1. Einstein HH, Veneziano D, Baecher GB, O’Reilly KJ (1983) The effect of discontinuity persistence on rock slope stability. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci Geomech Abstr 20(5):227–236
2. Gehle C, Kutter HK (2003) Breakage and shear behavior of intermittent rock joints. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 40:687–700
3. Ghazvinian A, Nikudel MR, Sarfarazi V (2007) Effect of rock bridge continuity and area on shear behavior of joints. 11th congress of the international society of rock mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal
4. Ghazvinian A, Sarfarazi V, Schubert W, Blumel M (2011) A study of the failure mechanism of planar non-persistent open joints using PFC2D. Rock Mech Rock Eng J 45:677–693
5. Itasca (1999) PFC2D—Particle Flow Code in 2 Dimensions. Theory and background. Itasca Consulting Group, Minneapolis, MN, pp 1–124