Laboratory investigation of nonlinear flow characteristics in rough fractures during shear process

To understand the influence of shear behavior on the transporting properties of fluid through a single fracture, splitting fractures were made in the laboratory and shear flow tests were carried out under constant normal load conditions. The applied normal stress is in the range of 0.5–3.0 MPa. Before the physical test, the fracture’s morphology is measured for identification of the roughness. At each shear step, we performed 5–8 high precise...