A novel tool for simulating brittle borehole breakouts

Journal article, 2019

Breakouts are important both as a threat to borehole or tunnel stability and as a tool for primary stress state interpretation. This work suggests a semi-analytical method based on conformal mapping for the prediction of breakouts in brittle rock. After introducing the underlying theory, the developed algorithm is outlined. The single components are described and verified. Finally, the applicability and efficiency of the resulting tools is assessed. The aim is to provide a simple, fast and easy to use tool for the assessment of borehole and tunnel stability and for the estimation of the in situ stress in brittle rock.