Effect of contact surface area on frictional behaviour of dry and saturated rock joints

Frictional behaviour of joints/faults is of great importance in many geo-engineering applications across different scales. It is known that the joint surface roughness is one of the critical parameters controlling the frictional behaviour of rock joints. While nominal normal and shear stresses acting across the joint asperities are calculated based on overall shearing area, the actual normal and shear stresses can be much greater due to smaller...