Journal ArticleDOI
The frequency-magnitude relation of microfracturing in rock and its relation to earthquakes
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In this paper, the frequency-magnitude relation of microfracture deformation was studied and the dependence of the parameter b on rock type, stress, and confining pressure was found to depend primarily on stress.Abstract:
During the deformation of rock in laboratory experiments, small cracking events, i.e., microfractures, occur which radiate elastic waves in a manner similar to earthquakes. These radiations were detected during uniaxial and triaxial compression tests and their frequency-magnitude relation studied. They were found to obey the Gutenberg and Richter relation log N = a + b M
Where N is the number of events which occurred of magnitude M , and a and b constants. The dependence of the parameter b on rock type, stress, and confining pressure was studied. It was found to depend primarily on stress, in a characteristic way. The frequency-magnitude relation for events which accompanied frictional sliding and deformation of a ductile rock was found to have a much higher b value than that observed in brittle rock. The Gutenberg and Richter formulation of the frequency-magnitude relation was derived from a statistical model of rock and crustal deformation. This analysis demonstrates the basis of similarity between rock deformation experiments in the laboratory and deformation of the crust.read more
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The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting
TL;DR: The connection between faults and the seismicity generated is governed by the rate and state dependent friction laws -producing distinctive seismic styles of faulting and a gamut of earthquake phenomena including aftershocks, afterslip, earthquake triggering, and slow slip events.
Journal ArticleDOI
Earthquake Prediction: A Physical Basis
Journal ArticleDOI
The role of acoustic emission in the study of rock fracture
TL;DR: A review of the successes and limitations of acoustic emission (AE) studies as applied to the fracture process in rock with emphasis on our ability to predict rock failure is presented in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microcracks in rocks: a review
TL;DR: A review of recent work on microcracks in rock can be found in this paper, with a focus on the morphogenesis, kinematics, dynamics, population statistics and observational techniques.
Journal ArticleDOI
Variations in earthquake-size distribution across different stress regimes
TL;DR: It is shown that normal faulting events have the highest b values, thrust events the lowest and strike-slip events intermediate values, and that thrust faults tend to be under higher stress than normal faults, implying that the b value acts as a stress meter that depends inversely on differential stress.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Stick-slip as a mechanism for earthquakes.
W. F. Brace,James D. Byerlee +1 more
TL;DR: Stick-slip often accompanies frictional sliding in laboratory experi ments with geologic materials and may represent stick slip during sliding along old or newly formed faults in the earth.
Book
Seismicity Of The Earth
TL;DR: In this article, the relative seismicity of various parts of the earth during the limited period for which accurate information is available, and identify and discuss the geographical and geological relationships of the principal zones and areas of seismic activity.
Journal ArticleDOI
A note on brittle crack growth in compression
W. F. Brace,E. G. Bombolakis +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the growth of cracks in photoelastic material and glass under compression is studied as part of an investigation of brittle fracture of rock, where the most severely stressed crack is inclined at about 30° to the axis of compression.
Journal ArticleDOI
Brittle fracture propagation in rock under compression
E. Hoek,Z. T. Bieniawski +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of a single Grifith crack in a biaxial compressive stress field are reported, and it is concluded that Griffith's theory of brittle fracture offers a reliable prediction of the fracture initiation stress but that the resulting fracture propagation froth a single crack cannot account for the macroscopic fracture of a specimen.