This book presents and describes an innovative method to simulate the growth of natural fractural networks in different geological environments, based on their geological history and fundamental geomechanical principles.

The book develops techniques to simulate the growth and interaction of large populations of layer-bound fracture directly, based on linear elastic fracture mechanics and subcritical propagation theory. It demonstrates how to use these techniques to model the nucleation, propagation and interaction of layer-bound fractures in different...