Statistical geometrical parameters of the discontinuities

Connectivity is a comprehensive parameter that includes the influence of length, orientation and density of the discontinuities. The main objectives of this paper are to define connectivity based on the statistical geometrical parameters of a network of random discontinuities and to quantify the hydraulic properties of the network using connectivity.An analytical method is first proposed to evaluate connectivity through the density of degree of freedom (DDOF). The analytically estimated DDOF is verified using numerical analysis. DDOF increases with the increases in the mean length, relative orientation and density of the random discontinuity network. Connectivity becomes better and the permeability becomes larger with increasing DDOF. The representative element volume (REV) of a random discontinuity network can be estimated based on connectivity. The results indicate that DDOF is a good indicator to quantify the connectivity of a random discontinuity network and the relationship between connectivity and permeability.