Emerging complexity in a simple model of the mechanical behaviour of rocks

Abstract

We propose a mechanical model for the behaviour of rocks based on progressive damage at the elementary scale and elastic interaction. It allows us to simulate several experimental observations: mechanical behaviour ranging from brittle to ductile, fractal structure of the damage, powerlaw distribution of the damage avalanches. These macroscopic properties are not incorporated at the elementary scale, but are the results of the interaction between elements. This emerging complexity permits us to consider the strain rock process as a complex system characterized by non-linear dynamics.