**4. Conclusions**

Numerical simulations were performed on rock-like specimens containing two intersecting flaws with different inclination angle β and different intersection angle α subjected to uniaxial compressive loads. The main conclusions can be summarized as follows:


The ratio between coalescence stress σ*co* and peak strength σ*cn* varied between 0.85–1.0, which meant the first coalescence occurred near or at the peak strength. For the same values of α, the minimum values of <sup>σ</sup>*co*/<sup>σ</sup>*cn* were observed at β = 45◦, which indicated that coalescence occurred more easily with that geometry.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, B.D.; Methodology, Y.C.; Software, G.Z.; Validation, W.L.; Formal analysis, H.W.; Data curation, Y.C.; Writing—original draft preparation, Y.C.; Writing—review and editing, B.D.; Funding acquisition, B.D.

**Funding:** This study was financially supported by the national natural science foundation (51804163). **Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
