Use of tomography for inference of stress redistribution in rock

Abstract

Tomographic imaging, commonly. known as a CAT-scan or CT-scan, is used in the medical field to generate a picture of the interior of a body. Current research is applying this method to bodies of rock so that rock failure can be better understood and predicted. This paper describes current understanding of failure within rock, states how tomography is used for rock masses, and illustrates its use with two case studies.