Scale selection in columnar jointing: insights from experiments on cooling stearic acid and numerical simulations

Amalie Christensen; Christophe Raufaste; Marek Krzysztof Misztal; Franck Celestini; Maria Guidi; Clive Sigurd Ellegaard; Joachim Mathiesen

doi:10.1002/2015jb012465

Scale selection in columnar jointing: insights from experiments on cooling stearic acid and numerical simulations

Amalie Christensen, Christophe Raufaste, Marek Krzysztof Misztal, Franck Celestini, Maria Guidi, Clive Sigurd Ellegaard, Joachim Mathiesen

Biocomplexity

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many natural fracture systems are characterized by a single length scale, which is the distance between neighboring fractures. Examples are mud cracks and columnar jointing. In columnar jointing the origin of this scale has been a long-standing issue. Here we present a comprehensive study of columnar jointing based on experiments on cooling stearic acids, numerical simulations using both discrete and finite element methods and basic analytical calculations. We show that the diameter of columnar joints is a nontrivial function of the material properties and the cooling conditions of the system. We determine the shape of this function analytically and show that it is in agreement with the experiments and the numerical simulations.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Volume	121
Issue number	3
Pages (from-to)	1462-1482
Number of pages	21
ISSN	2169-9313
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jb012465
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2016

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Scale selection in columnar jointing: insights from experiments on cooling stearic acid and numerical simulations. / Christensen, Amalie; Raufaste, Christophe; Misztal, Marek Krzysztof et al.
In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 121, No. 3, 01.03.2016, p. 1462-1482.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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AU - Christensen, Amalie

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AU - Misztal, Marek Krzysztof

AU - Celestini, Franck

AU - Guidi, Maria

AU - Ellegaard, Clive Sigurd

AU - Mathiesen, Joachim

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N2 - Many natural fracture systems are characterized by a single length scale, which is the distance between neighboring fractures. Examples are mud cracks and columnar jointing. In columnar jointing the origin of this scale has been a long-standing issue. Here we present a comprehensive study of columnar jointing based on experiments on cooling stearic acids, numerical simulations using both discrete and finite element methods and basic analytical calculations. We show that the diameter of columnar joints is a nontrivial function of the material properties and the cooling conditions of the system. We determine the shape of this function analytically and show that it is in agreement with the experiments and the numerical simulations.

AB - Many natural fracture systems are characterized by a single length scale, which is the distance between neighboring fractures. Examples are mud cracks and columnar jointing. In columnar jointing the origin of this scale has been a long-standing issue. Here we present a comprehensive study of columnar jointing based on experiments on cooling stearic acids, numerical simulations using both discrete and finite element methods and basic analytical calculations. We show that the diameter of columnar joints is a nontrivial function of the material properties and the cooling conditions of the system. We determine the shape of this function analytically and show that it is in agreement with the experiments and the numerical simulations.

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DO - 10.1002/2015jb012465

M3 - Journal article

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JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

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Scale selection in columnar jointing: insights from experiments on cooling stearic acid and numerical simulations

Abstract

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