The P–T–t evolution of the exhumed Himalayan metamorphic core in the Likhu Khola region,East Central Nepal

The recent identification of multiple strike‐parallel discontinuities within the exhumed Himalayan metamorphic core has helped revise the understanding of convergence accommodation processes within the former mid‐crust exposed in the Himalaya. Whilst the significance of these discontinuities to the overall development of the mountain belt is still being investigated, their identification and characterization has become important for potential correlations across regions, and for constraining the kinematic framework of the mid‐crust. The result of new phase equilibria modelling, trace element analysis and high‐precision Lu–Hf garnet dating of the metapelites from the Likhu Khola region in east central Nepal, combined with the previously published monazite petrochronology data confirms the presence of one of such cryptic thrust‐sense tectonometamorphic discontinuities within the lower portion of the exhumed metamorphic core and provides new constraints on the P–T estimates for that region. The location of the discontinuity is marked by an abrupt change in the nature of P–T–t paths of the rocks across it. The rocks in the footwall are characterized by a prograde burial P–T path with peak metamorphic conditions of ~660°C and ~9.5 kbar likely in the mid‐to‐late Miocene, which are overlain by the hanging wall rocks, that preserve retrograde P–T paths with P–T conditions of >700°C and ~7 kbar in the early Miocene. The occurrence of this thrust‐sense structure that separates rock units with unique metamorphic histories is compatible with orogenic models that identify a spatial and temporal transition from early midcrustal deformation and metamorphism in the deeper hinterland to later deformation and metamorphism towards the shallower foreland of the orogen. Moreover, these observations are comparable with those made across other discontinuities at similar structural levels along the Himalaya, confirming their importance as important orogen‐scale structures.     

On modeling of discrete propagation of localized damage in cohesive‐frictional materials

In this paper, the problem of propagation of localized deformation associated with formation of macrocracks/shear bands is studied in both tensile and compressive regimes. The main focus here is on enhancement of the constitutive law with embedded discontinuity to provide a discrete representation of the localization phenomenon. This has been accomplished by revising the formulation and coupling it with the level‐set method for tracing the propagation path. Extensive numerical studies are conducted involving various fracture modes, ranging from brittle to frictional, and the results are compared with the experimental data as well as those obtained using XFEM methodology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transverse and longitudinal fluid flow modelling in fractured porous media with non‐matching meshes

A new discrete fracture model is introduced to simulate the steady‐state fluid flow in discontinuous porous media. The formulation uses a multi‐layered approach to capture the effect of both longitudinal and transverse permeability of the discontinuities in the pressure distribution. The formulation allows the independent discretisation of mesh and discontinuities, which do not need to conform. Given that the formulation is developed at the element level, no additional degrees of freedom or special integration procedures are required for coupling the non‐conforming meshes. The proposed model is shown to be reliable regardless of the permeability of the discontinuity being higher or lower than the surrounding domain. Four numerical examples of increasing complexity are solved to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the new technique when compared with results available in the literature. Results show that the proposed method can simulate the fluid pressure distribution in fractured porous media. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis demonstrated the stability regarding the condition number for wide range values of the coupling parameter.     

Modelling of coupled fluid‐mechanical problems in fractured geological media using enriched finite elements

Geological environments, such as petroleum reservoirs, normally exhibit physical discontinuities, for example, fractures and faults. Because of the reduced thickness of these discontinuities, finite element formulations with strong discontinuity have been applied to the numerical modelling of geological environments. Until now, two relevant characteristics of petroleum reservoirs have not been addressed by these formulations. The first is the pore pressure jump in the direction normal to a discontinuity in a fluid‐mechanical coupling condition, which is present primarily in sealing faults owing to the contrast of permeability with the porous medium. The absence of this jump can affect the prediction of the deformability of a physical discontinuity. Furthermore, reservoir models frequently use coarse meshes. Thus, the method used to evaluate the pore pressure in the discontinuity may exhibit a strong dependence relative to the mesh refinement. Based on these characteristics, in this study, a formulation of an enriched finite element for application to coupled fluid‐mechanical problems with pre‐existing physical discontinuities saturated by a single fluid is presented. The formulation employs discontinuous interpolation functions and enables the reproduction of jumps of displacement and pore pressure associated with a discontinuity inside the element without the need to discretise it. An approximation to estimate the pore pressure in the discontinuity was developed, one which seeks to minimise the influence of refinement. The element's response is verified by comparison with a one‐dimensional analytical solution and simple examples that are simulated using commercial software. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

缅甸弧中部俯冲带下方地幔间断面起伏形态研究

新生代以来,印度板块和欧亚板块发生碰撞形成了喜马拉雅造山带和青藏高原,印度板片在喜马拉雅东构造结处缅甸弧俯冲带进入深部地幔.开展缅甸弧俯冲带下方地幔间断面的研究有助于认识印度大陆岩石圈的碰撞-俯冲过程及其对上地幔结构的影响.本文选用了发生于缅甸弧地区的3个中源地震事件,获取了欧洲和美国阿拉斯加地区多个密集地震台网/台阵...     

地幔转换带:地球深部研究的重要方向

地幔转换带是联系上下地幔的纽带,对于认识整个地幔的组成和演化、地幔对流、岩石圈深俯冲及深源地震等地球深部动力学问题具有重要意义。一般认为,转换带地震不连续面主要与橄榄石的高压相变密切相关。最新的高温高压实验研究表明,地幔中非橄榄石组分的相变,如辉石和石榴子石的相变,对不连续面的深度和宽度以及转换带内的波速和密度梯度也起到很大的影响。另外地幔全岩成分、端员组分、温度和水也对相变和不连续面具有重要影响,这些精细的实验研究成果更好地解释了转换带地震不连续面一些相对局部的性质和变化,促进了我们对地球深部性质和动力学过程的了解。因为缺少直接来自地球深部的样品,而地球物理和地球化学研究也有它们的相对局限性,所以高温高压实验仍然是我们了解地球深部成分和性质的重要手段之一。     

岩石结构面几何特征的分形与分维

本文引用B.B.Mandelbrot创立的分形几何学这一新理论及其思维方法,对岩石结构面的几何特征,包括规模、隙宽、密度和粗糙度进行分形分析。结果表明,在10~7级范围内,结构面几何特征呈现出很强的自相似性,其分数维分别为0.8272、0.8173和2.1385;粗糙度JRC则由分数维方便地定量地表征。这一客观规律的揭示,对各种尺度结构面几何特征、渗透路线的形态和流速趋势的确定具有重要的理论价值和现实意义。