Showing papers on "Slip (materials science) published in 1995"

Discrete dislocation plasticity: a simple planar model

Abstract: A method for solving small-strain plasticity problems with plastic flow represented by the collective motion of a large number of discrete dislocations is presented. The dislocations are modelled as line defects in a linear elastic medium. At each instant, superposition is used to represent the solution in terms of the infinite-medium solution for the discrete dislocations and a complementary solution that enforces the boundary conditions on the finite body. The complementary solution is nonsingular and is obtained from a finite-element solution of a linear elastic boundary value problem. The lattice resistance to dislocation motion, dislocation nucleation and annihilation are incorporated into the formulation through a set of constitutive rules. Obstacles leading to possible dislocation pile-ups are also accounted for. The deformation history is calculated in a linear incremental manner. Plane-strain boundary value problems are solved for a solid having edge dislocations on parallel slip planes. Monophase and composite materials subject to simple shear parallel to the slip plane are analysed. Typically, a peak in the shear stress versus shear strain curve is found, after which the stress falls to a plateau at which the material deforms steadily. The plateau is associated with the localization of dislocation activity on more or less isolated systems. The results for composite materials are compared with solutions for a phenomenological continuum slip characterization of plastic flow.

A review of the slip (wall depletion) of polymer solutions, emulsions and particle suspensions in viscometers: its cause, character, and cure

Abstract: Slip occurs in the flow of two-phase systems because of the displacement of the disperse phase away from solid boundaries. This arises from steric, hydrodynamic, viscoelastic and chemical forces and constraints acting on the disperse phase immediately adjacent to the walls. The enrichment of the boundary near the wall with the continuous (and usually low-viscosity) phase means that any flow of the fluid over the boundary is easier because of the lubrication effect. Because this effect is usually confined to a very narrow layer — with typical thickness of 0.1–10 μm—it so resembles the slip of solids over surfaces that it has historically been given the same terminology. The restoring force for all the forces that cause an increase in concentration is usually osmotic, and this will always limit the effective slip. In dilute systems, concentration gradients can be present over relatively large distances out from walls, giving what might be interpreted on an overall basis as a thick solvent-only layer. However, as the concentration of the system increases, the layer gets thinner and thinner because it is more difficult to create with the large reverse osmotic force present. However, the enormous increase in the bulk viscosity with increase in concentration means that although thinner, the layer becomes, paradoxically, even more important. Slip manifests itself in such a way that viscosity measured in different size geometries gives different answers if calculated the normal way — in particular the apparent viscosity decreases with decrease in geometry size (e.g. tube radius). Also, in single flow curves unexpected lower Newtonian plateaus are sometimes seen, with an apparent yield stress at even lower stresses. Sudden breaks in the flow curve can also be seen. Large particles as the disperse phase (remember flocs are large particles), with a large dependence of viscosity on the concentration of the dispersed phase are the circumstances which can give slip, especially if coupled with smooth walls and small flow dimensions. The effect is usually greatest at low speeds/flow rates. When the viscometer walls and particles carry like electrostatic charges and the continuous phase is electrically conducted, slip can be assumed. In many cases we need to characterise the slip effects seen in viscometers because they will also be seen in flow in smooth pipes and condults in manufacturing plants. This is usually done by relating the wall shear stress to a slip velocity using a power-law relationship. When the bulk flow has also been characterized, the flow in real situations can be calculated. To characterise slip, it is necessary to change the size of the geometry, and the results extrapolated to very large size to extract unambigouos bulk-flow and slip data respectively. A number of mathematical manipulations are necessary to retrieve these data. We can make attempts to eliminate slip by altering the physical or chemical character of the walls. This is usually done physically by roughening or profiling, but in the extreme, a vane can be used. This latter geometry has the advantage of being easy to make and clean. In either case—by extrapolation or elimination—we end up with the bulk flow properties. This is important in situations where we are trying to understand the microstructure/flow interactions.

Experimental constraints on the dynamics of the partially molten upper mantle: Deformation in the diffusion creep regime

Abstract: Experiments have been conducted to investigate the effect of melt on the creep behavior of water-free olivine aggregates deformed in the dislocation creep regime. The influence of the melt phase is modest at melt fractions less than ∼0.04. However, at melt fractions > 0.04, the creep rate of melt-added samples is enhanced by more than an order of magnitude relative to melt-free aggregates. This unexpectedly large influence of melt on strain rate arises because deformation occurs by grain boundary sliding (GBS) accommodated by a dislocation creep process. Four observations support this hypothesis. (1) The strain rate enhancement observed in the dislocation creep regime can be related to the stress concentration caused by the reduction in the solid-solid grain boundary area. (2) Both melt-free and melt-added samples exhibit strain rates indicating that deformation is limited by slip on (010)[100], the easiest slip system in olivine. (3) The GBS mechanism occurs near the transition between diffusion and dislocation creep. (4) Grains in specimens deformed in the GBS regime are not significantly flattened, even after ∼50% shortening. In melt-free aggregates, a transition from the GBS mechanism to dislocation creep limited by slip on (010)[001], the hardest slip system, is observed with an increase in grain size. A transition to (010)[001] limited creep was not observed for partially molten aggregates because grain growth was inhibited by the presence of melt. The results of this study indicate that the viscosity of the upper mantle may decrease by at least an order of magnitude if the retained melt fraction exceeds 0.04 or if the onset of melting results in a reduction in grain size and a concomitant transition from (010)[001] to (010)[100] limited creep.

Drainage of a Thin Liquid Film Confined between Hydrophobic Surfaces

Abstract: We investigate theoretically the drainage of a thin liquid film between two undeformed hydrophobic spheres. The role ofhydrophobicity is revealed in the apparent slippage of liquid over the solid. The origin of the slippage effect is probably linked with a decrease in viscosity in the very thin near-to-wall layer. The solution is obtained for arbitrary values of slip lengths (from zero to infinity) as well as for arbitrary radii of curvature of approaching surfaces. The main result consists in that the pressure and the drag force yield the product of corresponding expressions for similar hydrophilic spheres and some corrections for slippage. These corrections depend only on the relationships between the gap and the slip lengths. As a result, at distances that are much greater than both slip lengths of approaching surfaces, the liquid flow is the same as that for hydrophilic surfaces. If the gap width exceeds considerably only one of the slip lengths then the pressure and the resistance will be equal to those experienced by hydrophilic sphere moving toward the free bubble surface. If the gap is much smaller than both slip lengths, the flow will be like that which arises when two bubbles approach each other. In the latter case, the hydrodynamic drag is not inversely dependent on the gap but is inversely proportional to the slip lengths and only logarithmically dependent on the gap. The correction for slippage plays a dramatic role in the coagulation processes. The main result for coagulation consists in the possibility for collision to occur at a finite time. Also, this correction needs to be taken into account when the various properties of confined liquids (first of all the hydrophobic attractive force) are investigated with the drainage technique.

Frictional slip of granite at hydrothermal conditions

Abstract: Sliding on faults in much of the continental crust likely occurs at hydrothermal conditions, i.e., at elevated temperature and elevated pressure of aqueous pore fluids, yet there have been few relevant laboratory studies. To measure the strength, sliding behavior, and friction constitutive properties of faults at hydrothermal conditions, we slid laboratory granite faults containing a layer of granite powder (simulated gouge). Velocity stepping experiments were performed at temperatures of 23° to 600°C, pore fluid pressures PH2O of 0 (“dry”) and 100 MPa (“wet”), effective normal stress of 400 MPa, and sliding velocities V of 0.01 to 1 μm/s (0.32 to 32 m/yr). Conditions were similar to those in earlier tests on dry granite to 845°C by Lockner et al. (1986). The mechanical results define two regimes. The first regime includes dry granite up to at least 845° and wet granite below 250°C. In this regime the coefficient of friction is high (μ = 0.7 to 0.8) and depends only modestly on temperature, slip rate, and PH2O. The second regime includes wet granite above ∼350°C. In this regime friction decreases considerably with increasing temperature (temperature weakening) and with decreasing slip rate (velocity strengthening). These regimes correspond well to those identified in sliding tests on ultrafine quartz. We infer that one or more fluid-assisted deformation mechanisms are activated in the second, hydrothermal, regime and operate concurrently with cataclastic flow. Slip in the first (cool and/or dry) regime is characterized by pervasive shearing and particle size reduction. Slip in the second (hot and wet) regime is localized primarily onto narrow shear bands adjacent to the gouge-rock interfaces. Weakness of these boundary shears may result either from an abundance of phyllosilicates preferentially aligned for easy dislocation glide, or from a dependence of strength on gouge particle size. Major features of the granite data set can be fit reasonably well by a rate- and temperature-dependent, three-regime friction constitutive model (Chester, this issue). We extrapolate the experimental data and model fit in order to estimate steady state shear strength versus depth along natural, slipping faults for sliding rates as low as 31 mm/yr. We do this for two end-member cases. In the first case, pore pressure is assumed hydrostatic at all depths. Shallow crustal strength in this case is similar to that calculated in previous work from room temperature friction data, while at depths below about 9–13 km (depending on slip rate), strength becomes less sensitive to depth but sensitive to slip rate. In the second case, pore pressure is assumed to be near-lithostatic at depths below ∼5 km. Strength is low at all depths in this case (<20 MPa, in agreement with observations of “weak” faults such as the San Andreas). The predicted depth of transition from velocity weakening to velocity strengthening lies at about 13 km depth for a slip rate of 31 mm/yr, in rough agreement with the seismic-aseismic transition depth observed on mature continental faults. These results highlight the importance of fluid-assisted deformation processes active in faults at depth and the need for laboratory studies on the roles of additional factors such as fluid chemistry, large displacements, higher concentrations of phyllosilicates, and time-dependent fault healing.

Dilatancy, compaction, and slip instability of a fluid‐infiltrated fault

Abstract: We analyze the conditions for unstable slip of a fluid infiltrated fault using a rate and state dependent friction model including the effects of dilatancy and pore compaction. We postulate the existence of a steady state drained porosity of the fault gouge which depends on slip velocity as Φ ss = Φ 0 + eln(υ/υ 0 ) over the range considered, where υ is sliding velocity and e and υ 0 are constants. Porosity evolves toward steady state over the same distance scale, d c , as state. This constitutive model predicts changes in porosity upon step changes in sliding velocity that are consistent with the drained experiments of Marone et al. (1990). For undrained loading, the effect of dilatancy is to increase (strengthen) ∂τ ss /∂lnυ by μ ss e/(σ-p)β, where μ ss is steady state friction, σ and p are fault normal stress and pore pressure, and β is a combination of fluid and pore compressibilities. Assuming e ∼ 1.7 X 10 -4 from fitting the Marone et al. data, we find the dilatancy strengthening effect to be reasonably consistent with undrained tests conducted by Lockner and Byerlee (1994). Linearized perturbation analysis of a single degree of freedom model in steady sliding shows that unstable slip occurs if the spring stiffness is less than a critical value given by k crit = (σ-p)(b-a)/d c -eμ ss F(c * )/βd c where a and b are coefficients in the friction law and F(c * ) is a function of the model hydraulic diffusivity c * (diffusivity/diffusion length 2 ). In the limit c * → ∞ F(c * ) → 0, recovering the drained result of Ruina (1983). In the undrained limit, c * → 0, F(c * ) → 1, so that for sufficiently large e slip is always stable to small perturbations. Under undrained conditions (σ - p) must exceed eμ ss /β(b - a) for instabilities to nucleate, even for arbitrarily reduced stiffness. This places constraints on how high the fault zone pore pressure can be, to rationalize the absence of a heat flow anomaly on the San Andreas fault, and still allow earthquakes to nucleate without concommitant fluid transport. For the dilatancy constitutive laws examined here, numerical simulations do not exhibit large interseismic increases in fault zone pore pressure. The simulations do, however, exhibit a wide range of interesting behavior including : sustained finite amplitude oscillations near steady state and repeating stick slip events in which the stress drop decreases with decreasing diffusivity, a result of dilatancy strengthening. For some parameter values we observe aftershock like events that follow the principal stick-slip event. These aftershocks are noteworthy in that they involve rerupture of the surface due to the interaction of the dilatancy and slip weakening effects rather than to interaction with neighboring portions of the fault. This mechanism may explain aftershocks that appear to be located within zones of high mainshock slip, although poor resolution in mainshock slip distributions can not be ruled out.

A non-slip boundary condition for lattice boltzmann simulations

Abstract: A non‐slip boundary condition at a wall for the lattice Boltzmann method is presented. In the present method unknown distribution functions at the wall are assumed to be an equilibrium distribution function with a counter slip velocity which is determined so that fluid velocity at the wall is equal to the wall velocity. Poiseuille flow and Couette flow are calculated with the nine‐velocity model to demonstrate the accuracy of the present boundary condition.

Compatibility of deformation in two-phase Ti-Al alloys : dependence on microstructure and orientation relationships

Abstract: A two-phase alloy of composition Ti-47.5Al-2.5Cr has been studied under two heat-treated conditions in order to obtain different microstructures. These consisted of lamellar and equiaxed distributions of y grains in which the α2 phase was distributed as long lamellae or smaller globules, respectively. The specific rotation relationships between γ/γ and γ/α2 grains have been measured, and these have been used to understand their effect on the compatibility of deformation across adjacent grains. For this, detailed analysis of active slip systems has been carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of deformed samples. A theoretical calculation of a geometric compatibility factor characterizing the best slip transfer across adjacent grains has been used in such a way that it has been possible to deduce the role played by the type of orientation relationship between grains in producing active deformation systems that allow the maximum compatibility of deformation.

Faulting processes at high fluid pressures: An example of fault valve behavior from the Wattle Gully Fault, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: The internal structures of the Wattle Gully Fault provide insights about the mechanics and dynamics of fault systems exhibiting fault valve behavior in high fluid pressure regimes. This small, high-angle reverse fault zone developed at temperatures near 300°C in the upper crust, late during mid-Devonian regional crustal shortening in central Victoria, Australia. The Wattle Gully Fault forms part of a network of faults that focused upward migration of fluids generated by metamorphism and devolatilisation at deeper crustal levels. The fault has a length of around 800 m and a maximum displacement of 50 m and was oriented at 60° to 80° to the maximum principal stress during faulting. The structure was therefore severely misoriented for frictional reactivation. This factor, together with the widespread development of steeply dipping fault fill quartz veins and associated subhorizontal extension veins within the fault zone, indicates that faulting occurred at low shear stresses and in a near-lithostatic fluid pressure regime. The internal structures of these veins, and overprinting relationships between veins and faults, indicate that vein development was intimately associated with faulting and involved numerous episodes of fault dilatation and hydrothermal sealing and slip, together with repeated hydraulic extension fracturing adjacent to slip surfaces. The geometries, distribution and internal structures of veins in the Wattle Gully Fault Zone are related to variations in shear stress, fluid pressure, and near-field principal stress orientations during faulting. Vein opening is interpreted to have been controlled by repeated fluid pressure fluctuations associated with cyclic, deformation-induced changes in fault permeability during fault valve behavior. Rates of recovery of shear stress and fluid pressure after rupture events are interpreted to be important factors controlling time dependence of fault shear strength and slip recurrence. Fluctuations in shear stress and transient rotations of near-field principal stresses, indicated by vein geometries, are interpreted to indicate at least local near-total relief of shear stress during some rupture events. Fault valve behavior has important effects on the dynamics of fluid migration around active faults that are sites of focused fluid migration. In particular, fault valve action is expected to lead to distinctly different fluid migration patterns adjacent to faults before, and immediately after, rupture. These fluid migration patterns have important differences with those predicted by models for dilatancy-diffusion effects and for poroelastic responses around reverse faults.

Partitioning of crustal slip between linked, active faults in the eastern Qilian Shan, and evidence for a major seismic gap, the ‘Tianzhu gap’, on the western Haiyuan Fault, Gansu (China)

Abstract: SUMMARY We have studied the Cenozoic and active tectonics of the north-eastern rim of Tibet west of the Yellow River (Gansu, China) where the western Haiyuan Fault enters the eastern Qilian Shan, a high mountainous region, which was the site of the 1927 May 23, M= 8-8.3, Gulang earthquake. Fieldwork, combined with analysis of aerial photographs and satellite images, reveals consistent cumulative left-lateral offsets of postglacial geomorphic features along the fault, but no recent rupture. West of the Tianzhu pull-apart basin, the levelling of offset-terrace risers implies Holocene horizontal and vertical slip rates on the steeply south-dipping, N110E-striking fault of 11 ± 4 and 1.3 ± 0.3 mm yr-1, respectively. The presence of subordinate, mostly normal, throws due to local changes in fault strike, and kinematic compatibility at the SW corner of the Tianzhu basin, constrains the azimuth of the fault-slip vector to be N110-115E. On the less prominent, N85-100E-striking Gulang Fault, which splays eastwards from the Haiyuan Fault near 102.2°E, less detailed observations suggest that the average Holocene left-slip rate is 4.3 ± 2.1 mm yr-1 with a minor component of ˜˜N-directed thrusting, with no recent seismic break either. East of ˜˜103°E, coeval slip on both faults thus appears to account for as much as 15 ± 6 mm yr-1 of left-lateral movement between NE Tibet and the southern edge of the Ala Shan Platform, in a N105 ± 6E direction. West of ˜˜103°E structural and geomorphic evidence implies that ˜˜NNE-directed shortening of that edge across the rising, north-eastern Qilian mountain ranges occurs at a rate of 4 ± 2 mm yr-1, by movement on right-stepping thrusts that root on a 10-20°S-dipping decollement that probably branches off the Haiyuan Fault at a depth of ˜˜25 km. The existence of fresh surface breaks with metre-high free faces on a N-dipping, hanging-wall normal fault south of the easternmost, Dongqingding thrust segment, and of half-metre-high pressure ridges on that segment, indicates that the 1927 Gulang earthquake ruptured that complex thrust system. The ˜˜4 mm yr-1 shortening rate is consistent with the inference that the thrusts formed and move as a result of orthogonal slip partitioning in a large restraining bend of the Haiyuan Fault. Based on a retrodeformable structural section, we estimate the cumulative shortening on the Qilian Shan thrusts, north of the Haiyuan Fault, to be at least 25 km. The finite displacements and current slip rates on either the thrusts or the left-lateral faults imply that Cenozoic deformation started in the Late Miocene, with slip partitioning during much of the Plio-Quaternary. Assuming coeval slip at the present rates on the Haiyuan and Gulang Faults in the last 8 Ma would bring the cumulative left-lateral displacement between NE Tibet and the Ala Shan Platform to about 120 km, consistent with the 95 ± 15 km offset of the Yellow River across the Haiyuan Fault, but many times the offset (˜˜16 km) inferred on one rccent strand of that fault east of the river. Relative to the SE Gobi Desert, NE Tibet thus appears to have moved by a fair amount in the Late Cenozoic and is still moving fast. While some of this motion probably contributes to displace (towards the ESE) and rotate (CCW) the south-west edge of the Ordos block, much of it appears to be transmitted to the South China block, which leads, with the additional contribution of other large left-slip faults to the south and despite thrusting in the Lungmen Shan, to the extrusion (towards the ESE-SE) of that block relative to the Gobi, hcncc to north-eastern Asia. The ˜˜260 km long western Haiyuan Fault links two faults that ruptured about 70 years ago during two great earthquakes only seven years apart. Despite spectacular evidence of Holocene movement, it bears no trace of a large earthquake in the past eight centuries, either in the field or in the historical record. Given its relatively high slip rate, it should therefore be singled out as one of the most critical sites for impending great earthquakes (at least M ≥ 7.5, probably M ≥ 8) in the region. That such a seismic gap, called here the ‘Tianzhu gap', lies only ˜˜100 km north of Lanzhou and Xining, largest population centres of west-central China, makes instrumental monitoring of that fault particularly urgent. That the M ˜˜ 8, Gulang earthquake ruptured a complex thrust surface under high mountains in a restraining bend of the Haiyuan strike-slip fault suggests that the occurrence of comparable earthquakes in other areas with similar fault geometry, such as south of the big bend of the San Andreas Fault in California, should not be ruled out.

Measurements of the water-following capability of holey-sock and TRISTAR drifters

Abstract: Since 1985, a number of measurements have been made in deep water to determine the water-following characteristics of mixed layer drifters with both holey-sock and TRISTAR drogues at 15 m depth. The measurements were done by attaching two neutrally buoyant vector measuring current meters (VMCMs) to the top and the bottom of the drogues and deploying the drifters in different wind and upper ocean shear conditions for periods of 2–4 h. The average velocity of the VMCM records was taken to be a quantitative measure of the slip of the drogue through the water, observed to be 0.5-3.5 cm s −1 . The most important hydrodynamic design parameter which influenced the slip of the drogue was the ratio of the drag area of the drogue to the sum of the drag areas of the tether and surface floats: the drag area ratio R. The most important environmental parameters which affected the slip were the wind and the measured velocity difference across the vertical extent of the drogue. A model of the vector slip as a function of R, vector wind and velocity difference across the drogue was developed and a least squares fit accounts for 85% of the variance of the slip measurements. These measurements indicated that to reduce the wind produced slip below 1 cm s −1 in 10 m s −1 wind speed, R > 40. Conversely, if the daily average wind is known to 5 m s −1 accuracy, the displacement of the R = 40 drifter can be corrected to an accuracy of 0.5 km day −1 .

Activation of the Nyainqentanghla Shear Zone: Implications for uplift of the southern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract: Neogene extension of the Tibetan plateau is manifested as a series of north-south trending graben, the most prominent of which is the Yadong-Gulu rift. The Nyainqen- tanghla Shan, a NE-SW trending mountain range -100 km NW of Lhasa, bounds the western margin of the Yangbajian graben, the central segment of the Yadong-Gulu rift. The eastern edge of the Nyainqentanghla massif is marked by a low angle (--25 o) detachment fault shear zone of amphibolite grade mylonites. The noAr/3Ar thermal history results from samples collected along two deeply incised valleys within the massif reveal that a rapid cooling event propagated from --8 Ma in the core of the range to --4 Ma within the high strain zone at the eastern boundary. Assuming that faulting initiated at high angle (-60o), thermal histories were fit to a numerical simulation of slip on a normal fault to yield estimates of both the age of fault initiation and the slip rate history. The form of the isotopically derived thermal histories are similar to general form predicted by the thermal model and suggests that significant movement began at 8+1 Ma in the southern valley (Goring-la) and proceeded at an average slip rate of-3 mm/yr between -8 and 3 Ma. A more complex history is required to fit the data from the northern valley (Balum Chun), but the timing of initiation and average slip rate are similar to the Goring-la result. Numerical simulations in which the fault angle is varied indicate that the isotopically derived temperature histories are inconsistent with slip occurring at low angle (<40o). Because the extension direction of the Yangbajian graben is representative of most rifts on the southern Tibetan plateau, our data suggest that crustal thickness and elevation reached close to their present values by 8+1 Ma. A carbon isotopic shift in pedogenic carbonates from the Siwalik Formation at about 7.5 Ma appears to reflect intensification of the Asian monsoon and, by inference, that the plateau had attained an important threshold elevation by that time. Formation of a diffuse plate boundary in the Indian oceanic lithosphere beginning at 7.5-8.0 Ma is also consistent with this history. We suggest that the plateau had attained a threshold area and elevation by 8+1 Ma sufficient to trigger these three independent manifestations.

Low-angle normal faults and seismicity: A review

Abstract: Although large, low-angle normal faults in the continental crust are widely recognized, doubts persist that they either initiate or slip at shallow dips (<30°), because (1) global compilations of normal fault focal mechanisms show only a small fraction of events with either nodal plane dipping less than 30° and (2) Andersonian fault mechanics predict that normal faults dipping less than 30° cannot slip. Geological reconstructions, thermochronology, paleomagnetic studies, and seismic reflection profiles, mainly published in the last 5 years, reinforce the view that active low-angle normal faulting in the brittle crust is widespread, underscoring the paradox of the seismicity data. For dip-slip faults large enough to break the entire brittle layer during earthquakes (M_w ∼ 6.5), consideration of their surface area and efficiency in accommodating extension as a function of dip θ suggests average recurrence intervals of earthquakes R' ∝ tan θ, assuming stress drop, rigidity modulus, and thickness of the seismogenic layer do not vary systematically with dip. If the global distribution of fault dip, normalized to total fault length, is uniform, the global recurrence of earthquakes as a function of dip is shown to be R ∝ tan θ sin θ. This relationship predicts that the frequency of earthquakes with nodal planes dipping between 30° and 60° will exceed those with planes shallower than 30° by a factor of 10, in good agreement with continental seismicity, assuming major normal faults dipping more than 60° are relatively uncommon. Revision of Andersonian fault mechanics to include rotation of the stress axes with depth, perhaps as a result of deep crustal shear against the brittle layer, would explain both the common occurrence of low-angle faults and the lack of large faults dipping more than 60°. If correct, this resolution of the paradox may indicate significant seismic hazard from large, low-angle normal faults.

Pseudotachylyte controversy: Fact or friction?

Abstract: High-speed slip experiments performed on Westerly granite using friction welding apparatus reveal that comminution is an essential precursor to melting by friction. Observations of slip surfaces via analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM) document the following sequence of events occurring in 2 s with increasing velocity (up to 2 m/s): fracture; progressive comminution; surface melting of mineral fragments; fragment-to-fragment adhesion; and, finally, production of a fragment-laden, melt-supported suspension. Explosive dehydration and melting of the epidote-group mineral allanite indicates that temperatures of at least 1000 °C were realized at the interface. This is corroborated by calculation of the temperature rise for the known operating conditions. Contrary to earlier proposals, these results show that comminution and frictional melting are complementary and not mutually exclusive processes. Depending on the velocity–shear stress–displacement relations prevailing during frictional slip, rocks produced in seismogenic zones can be predominantly comminuted wall rock or fragment-melt mixes (pseudotachylytes).

Shear-strength characteristics of a residual soil

Abstract: Shallow landslides in natural residual soils slopes are common all over the world. The slip surfaces associated with these landslides are often situated above the groundwater table. Therefore, it i...

Self-healing slip pulse on a frictional surface

Abstract: Guided by seismic observations of short-duration radiated pulses in earthquake ruptures, Heaton (1990) has postulated a mechanism for the frictional sliding of two identical elastic solids that consists in the subsonic propagation of a self-healing slip velocity pulse of finite duration along the interface. The same type of pulse may be conjectured for inhomogeneous slip along sufficiently large, and compliant, technological surfaces. We analyze such pulses, first as steady traveling waves which move at constant speed, and without alteration of shape, on the interface between joined elastic half-spaces, and later as transient disturbances along such an interface, arising as slip rupture propagates spontaneously from an over-stressed nucleation site. The study is conducted in the framework of antiplane elastodynamics; normal stress is uniform and alteration of it is not considered. We show that not all constitutive models allow for steady traveling wave pulses: the static friction threshold subsequent to the relocking of the fault must increase with time. That is, such solutions do not exist for pure velocity-dependent constitutive models, in which the stress-resisting slip on the ruptured surface is a continuously decreasing function of the instantaneous sliding rate (but not of its previous history or of other measures of the evolving state of the surface). Further, even for constitutive models that include both the rate- and state-dependence of friction, such as the laboratory-based constitutive models for friction as developed by Dieterich (1979, 1981) and Ruina (1983), steady pulse solutions do not exist for versions, like one discussed by Ruina (1983), which do not allow (rapid) restrengthening in truly stationary contact. For a particular class of rate- and state-dependent laws which includes such restrengthening, we establish parameter ranges for which steady pulse solutions exist, and use a numerical method stabilized by a Tikhonov-style regularization to construct the solutions. The numerical method used for the transient analysis adopts Fourier series representations for the spatial dependence of stress and slip along the interface, with the (time-dependent) coefficients in those Fourier series being related to one another in a way which obtains from exact solution to the equations of elastodynamics. This allows an efficient numerical method, based on use of the Fast Fourier Transform in each time step, with the frictional constitutive law enforced at the FFT sample points along the interface. Solutions based on a law that includes restrengthening in stationary contact show that spontaneous rupture propagation will occur either in the self-healing slip pulse mode (but not generally as a steady pulse) or in the classical enlarging-crack mode, depending on the values of parameters which enter the constitutive law. This analysis suggests that the strictly steady, traveling wave pulse solutions may either be unstable or have a limited basin of attraction.

Finite-difference modeling of faults and fractures

Abstract: For the purposes of seismic propagation, a slip fault may be regarded as a surface across which the displacement caused by a seismic wave is discontinuous while the stress traction remains continuous. The simplest assumption is that this slip and the stress traction are linearly related. Such a linear slip interface condition is easily modeled when the fault is parallel to the finite-difference grid, but is more difficult to do for arbitrary nonplanar fault surfaces. To handle such situations we introduce equivalent medium theory to model material behavior in the cells of the finite-difference grid intersected by the fault. Virtually identical results were obtained from modeling the fault by (1) an explicit slip interface condition (fault parallel to the grid) and (2) using the equivalent medium theory when the finite-difference grid was rotated relative to the fault and receiver array. No additional computation time is needed except for the preprocessing required to find the relevant cells and their associated moduli. The formulation is sufficiently general to include faults in and between arbitrary anisotropic materials with slip properties that vary as a function of position.

Self-excited oscillations of two elastic half-spaces sliding with a constant coefficient of friction

Abstract: Two flat isotropic elastic half-spaces, of different material properties, are pressed together and slide against each other with a constant coefficient of friction. Although a nominally steady-state solution exists, an analysis of the dynamic problem demonstrates that the steady solution can be dynamically unstable. Eigenvalues with positive real parts give rise to self-excited motion which occurs for a wide range of material pairs, coefficients of friction, and sliding velocities (including very low speeds). These self-excited oscillations are generally confined to the region near the interface and can lead either to regions of loss of contact or to areas of stick slip. The mechanism responsible for the instability is essentially one of destabilization of interfacial (slip) waves. It is expected that these vibrations might play an important role in the behavior of sliding members with dry friction.

Effect of Faulting on Fluid Flow in Porous Sandstones: Geometry and Spatial Distribution

Abstract: We present a methodology to describe fault geometry at different scales and to characterize the distribution of these scales on the flanks of a salt intrusion in the Colorado Plateau (Arches National Park, United States). This methodology is based on the recognition of the physical processes of faulting and on the quantitative characterization of the structural and petrophysical properties of faults in porous sandstones. The methods used include a variety of mapping techniques (photography, aerial photography, string mapping, theodolite surveys, etc.), as well as techniques for determining fluid flow properties. The resulting study is a prototype for understanding seismic and subseismic scales of heterogeneity related to faulting and fracturing in subsurface reservoirs. > Faulting in porous sandstones on the flanks of the salt intrusion is developed at different stages, from simple deformation bands (1-20 mm shear offset) to slip planes (>1 m shear offset) and complex fault zones. We document that deformation-band outcrop geometry is characterized by a sinuous anastomosing pattern resulting from the linkage of quasitabular segments via ramp or "eye" structures. These connecting structures recur at different scales and provide lateral continuity of the deformation bands; therefore, deformation bands have good geometric sealing characteristics. Slip planes, which are not interconnected, may have poor geometric sealing characteristics. In the hanging wall of a major normal fault, the quantitative spatial distribution of the faults can be correlated with bending of the strata, probably associated with the salt intrusion. The number of deformation bands, the most ubiquitous element, is proportional to the amount of slip on a single major fault. Deformation bands also have a very high density (>100 m-1) in stepovers between slip planes. In these areas we find the largest anomalies in permeability. In zones of high strata curvature, the average layer-parallel permeability can drop one to two orders of magnitude with respect to the host rock; if complex fault zones are present, the average permeability can drop more than four orders of magnitude in the direction normal to the faults. Finally, by using outcrop and laboratory data that describe the effect of distinctive structural units on fluid flow, we quantify the three-dimensional distribution of permeability in a reservoir analog at any scale, and we show that such permeability distribution could be implemented in a geology-based reservoir simulator.

Slip patterns and earthquake populations along different classes of faults in elastic solids

Abstract: Numerical simulations of slip instabilities on a vertical strike-slip fault in an elastic half-space are performed for various models belonging to two different categories. The first category consists of inherently discrete cellular fault models. Such are used to represent fault systems made of segments (modeled by numerical cells) that can fail independently of one another. Their quasi-independence is assumed to provide an approximate representation of strong fault heterogeneity, due to geometric or material property disorder, that can arrest ruptures at segment boundaries. The second category consists of models having a well-defined continuum limit. These involve a fault governed by rate- and state-dependent friction and are used to evaluate what types of property heterogeneity could lead to the quasi-independent behavior of neighboring fault segments assumed in the first category. The cases examined include models of a cellular fault subjected to various complex spatial distributions of static to kinetic strength drops, and models incorporating rate- and state-dependent friction subjected to various spatial distributions of effective stress (normal stress minus pore pressure). The results indicate that gradual effective stress variations do not provide a sufficient mechanism for the generation of observed seismic response. Strong and abrupt fault heterogeneity, as envisioned in the inherently discrete category, is required for the generation of complex slip patterns and a wide spectrum of event sizes. Strong fault heterogeneity also facilitates the generation of rough rupture fronts capable of radiating high-frequency seismic waves. The large earthquakes in both categories of models occur on a quasi-periodic basis; the degree of periodicity increases with event size and decreases with model complexity. However, in all discrete segmented cases the models generate nonrepeating sequences of earthquakes, and the nature of the large (quasi-periodic) events is highly variable. The results indicate that expectations for regular sequences of earthquakes and/or simple repetitive precursory slip patterns are unrealistic. The frequency-size (FS) statistics of the small failure episodes simulated by the cellular fault models are approximately self-similar with b ≈ 1.2 and bA ≈ 1, where b and bA are b values based on magnitude and rupture area, respectively. For failure episodes larger than a critical size, however, the simulated statistics are strongly enhanced with respect to self-similar distributions defined by the small events. This is due to the fact that the stress concentrated at the edge of a rupture expanding in an elastic solid grows with the rupture size. When the fault properties (e.g., geometric irregularities) are characterized by a narrow range of size scales, the scaling of stress concentrations with the size of the failure zone creates a critical rupture area terminating the self-similar earthquake statistics. In such systems, events reaching the critical size become (on the average) unstoppable, and they continue to grow to a size limited by a characteristic model dimension. When, however, the system is characterized by a broad spectrum of size scales, the above phenomena are suppressed and the range of (apparent) self-similar FS statistics is broad and characterized by average b and bA values of about 1. The simulations indicate that power law extrapolations of low-magnitude seismicity will often underestimate the rate of occurrence of moderate and large earthquakes. The models establish connections between features of FS statistics of earthquakes (range of self-similar regimes, local maxima) and structural properties of faults (dominant size scales of heterogeneities, dimensions of coherent brittle zones). The results suggest that observed FS statistics can be used to obtain information on crustal thickness and fault zone structure.

Frequency domain inversion of strong motions: Application to the 1992 Landers earthquake

Abstract: We present a frequency domain inversion in which the observed earthquake strong ground motions are used to constrain the space-time dependence of slip on a fault. Green's functions are numerically evaluated and the parameters describing the rupture are the local slip, rupture time and rise time. These parameters are simultaneously evaluated without additional constraints. This procedure allows for large variations in the local rupture velocity. The June 28, 1992 Landers earthquake (Mw = 7.3) offers an exceptional opportunity to apply this technique to a major strike-slip event. We model the rupture evolution, including local differences in slip durations and variations in rupture velocity. Our final results are in good agreement with other inversion studies, geodetic and surface observations. The main discrepancies occurred at depth and at the end of the Johnson Valley fault. We show that a relatively low resolution could be an explanation for these differences. Rupture velocity and slip are extremely heterogeneous, both along strike and with depth. A moment of 0.90×1020 N m was found. The slip distribution shows that this event consists of a series of regions of high slip (subevents) separated by regions of relative low slip. Approximately 50% of the moment was released on the Homestead Valley fault; in this region of large slip, the rupture velocity inferred by our inversion is well constrained and is equal to 3.0 km/s at depth and 2.5 km/s near the surface. Our inversion favors the hypothesis that the duration of the slip at each point of the fault is of the order of the duration of rupture of each subevent.

Constraints on present‐day Basin and Range deformation from space geodesy

Abstract: We use new space geodetic data from very long baseline interferometry and satellite laser ranging combined with other geodetic and geologic data to study contemporary deformation in the Basin and Range province of the western United States. Northwest motion of the central Sierra Nevada block relative to stable North America, a measure of integrated Basin and Range deformation, is 12.1±1.2 mm/yr oriented N38°W±5° (one standard error), in agreement with previous geological estimates within uncertainties. This velocity reflects both east-west extension concentrated in the eastern Basin and Range and north-northwest directed right lateral shear concentrated in the western Basin and Range. Ely, Nevada is moving west at 4.9±1.3 mm/yr relative to stable North America, consistent with dip-slip motion on the north striking Wasatch fault and other north striking normal faults. Comparison with ground-based geodetic data suggests that most of this motion is accommodated within ∼50 km of the Wasatch fault zone. Paleoseismic data for the Wasatch fault zone and slip rates based on seismic energy release in the region both suggest much lower slip rates. The discrepancy may be explained by some combination of additional deformation away from the Wasatch fault itself, aseismic slip, or a seismic rate that is anomalously low with respect to longer time averages. Deformation in the western Basin and Range province is also largely confined to a relatively narrow boundary zone and in our study area is partitioned into the eastern California shear zone, accommodating 10.7±1.6 mm/yr of north-northwest directed right-lateral shear, and a small component (∼1 mm/yr) of west-southwest - east-northeast extension. A slip rate budget for major strike-slip faults in our study area based on a combination of local geodetic or late Quaternary geologic data and the regional space geodetic data suggests the following rates of right-lateral slip: Owens Valley fault zone, 3.9±1.1 mm/yr; Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault zone, 3.3±2.2 mm/yr; White Mountains fault zone in northern Owens Valley, 3.4±1.2 mm/yr; Fish Lake Valley fault zone, 6.2±2.3 mm/yr. In the last few million years the locus of right-lateral shear in the region has shifted west and become more north trending as slip on the northwest striking Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault zone has decreased and is increasingly accommodated on the north-northwest striking Owens Valley fault zone.

Influence of temperature and strain rate on slip and twinning behavior of zr

Abstract: The stress-strain behavior of pure Zr was studied systematically at various temperatures and strain rates. At 76 K, Zr deforms predominantly by twinning, whereas above room temperature (RT), slip is the controlling deformation mode. A transition in the rate-controlling deformation mode from slip to twinning has been observed to occur at intermediate temperatures during the course of plastic deformation. Above 373 K, slip dominates the entire course of deformation. The transition from slip to twinning in the stress-strain behavior is linked to differing strain-hardening rates and temperature sensitivities of the two deformation modes.

A rheologic model for wet crust applied to strike-slip faults

Abstract: The strength and stability of crustal faults are not adequately addressed by the widely used two-mechanism rheologic models of the crust based on Byerlee's law and power law creep. The models neglect the fluid-assisted mechanisms of deformation that are important to strength of the crust and do not describe the variation in rate dependence of friction that governs the stability of fault slip. Several distinct mechanisms of frictional slip are defined on the basis of variations in frictional behavior and microfabric of simulated fault gouge in laboratory experiments. State variable constitutive relations are used in a multiple-mechanism formulation to describe the rate and temperature dependence of three friction mechanisms in wet quartz gouge at elevated temperatures. This multimechanism description of friction is substituted for Byerlee's law in the two-mechanism models to generate a multimechanism rheologic model for the crust. The multimechanism model is used to predict the rate and temperature dependence of crustal strength and the slip rate and depth (temperature) conditions over which each mechanism dominates. Application of the model to strike-slip faults in the crust illustrates that the thickness of the actively shearing zone within faults is a critical parameter governing fault strength and stability. The model predicts that frictional strength at midcrustal depths is significantly reduced relative to Byerlee's law only for thick fault zones. The reduction in strength is due to the operation of a strain rate sensitive friction mechanism involving combined cataclasis and solution transfer. The rheologic model predicts that only very thin faults display the rate dependent characteristics necessary for initiation of seismic slip to any significant depth in the crust.

Mechanisms of friction and assessment of slip resistance of new and used footwear soles on contaminated floors

Abstract: The great number of slipping accidents indicates that footwear providing good slip resistance must be rare. Slip resistance seems to be a purely physical phenomenon, however, more knowledge of the mechanisms of friction is needed to develop slip-resistant footwear and to ensure safer walking in slippery conditions. In the present study the influence of the normal wear of shoe heels and soles on their frictional properties was clarified. The slip resistance of three types of new and used safety shoes on four relatively slippery floor-contaminant combinations, was assessed with a prototype apparatus, which simulates the movements of a human foot and the forces applied to the underfoot surface during an actual slip. The used shoes were collected from 27 workers in a shipbuilding company and classified by sight into four wear classes: Good, satisfactory, poor, and worn-out. The assessed shoe heels and soles were in general more slippery when new compared to used heels and soles. However, footwear must be discarded before the tread pattern is worn-out. Used microcellular polyurethane (PU) heels and soles gave a considerably higher coefficient of kinetic friction (μk) on contaminated floors than used heels and soles made of compact nitrile (NR) and compact styrene rubber (SR). The heel-slide coefficient of kinetic friction (μkl) for used versus new shoes was on average 66% higher for PU (0·216 versus 0·130), 27% higher for SR (0·143 versus 0·113), and 7% lower for NR (0·098 versus 0·105). The fundamental mechanisms of friction between shoe soles and contaminated floors were also discussed, and experiments with seven slabs of sole materials were carried out to assess contact pressure effects from the viewpoint of slipping. Slip resistance particularly seemed to depend on the squeeze film and the contact pressure effects between the soling materials and the floor. An increasing contact pressure dramatically reduced the μk, thus indicating that the slip resistance varies considerably during the normal gait cycle. Hence, average friction readings are probably not at all decisive from the slip resistance point of view. An instantaneous coefficient of friction may be more relevant, because in walking the time available to achieve a sufficient coefficient of friction to avoid a slip is only a few tenths of a second.

Prehistoric earthquake deformations near Masada, Dead Sea graben

Abstract: Earthquake-inducedfluidizations and suspensions of lake sediments, associated with syndepositionalfaults,formapaleoseismicrecordintheDeadSeagraben.Theassociation offluidized beds with surface faulting supports the recognition of mixed layers as reliable earthquake indicators and provides a tool for the study of very long term (>70 kar) seismicity along the Dead Sea transform. The faults compose a fault zone that offsets laminated sediments of the late Pleistocene Lake Lisan. They exhibit displacements of as much as 2 m. Layers of massive mixtures of laminated fragments are interpreted as disturbed beds, each formed by an earthquake. The undisturbed laminated layers between these mixed layers represent the interseismic interval. A typical vertical slip of about 0.5 m per event is separated by several hundred years of quiescence. The fault zone lies within the Dead Sea graben, 2 km east of Masada, where archaeology and historical accounts indicate repeated strong earthquake damage. The distribution of strikes in the fault zone resembles that of the faults exposed in and around the graben, including the seismogenic ones. The excellent exposures over hundreds of metres allow an unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution of slip events on faults.