock mass are examined and a nucleation length as well as a time delay of crack occurrence with respect to the thermal shock initial time is estimated. The results are applied to geophysical heat shock problems, such as temperature drop at a cavern wall or a sudden drop of temperature in a well. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.