International team reveals secrets of fractures

The international team of researchers believe their findings provide a deeper understanding of the lifecycle of fractures and could also improve the production of geothermal energy, oil, and gas. The research is detailed in Nature Physics.

Supported by the US National Science Foundation through the Harvard Research Science and Engineering Centre (MRSEC), the collaboration between material scientists, engineers, geophysicists, and seismologists featured academics from Nottingham University, Harvard, the China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Tufts University, the University of Washington, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In a statement, said David A. Weitz, senior author and Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard said: “Fracturing is well understood in two dimensions but more realistic fractures in complex, three-dimensional materials present a plethora of complex behaviours which are widely studied yet remain poorly understood at a fundamental level,”