The anisotropy of surface roughness measured using a digital photogrammetric technique

The characterization of fracture surface morphology is important for the understanding of shear and normal deformation behaviour of rock masses, and for their transport properties. It has been suggested that natural fracture surfaces might be fractal. If true, this would have dramatic implications for these rock properties and would provide a sound basis for future modelling. Evaluating this hypothesis requires measurement of fracture surface morphology over a large range of scales. A software package has been developed that can automatically reconstruct surface morphology information from stereo pairs at any scale, using edge correlation and point matching. The data derived using this technique compare favourably with results generated from a traditional surface profilometer survey, and results are presented from the analysis of the anisotropy of blasting-induced tensile fractures in granite from Mt Alexander Quarry, Harcourt, Victoria, Australia.