岩石高速摩擦实验的进展

文中简述了地震动力学国家重点实验室近年来在岩石高速摩擦实验方面的进展。为了深化断层与地震力学研究,实验室建设了一套旋转剪切低速-高速摩擦实验装置,可开展滑动速率介于板块运动速率(cm/a量级)至地震滑动速率(m/s量级)的岩石摩擦实验,其中高速摩擦性能填补了实验室的技术空白。以此为依托,围绕汶川地震断层带力学性质研究,开展了一系列高速摩擦实验。结果表明,龙门山断裂带断层泥的高速摩擦性质具有一致性,其高速滑动下显著的滑动弱化必定在汶川地震中极大地促进了破裂的扩展;断层弱化的主导机制是与摩擦生热相关的过程,包括凹凸体急速加热弱化和热压作用;断层泥在经历高速滑动弱化之后摩擦系数可在5~10s内恢复0.4,断层强度的快速恢复是同震主破裂带余震减少的原因之一。基于对实验装置现状和现有成果的分析,展望了近期实验室岩石高速摩擦的发展方向。     

断层同震滑动的实验模拟——岩石高速摩擦实验的意义、方法与研究进展

岩石摩擦实验是断层力学和震源物理实验研究中主要的手段之一.传统低速率的岩石摩擦实验与以之为基础建立的速率状态变量摩擦本构关系理论体系,对于认识断层摩擦滑动稳定性和地震成核等地震成因机制问题具有重要意义.近20年来,断层力学领域兴起了用于模拟断层同震动态滑动的岩石高速摩擦实验.这种新的实验模拟方法揭示出断层同震滑动存在明显的摩擦生热效应,断层的力学性状主要表现为显著的滑移弱化和速度弱化,断层带物质在断层高速滑移过程中经历了各种复杂的物理化学变化.这些研究成果对于认识和评估断层同震弱化机制、断层带强度、地震能量分配、断层破裂模式、断层愈合等问题均具有重要启示.本文对岩石高速摩擦实验的意义、方法与研究进展进行了总结,提出了目前的前沿性问题和值得开展的工作.     

地震滑动加速和减速过程中的摩擦作用

在地震滑动过程中,断层动态摩擦是地壳内控制地震破裂的决定性因素。天然地震的脆性裂纹理论[1-3]使得以下观点被普遍接受:在地震断层快速滑动的过程中,断层摩擦力减弱,即所谓的滑动弱化[1]。高速断层泥实验[4-5],以及最近关于热增压[6-7]和摩擦熔化[8]的试验都支持该理论。但是,这些研究均仅针对固定的断层滑动速率。在本文中,我们的实验展示了不同滑动速率下断层物质的摩擦行为——这一模型的设置更接近天然地震的特征。实验结果表明,在断层滑动加速和减速的过程中,断层摩擦经历了增长、弱化和再增长。这种摩擦变化可能可以由低滑动速率下和更现实的滑动速率之下的速率-状态摩擦行为[9-10]来解释,但包含了不同的物理机制和不同的规模。最初的摩擦增强可能会阻碍小破裂向大地震的发展。断层滑动减速过程中的摩擦增强可能导致地震破裂呈脉冲状[11-14],并使得静态应力下降到与动态应力变化相比较低的水平[15]。     

龙门山断裂带断层泥中速-高速摩擦性质的实验研究

为了认识龙门山断裂带在汶川地震中的同震滑动力学性质,我们对龙门山断裂带地表断层带露头上的断层泥及少量WFSD-1断层泥开展了中速-高速摩擦实验研究。主要关注的问题包括：龙门山断裂带高速摩擦性质及其不均匀性、震后断层强度恢复问题、高速滑动可能的主导弱化机制问题和宽速度域内摩擦滑动速度依赖性问题。     

龙门山断裂带断层岩在水热条件下的摩擦滑动特性实验研究

为了探索断层岩石在断层带不同温度和压力条件下其摩擦强度和摩擦滑动稳定性对于断层活动性的影响,我们采集了龙门山断裂带地震发生区段出露的自然断层泥样品和后山断裂带韧性剪切带中的富含层状硅酸盐矿物的糜棱岩样品进行了水热条件下的摩擦滑动实验研究。我们根据自然断层泥样品的XRD分析结果选取了5种具有不同矿物组合及含量的自然断层泥样品并在50MPa的初始围压和25℃～150℃的温度条件下进行了摩擦滑动实验。     

模拟断层泥摩擦滑动速度依赖性转换的实验研究

基于岩石摩擦的速率-状态摩擦定律,速度弱化是断层失稳的必要条件,速度弱化向速度强化的转换控制着断层从不稳定滑动向稳定滑动的转换.因此,断层摩擦滑动的速度依赖性转换涉及断层带上地震活动特征、地震成核深度以及慢地震机制等重要问题.     

岩石摩擦滑动失稳前断层区的波速变化

对岩石摩擦滑动失稳前断层区的波速变化进行了实验研究，实验表明，岩石摩擦滑动失稳前沿断层一侧的测线上观测不到测速变化，沿着跨断层的测线可观测到波速下降的前兆，因此，尝试用波速异常预断层带粘膜型地震时，选择测线应跨断层。     

基于中速-高速摩擦实验研究含碳断层带的电导率特征

野外地质调查结果显示,断层带常富集碳质.断层带中碳的分布结构是影响断层带电导率特征的一种重要参数.本文在室温、室内湿度和2MPa正应力条件下,对不同石墨含量(3,5,6和7wt%)的石英-石墨混合断层泥模拟样品开展了滑动速率介于500μm·s-1～1m·s-1的摩擦实验及相应的电导率测量,以期研究断层运动对碳分布结构的影响以及断层带电性特征对碳含量及分布的响应情况.结果显示,摩擦滑动能够显著地改变样品的电性特征(电导率大小及其各向异性).在平行滑动面方向(径向),样品电导率随着滑动位移的增加快速增加,在滑动约数十厘米之后,其电导率基本达到稳定状态;在垂直滑动面方向(轴向),样品电导率基本不随摩擦滑动速率和滑动距离而变化.SEM显微结构观测显示,摩擦滑动所引起的电导率各向异性直接反映了石墨分布结构的变化.该研究结果深化了对地震断裂带浅部电性特征的认识,为野外断层带大地电磁测深资料的解释提供了约束,同时对于了解含碳断层的力学性质和弱矿物相在剪切变形中的分布特征及其演化过程等方面也具有重要意义.     

花岗岩三轴摩擦试验

岩石的摩擦性状的研究是岩石力学的一个重要课题。地壳断层的滑动,岩石边坡的稳定性及有节理的岩石的力学特性以及坝基稳定性等,都与岩石的摩擦性状紧密相关。本项研究的目的是为拉西瓦水电站的规划设计提供岩石摩擦性状和断层面滑动准则的参考资料。对于拉西瓦水电站花岗岩摩擦性状的研究,我们分别采用了两种方法。一种方法是用双剪设备进行试验,最大正应力约30兆帕,研究滑动距离和断层泥对摩擦性状的影     

岩石摩擦-滑动中的声发射b值动态特征及其地震学意义

双剪试验的结果表明,岩石摩擦滑动过程中的AE b 值动态曲线可归纳为锯齿状和台柱状两类,分别对应于不规则粘滑和规则粘滑.滑动瞬间滑面上摩擦系数变化△μ的分布决定岩石的滑动方式,不均匀分布易发生不规则粘滑.均匀分布易引起规则粘滑;破裂和滑动是摩擦滑动过程中的两类AE 机制,两类AE 的能量分别与破裂面面积及△μ成正比.研究结果提示,平直光滑的地震断层可能显示出特征地震的发震特点.     

THE VITRINITE REFLECTANCE OF FAULT ROCKS FROM THE WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE FAULT ZONE: CONSTRAINTS ON FRICTIONAL PROPERTIES OF THE FAULT DURING THE EARTHQUAKE

The temperature rise caused by frictional heating during seismic slip is able to indicate dynamic frictional properties of the seismic fault,which provides an approach to understand the dynamic process and energy budget of an earthquake.The residual indicators of frictional heating within the fault zone also can be taken as an evidence for seismic events.The vitrinite reflectance is a commonly-used geothermometer in the coal,oil and gas industries.It also has some potential applications in the studies of fault rock and fault mechanics.We studied vitrinite reflectance (VR) of fault rocks collected from surface outcrops of the Wenchuan earthquake fault zone in this paper.The measured data reveal that the VR of fault rocks are affected by fault motion,and there is a trend that the VR increases towards the fault core,which indicates the effects of frictional heating.The VR of fault rocks from the Bajiaomiao outcrop is much higher than those from the Shenxigou outcrop,which probably suggests the difference in fault activity at the two outcrops.Our study also suggests that systematic measurement of VR across the fault zone is helpful in identifying slip zones and determining their widths.From the VR measurement on an oriented specimen containing the slip surface of the Wenchuan earthquake from the Shenxigou outcrop,we observed anomalous high VR values in two black-colored slip zones of about 2mm in width near the slip surface.The numerical calculation shows that the maximum temperature rise on the fault plane near Shenxigou was probably less than 162℃ during the Wenchuan earthquake,which means the dynamic fault strength was quite low.These estimations are roughly in accord with the results from the high-velocity frictional experiments.     

龙门山断裂带金河磷矿剖面断层泥的低速至高速摩擦性质研究

本文对龙门山断裂带金河磷矿浅钻岩芯中的三种断层泥开展了低速到高速摩擦滑动的实验研究,并对实验变形样品开展了BET比表面积研究.摩擦实验在干燥和孔隙水压条件下开展,速率范围涵盖20 μm·s^-1~1.4 m·s^-1.实验结果显示,三种断层泥在干燥条件下的摩擦性质差别不大,但在孔隙水压条件下,三者的中低速摩擦强度与层状硅酸盐矿物的种类而非总含量紧密相关,蒙脱石和伊利石相比绿泥石更能有效地弱化断层.三种断层泥在孔隙水压条件下存在中低速率域的速度强化,暗示着对断层的加速滑动存在一定的阻碍作用.孔隙水压下,黄绿色和灰绿色断层泥的初始动态弱化非常迅速并伴随断层泥层的瞬时扩容,凹凸体急剧加热导致的局部热压作用可能是造成这种力学行为的物理机制.在经历高速滑动之后,三种断层泥在干、湿条件下的BET比表面积都显著降低,暗示着可能发生了颗粒烧结.中低速域内,孔隙水的存在使得断层泥呈现分散式的剪切变形,BET比表面积的增加因此比干燥条件下更加明显.对表面能的估算表明,颗粒磨碎所消耗的能量至多不超过摩擦力做功的8%,暗示着断层作用中颗粒磨碎所占的能量比例较低.     

THE GEOLOGICAL AND ROCK MECHANICAL DISTINCTION EVIDENCE BETWEEN STICK-SLIP AND CREEP IN HOST ROCK SEGMENTS OF FAULT

Paleo-seismic and fault activity are hard to distinguish in host rock areas compared with soft sedimentary segments of fault. However, fault frictional experiments could obtain the conditions of stable and unstable slide, as well as the microstructures of fault gouge, which offer some identification marks between stick-slip and creep of fault. We summarized geological and rock mechanical distinction evidence between stick-slip and creep in host rock segments of fault, and analyzed the physical mechanisms which controlled the behavior of stick-slip and creep. The chemical composition of fault gouge is most important to control stick-slip and creep. Gouge composed by weak minerals, such as clay mineral, has velocity weakening behavior, which causes stable slide of fault. Gouge with rock-forming minerals, such as calcite, quartz, feldspar, pyroxene, has stick-slip behavior under condition of focal depth. To the gouge with same chemical composition, the deformation mechanism controls the frictional slip. It is essential condition to stick slip for brittle fracture companied by dilatation, but creep is controlled by compaction and cataclasis as well as ductile shear with foliation and small fold. However, under fluid conditions, pressure solution which healed the fractures and caused strength recovery of fault, is the original reason of unstable slide, and also resulted in locking of fault with high pore pressure in core of fault zone. Contrast with that, rock-forming minerals altered to phyllosilicates in the gouges by fluid flow through degenerative reaction and hydrolysis reaction, which produced low friction fault and transformations to creep. The creep process progressively developed several wide shear zones including of R, Y, T, P shear plane that comprise gouge zones embedded into wide damage zones, which caused small earthquake distributed along wide fault zones with focal mechanism covered by normal fault, strike-slip fault and reverse fault. However, the stick-slip produced mirror-like slide surfaces with very narrow gouges along R shear plane and Y shear plane, which caused small earthquake distributed along narrow fault zones with single kind of focal mechanism.     

Clayey injection veins and pseudotachylyte from two boreholes penetrating the Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan: Their implications for the contrastive seismic slip behaviors during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake

Abstract   The seismic slip that occurred during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan showed contrastive behaviors in different regions along the Chelungpu Fault: A large and smooth slip occurred in the north, while a relatively small slip associated with high-frequency seismic wave radiation occurred in the south. The core samples from shallow boreholes at northern (Fengyuan) and southern (Nantou) sites penetrating the seismic Chelungpu Fault were analyzed. The fault zones at the northern site are characterized by soft clayey material associated with clayey injection veins. This suggests that the fault zones were pressurized during ancient seismic slip events, and hence the elastohydrodynamic lubrication occurred effectively. In contrast, the fault rock from the southern site is old pseudotachylyte that has been shattered by repeated ancient seismic slip events. Statistical analysis of many pseudotachylyte fragments reveals that the degree of frictional melting tended to be low. In this case, the seismic slip is restrained by the mechanical barrier of a highly viscous melt layer. These contrastive fault rocks were produced by repeated ancient seismic slip events, but the two corresponding mechanisms of friction are likely to have also occurred during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, thus causing the contrastive slip behaviors in the north and south.     

Spatio-temporal Slip, and Stress Level on the Faults within the Western Foothills of Taiwan: Implications for Fault Frictional Properties

We use preseismic, coseismic, and postseismic GPS data of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake to infer spatio-temporal variation of fault slip and frictional behavior on the Chelungpu fault. The geodetic data shows that coseismic slip during the Chi-Chi earthquake occurred within a patch that was locked in the period preceding the earthquake, and that afterslip occurred dominantly downdip from the ruptured area. To first-order, the observed pattern and the temporal evolution of afterslip is consistent with models of the seismic cycle based on rate-and-state friction. Comparison with the distribution of temperature on the fault derived from thermo-kinematic modeling shows that aseismic slip becomes dominant where temperature is estimated to exceed 200° at depth. This inference is consistent with the temperature induced transition from velocity-weakening to velocity-strengthening friction that is observed in laboratory experiments on quartzo-feldspathic rocks. The time evolution of afterslip is consistent with afterslip being governed by velocity-strengthening frictional sliding. The dependency of friction, μ, on the sliding velocity, V, is estimated to be ${{\partial \mu }/{\partial \, {\rm ln}\, V}} = 8 \times 10^{ - 3}$ . We report an azimuthal difference of about 10–20° between preseismic and postseismic GPS velocities, which we interpret to reflect the very low shear stress on the creeping portion of the décollement beneath the Central Range, of the order of 1–3 MPa, implying a very low friction of about 0.01. This study highlights the importance of temperature and pore pressure in determining fault frictional sliding.     

Internal structures and high-velocity frictional properties of Longmenshan fault zone at Shenxigou activated during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports internal structures of a wide fault zone at Shenxigou, Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, China, and high-velocity frictional properties of the fault gouge collected near the coseismic slip zone during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Vertical offset and horizontal displacement at the trench site were 2.8 m (NW side up) and 4.8 m (right-lateral), respectively. The fault zone formed in Triassic sandstone, siltstone, and shale about 500 m away from the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, a major fault in the Longmenshan fault system. A trench survey across the coseismic fault, and observations of outcrops and drill cores down to a depth of 57 m revealed that the fault zone consists of fault gouge and fault breccia of about 0.5 and 250–300 m in widths, respectively, and that the fault strikes N62°E and dips 68° to NW. Quaternary conglomerates were recovered beneath the fault in the drilling, so that the fault moved at least 55 m along the coseismic slip zone, experiencing about 18 events of similar sizes. The fault core is composed of grayish gouge (GG) and blackish gouge (BG) with very complex slip-zone structures. BG contains low-crystalline graphite of about 30 %. High-velocity friction experiments were conducted at normal stresses of 0.6–2.1 MPa and slip rates of 0.1–2.1 m/s. Both GG and BG exhibit dramatic slip weakening at constant high slip rates that can be described as an exponential decay from peak friction coefficient μ _p to steady-state friction coefficient μ _ss over a slip-weakening distance D _c. Deformation of GG and BG is characterized by overlapped slip-zone structures and development of sharp slickenside surfaces, respectively. Comparison of our data with those reported for other outcrops indicates that the high-velocity frictional properties of the Longmenshan fault zones are quite uniform and the high-velocity weakening must have promoted dynamic rupture propagation during the Wenchuan earthquake.     

Fault rock analysis of the northern part of the Chelungpu Fault and its relation to earthquake faulting of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan

Abstract   The 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan ( M _w = 7.6) produced a surface rupture along the north–south-striking Chelungpu thrust fault with pure dip-slip (east side up) and left lateral strike-slip displacements. Near-field strong-motion data for the northern part of the fault illustrate a distinct lack of the high-frequency seismic radiation associated with a large slip (10–15 m) and a rapid slip velocity (2–4 m/s), suggesting a smooth seismic slip associated with low dynamic frictional resistance on the fault. A drillhole was constructed at shallow depths in the possible fault zones of the northern part of the Chelungpu Fault, which may have slipped during the 1999 earthquake. One of the zones consists of a 20-cm-thick, unconsolidated fault breccia with a chaotic texture lacking both discrete slip surfaces (e.g. Riedel shears) and grain crushing. Other possible fault zones are marked by the narrow (less than a few centimeters) gouge zone in which clayey material intrudes into the damaged zone outside of the gouge zone. These characteristic fault rock textures suggest that the slip mechanisms at shallow levels during the earthquake involved either granular flow of initially unconsolidated material or slip localization under elevated pore pressure along the narrow clayey gouge zone. Because both mechanisms lead to low dynamic frictional resistance on the fault, the rapid seismic slip in the deep portions of the fault (i.e. the source region of strong-motion radiation) could have been accommodated by frictionless slip on the shallow portions of the fault. The combination of strong-motion data and fault rock analysis suggests that smooth slip associated with low dynamic friction occurred on both the deep and shallow portions of the fault, resulting in a large slip between the source region and the surface in the northern region.     

Ductile creep and compaction: A mechanism for transiently increasing fluid pressure in mostly sealed fault zones

A simple cyclic process is proposed to explain why major strike-slip fault zones, including the San Andreas, are weak. Field and laboratory studies suggest that the fluid within fault zones is often mostly sealed from that in the surrounding country rock. Ductile creep driven by the difference between fluid pressure and lithostatic pressure within a fault zone leads to compaction that increases fluid pressure. The increased fluid pressure allows frictional failure in earthquakes at shear tractions far below those required when fluid pressure is hydrostatic. The frictional slip associated with earthquakes creates porosity in the fault zone. The cycle adjusts so that no net porosity is created (if the fault zone remains constant width). The fluid pressure within the fault zone reaches long-term dynamic equilibrium with the (hydrostatic) pressure in the country rock. One-dimensional models of this process lead to repeatable and predictable earthquake cycles. However, even modest complexity, such as two parallel fault splays with different pressure histories, will lead to complicated earthquake cycles. Two-dimensional calculations allowed computation of stress and fluid pressure as a function of depth but had complicated behavior with the unacceptable feature that numerical nodes failed one at a time rather than in large earthquakes. A possible way to remove this unphysical feature from the models would be to include a failure law in which the coefficient of friction increases at first with frictional slip, stabilizing the fault, and then decreases with further slip, destabilizing it.     

龙门山构造带WFSD-2钻孔岩心磁化率特征及其对大地震活动的响应

岩石磁化率特征可以帮助判断岩石的形成环境,对地震过程中滑动摩擦伴随高温的物理-化学变化具有显著反应.本研究以钻穿龙门山中段构造带的汶川地震断裂科学钻探2号孔(WFSD-2)岩心为研究对象,使用Bartington MS2K磁化率仪对500~2283.56 m深度的岩心进行高分辨率无损磁化率测试,并结合岩性特征和显微结构探讨了龙门山构造带主要岩石单元的磁化率特征及其地震断裂活动的磁学响应.磁化率测试结果表明,由花岗岩和火山碎屑岩组成的彭灌杂岩体的磁化率值(数十到数千个10~(-6)SI)普遍高于上三叠统须家河组沉积岩的磁化率值(数个到数十个10~(-6)SI).从WFSD-2岩性分布来看,彭灌杂岩上下出露四段,其磁化率值特征反映它们属于不同的岩石单元,它们与下伏须家河组地层呈断层接触,构成叠瓦状构造,指示了龙门山构造带具有强烈的地壳缩短作用.断裂带中处于滑动带的断层泥和假玄武玻璃具有高磁化率特征,而断层角砾岩和碎裂岩不具有高磁化率值特征,表明断层岩磁化率增高的原因可能主要与地震断裂滑动摩擦过程中高温作用下发生的磁性矿物转换有关,断层岩中高磁化率异常可作为大地震活动的证据.WFSD-2岩心中的映秀—北川断裂带(600~960 m)可识别出约80条高磁化率异常的断层岩带,揭示映秀—北川断裂带是一条长期活动的断裂带,龙门山构造带形成演化过程中伴随着大地震活动.     

Internal structures and high-velocity frictional properties of a bedding-parallel carbonate fault at Xiaojiaqiao outcrop activated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

This paper reports internal structures of a bedding-parallel fault in Permian limestone at Xiaojiaqiao outcrop that was moved by about 0.5 m during the 2008 M_W7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. The fault is located about 3 km to the south from the middle part of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, a major fault in the Longmenshan fault system that was moved during the earthquake. The outcrop is also located at Anxian transfer zone between the northern and central segments of Yingxiu-Beichuan fault where fault system is complex. Thus the fault is an example of subsidiary faults activated by Wenchuan earthquake. The fault has a strike of 243° or N63°E and a dip of 38°NW and is nearly optimally oriented for thrust motion, in contrast to high-angle coseismic faults at most places. Surface outcrop and two shallow drilling studies reveal that the fault zone is several centimeters wide at most and that the coseismic slip zone during Wenchuan earthquake is about 1 mm thick. Fault zone contains foliated cataclasite, fault breccia, black gouge and yellowish gouge. Many clasts of foliated cataclasite and black gouge contained in fault breccia indicate multiple slip events along this fault. But fossils on both sides of fault do not indicate clear age difference and overall displacement along this fault should not be large. We also report results from high-velocity friction experiments conducted on yellowish gouge from the fault zone using a rotary shear low to high-velocity frictional testing apparatus. Dry experiments at normal stresses of 0.4 to 1.8 MPa and at slip rates of 0.08 to 1.35 m/s reveal dramatic slip weakening from the peak friction coefficient of around 0.6 to very low steady-state friction coefficient of 0.1-0.2. Slip weakening parameters of this carbonate fault zone are similar to those of clayey fault gouge from Yingxiu-Beichuan fault at Hongkou outcrop and from Pingxi fault zone. Our experimental result will provide a condition for triggering movement of subsidiary faults or off-fault damage during a large earthquake.