A note on the stress-dilatancy relation for simulated fault gouge

Theoretical constraints on the stress-dilation relation for a deforming Coulomb material requirev ifC=0 andv sin^-1( _m / _m ) always, wherev is the dilation angle, is the friction angle,C is cohesion, _m is the maximum shear stress, and _m is the mean effective stress. Recent laboratory measurements of friction and dilatancy of simulated fault gouge show that small amplitude shear-load cycling causes compaction and consolidation. Comparison of the data with theory indicates that such load cycling produces: (1) increased coefficient of friction (or friction angle), (2) increased cohesion, and (3) increased dilatancy rate (or dilation angle). Under certain conditions of load cycling without significant plastic shear strain accumulation ( ^p <0.005) we find thatv exceeds both and, in contrast to theory, sin^-1( _m / _m ). This result is interpreted in terms of enhanced cohesion and overconsolidation, which lead to residual stresses within the gouge. An analogy is drawn between these special loading conditions and those extant on natural faults. In particular, our results imply that jostling and minor stress variations associated with microearthquakes may produce strengthening of fault gouge and changes in the fault zone's stress-dilatancy relation. Hence, compaction associated with microseismicity may lead to subsequent dilation of fault gouge, even for faults with large displacement rates and large net offsets (e.g., San Andreas). In regions where such dilation persists over sufficient displacements (on the order of the critical slip distance for seismic faulting) it may tend to inhibit unstable slip.     

断层泥的再生显微结构特征及其地震地质意义

三轴剪切摩擦实验后的断层泥与天然断层泥的再生显微结构特征研究表明，断层泥的显微结构特征与断层滑动方式之间有一定的关系，稳滑使断层泥变形均匀，产生低角度剪切（＜１４°）、布丁构造和颗粒碎裂流动。粘滑使断层泥局部发生强烈变形、高角度剪切（＞１４°）和碎粒出现随机裂纹等。断层泥的再生显微结构特征可用作鉴别古地震的存在     

Coulomb constitutive laws for friction: Contrasts in frictional behavior for distributed and localized shear

We describe slip-rate dependent friction laws based on the Coulomb failure criteria. Frictional rate dependence is attributed to a rate dependence of cohesionc and friction angle . We show that differences in the stress states developed during sliding result in different Coulomb friction laws for distributed shear within a thick gouge layer versus localized shear within a narrow shear band or between bare rock surfaces. For shear within gouge, shear strength is given by =c cos + _n sin, whereas for shear between bare rock surfaces the shear strength is =c cos + _n tan, where and _n are shear and normal stress, respectively. In the context of rate-dependent Coulomb friction laws, these differences mean that for a given material and rate dependence of the Coulomb parameters, pervasive shear may exhibit velocity strengthening frictional behavior while localized shear exhibits velocity weakening behavior. We derive from experimental data the slip-rate dependence and evolution ofc and for distributed and localized shear. The data show a positive rate dependence for distributed shear and a negative rate dependence for localized shear, indicating that the rate dependence ofc and are not the same for distributed and localized shear, even after accounting for differences in stress state. Our analysis is consistent with the well-known association of instability with shear localization in simulated fault gouge and the observation that bare rock surfaces exhibit predominantly velocity weakening frictional behavior whereas simulated fault gouge exhibits velocity strengthening followed by a transition to velocity weakening with increasing displacement. Natural faults also exhibit displacement dependent frictional behavior and thus the results may prove useful in understanding the seismic evolution of faulting.     

热水条件下角闪石断层泥的摩擦滑动性质——与斜长石断层泥的对比

基于速率与状态依赖性摩擦本构关系理论框架,在热水条件下研究了角闪石断层泥的摩擦滑动性质并与闪长岩的另一种主要矿物斜长石的摩擦滑动性质进行了对比.摩擦实验是在三轴实验系统上完成,有效正应力200 MPa,孔隙压力30 MPa,并将加载速率在1.22 μm/s和 0.122 μm/s之间实施了切换.结果表明角闪石的摩擦系数均值为0.70±0.01,随着温度增加没有系统性的变化,整体低于斜长石的摩擦系数(0.75±0.01);计算与实验表明,角闪石和斜长石的摩擦系数的体积分数加权平均值与闪长岩的摩擦系数基本一致;角闪石在实验温度范围内(100～614 ℃)显示速率强化(a-b>0),与斜长石在整个温度范围内的速率弱化(a-b<0)正好相反;角闪石的速率依赖性在整个实验温度范围内无系统性的变化.     

The effects of sliding velocity on the frictional and physical properties of heated fault gouge

The frictional properties of a crushed granite gouge and of gouges rich in montmorillonite, illite, and serpentine minerals have been investigated at temperatures as high as 600°C, confining pressures as high as 2.5 kbar, a pore pressure of 30 bar, and sliding velocities of 4.8 and 4.8×10^–2 m/sec. The gouges showed nearly identical strength behaviors at the two sliding velocities; all four gouges, however, showed a greater tendency to stick-slip movement and somewhat higher stress drops in the experiments at 4.8×10^–2 m/sec. Varying the sliding velocity also had an effect on the mineral assemblages and deformation textures developed in the heated gouges. The principal mineralogical difference was that at 400°C and 1 kbar confining pressure a serpentine breakdown reaction occurred in the experiments at 4.8×10^–2 m/sec but not in those at 4.8 m/sec. The textures developed in the gouge layers were in part functions of the gouge type and the temperature, but changes in the sliding velocity affected, among other features, the degree of mineral deformation and the orientation of some fractures.     

Triaxial testing of Lopez Fault gouge at 150 MPa mean effective stress

Triaxial compression experiments were performed on samples of natural granular fault gouge from the Lopez Fault in Southern California. This material consists primarily of quartz and has a self-similar grain size distribution thought to result from natural cataclasis. The experiments were performed at a constant mean effective stress of 150 MPa, to expose the volumetric strains associated with shear failure. The failure strength is parameterized by the coefficient of internal friction , based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion.Samples of remoulded Lopez gouge have internal friction =0.6±0.02. In experiments where the ends of the sample are constrained to remain axially aligned, suppressing strain localisation, the sample compacts before failure and dilates persistently after failure. In experiments where one end of the sample is free to move laterally, the strain localises to a single oblique fault at around the point of failure; some dilation occurs but does not persist. A comparison of these experiments suggests that dilation is confined to the region of shear localisation in a sample. Overconsolidated samples have slightly larger failure strengths than normally consolidated samples, and smaller axial strains are required to cause failure. A large amount of dilation occurs after failure in heavily overconsolidated samples, suggesting that dilation is occurring throughout the sample. Undisturbed samples of Lopez gouge, cored from the outcrop, have internal friction in the range =0.4–0.6; the upper end of this range corresponds to the value established for remoulded Lopez gouge. Some kind of natural heterogeneity within the undisturbed samples is probably responsible for their low, variable strength. In samples of simulated gouge, with a more uniform grain size, active cataclasis during axial loading leads to large amounts of compaction. Larger axial strains are required to cause failure in simulated gouge, but the failure strength is similar to that of natural Lopez gouge.Use of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion to interpret the results from this study, and other recent studies on intact rock and granular gouge, leads to values of that depend on the loading configuration and the intact or granular state of the sample. Conceptual models are advanced to account for these descrepancies. The consequences for strain-weakening of natural faults are also discussed.     

Implications of Coulomb plasticity for the velocity dependence of experimental faults

Simulated fault gouges often deform more stably than initially bare surfaces of the same composition. It is important to understand why the sliding stability is enhanced because the presence of gouge on natural faults may have the same effect as seen in experiments, and thus explain the absence of earthquakes at shallow depths. Gouge stabilization in experiments has been attributed to positive contributions to velocity dependence within gouge layers from either dilation (Marone et al., 1990) or grain fracture (Biegel et al., 1989). In this study we test the hypothesis that some aspects of gouge and initially bare surface velocity dependence are identical by measuring the time-dependent constitutive parameterb. An important result follows however from stress analysis: if both sample configurations are frictional in the Mohr-Coulomb sense, each configuration is required to deform on planes of distinctly different orientation. The measured strength and velocity dependence will reflect this geometric difference. Our observed values ofb for simulated granite and quartz gouge are two to two and a half times smaller thanb for initially bare surfaces. This difference is completely accounted for if gouge is represented as a cohesionless-Coulomb plastic material. The analysis demonstrates the following points: 1) gouge deformation is fully consistent with Coulomb plasticity, 2) observed gouge velocity dependence is a function of observed strength and 3) the constitutive parameterb is the same for both bare surfaces and gouge. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is no time-dependent strengthening associated with stabilizing effects in gouge. These observations provide a framework for understanding how slip on initially bare surfaces and gouge deformation are related.     

流体对石灰岩断层摩擦滑动影响的实验研究

在气体介质三轴高温岩石力学实验仪器上,采用意大利Scaglia Bianca石灰岩,在温度50～300℃、围压150MPa,含50MPa孔隙压、无孔隙压含饱和水和完全干燥三种条件下,开展摩擦滑动实验.实验力学数据和显微结构表明,完全干燥样品在120℃时出现慢滑移,实验样品中没有出现溶解与沉淀.无孔隙压含饱和水条件下,100℃、120℃、150℃条件下出现典型的慢滑移,实验样品中含有微弱的溶解与沉淀;300℃条件下出现黏滑,实验样品中出现沉淀.在含50MPa孔隙压条件下,50℃时的实验表现为典型的稳滑,实验样品中以溶解为主;在100～150℃时,出现慢滑移,实验样品中以溶解为主,沉淀为辅;在200～300℃时,出现典型黏滑,实验样品中以沉淀为主.实验结果表明,石灰岩断层泥摩擦滑动稳定性随温度变化,受流体中碳酸钙的溶解和沉淀作用控制,因此,流体中矿物质的饱和度这一化学性质对断层带的摩擦强度和摩擦滑动稳定性具有显著影响.     

红河和曲江断裂带断层泥的特征及其地震地质意义

活断层产物的研究近年来受到国内外地震地质学者的关注。笔者对地质、地震证据充分的活断层——红河断裂带和曲江断裂带的断层泥进行多种手段的分析研究。它们的显微构造、粒度分布,组构特征以及石英碎砾的SEM显微形貌等显示了活断层中的长期蠕滑研磨作用、地震过程的快速剪切运动以及活断层特定条件下的退变质作用和其他化学作用等成因特征。综合分析指出,红河断裂带南段可能是蠕滑运动为主的活断层,其北段和曲江断裂带则为粘滑运动为主的活断层     

辉长岩摩擦实验中断层泥的剪切组构及成因

模拟断层泥的摩擦实验对地震的成核及断层带变形组构的研究具有重要意义。文中对辉长岩摩擦实验中的断层泥变形组构及形成机理进行了研究 ,以期从实验室角度来理解地壳深部断层活动的性质和特点。断层泥剪切组构中的边界剪切带 ,R1,Y剪切面比较发育 ,T裂隙次之 ;R2 ,P ,X剪切面不发育。R1面与边界面的夹角较小 ,平均在 1 1°左右 ,为单剪变形过程中达到破裂极限状态时形成的 1组库仑破裂面。分析表明R1面密度随正应力的增加而明显增高。而在相同的正应力下 ,随温度的增高 ,R1面的密度也有增加的趋势。当温度高于 5 0 0℃时 ,断层带内的斜长石出现塑性变形特征 ,R1剪切面与矿物的压性面理组成典型的S -C组构     

Fractal research of fault gouge

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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.     

Mineralogy and physical nature of clay gouge

Fault gouges have been observed in the surface outcrops, in shallow excavations, and in deep (300 meters below the surface) tunnels and mines in fault zones. The 2-microns fractions in these fault gouges may compose a few percent to more than fifty percent of the total mass in the outcrops, and the mineralogy of the 2-microns fractions consists of a variety of clays (the common ones are montmorillonite, illite, kaolinite, chlorite, vermiculite and mixed-layer clays) and some quartz, feldspars, etc.Although we cannot yet conclude directly from the studies of gouges that similar gouges exist at depths where many large shallow earthquakes are generated, there is a strong possibility that they do, based on (1) available equilibrium data on various clays — for example, kaolinite has been found to exist at 4 kb and 375°C (±15°C) (Thompson, 1970) and montmorillonite + kaolite has been found to exist at 450°C and 4 kb (Velde, 1969); (2) the compatibility of laboratory velocity data in gouge (Wang et al., 1977) with those in a model for central California (Healy andPeake, 1975); (3) the capability of clays to undergo sudden earthquake-like displacements (Summers andByerlee, 1977); (4) the petrology of intrafault cataclastic rocks in old fault zones (Kasza, 1977); and (5) the compatibility of gouge mineralogy with the mineralogy of hydrothermal clay deposits.If clay gouges are indeed significant components of the fault zone at depth, then the mechanical properties of clays under confining pressures up to 4 kb are important in the behavior of faults. Very few experiments have been performed under such high pressures. But from the physical makeup of clays, we can infer that (1) the range of possible behavior includes stable sliding with vermiculite and montmorillonite (asByerlee andSummers, 1977, have proven) to stick-slip-like behavior with kaolinite, chlorite, etc.; (2) the absence or presence of water will greatly affect the strengths of gouges — it is possible that water may reduce the strength of gouge to a fairly small value.     

Effects of pore fluid chemistry on stable sliding of Berea sandstone

Single-cycle and multiple-cycle frictional-sliding experiments were employed to evaluate the effects of pore fluid environments on yield strength, frictional-sliding dynamics, and gouge production and morphology. Circular right cylinders cored from Berea sandstone sawcut at 35° to the axes were saturated in water, an inorganic brine, and various anionic, cationic, and nonionic aqueous surface-active agents. Samples were deformed under an effective confining pressure of 50 MPa and an axial strain rate of 6×10^–5 sec^–1 until a 2% axial strain beyond yield (defined as the onset of sliding) was achieved. All samples were displaced by stable sliding. In the single-cycle tests the unsaturated and water-saturated samples displayed small stress peaks at yield. During stable sliding samples saturated with DTAB and SDS displayed slight increases in differential stress and statistically significant higher frictional coefficients than other environments (including water) but were very similar in behavior to dry, unsaturated samples. In the multiple-cycle tests, samples were loaded to 2% strain beyond yield and unloaded to a differential stress of approximately 5–10 MPa a total of four times. These results further suggest that DTAB exerts a strengthening effect on the sandstone relative to water which, to a limiting value, increased with displacement. The DTAB and SDS environments also produced a coarser grain-size distribution in the gouge relative to gouge produced in the other environments. Investigation of the gouge by scanning electron microscope revealed that these larger grains were composed of dense, apparently cemented aggregates of ultrafine, platy quartz particles.     

岩盐断层带摩擦滑动的速度依赖性转换及其地震学意义

为了深入理解断层带摩擦滑动速度依赖性转换及其机制,利用双轴摩擦实验对干燥及含水条件下岩盐断层带摩擦的速度依赖性进行了实验研究,并观测了摩擦滑动过程中的声发射,分析了断层带的微观结构.实验结果表明,干燥岩盐断层带在0.1~100 μm/s的速度范围内表现为速度弱化,增大σ₂会使断层带向速度强化转变;含水条件下岩盐断层带在1~100 μm/s的速度范围内表现为速度弱化,而在0.1~0.01 μm/s的速度范围内表现为速度强化,速度依赖性转换出现在0.1~1 μm/s,其中断层表现为振荡或应力释放时间较长的黏滑事件;岩盐断层带在干燥条件下表现出很强的声发射活动,每个黏滑均对应一丛声发射事件,而在含水条件下一次黏滑只对应一个声发射事件.显微观察表明,局部化的脆性破裂是速度弱化域的主要变形机制,分布式的碎裂流动是干燥岩盐断层带在速度强化域的变形机制,颗粒边界迁移以及压溶作用的塑性变形是含水条件下岩盐断层带在速度强化域的主要变形机制,而脆性破裂和塑性变形共同控制着速度依赖性转换域断层带的变形.水的存在促进岩盐发生塑性变形,进而导致断层带从速度弱化向速度强化转换.上述结果有助于理解断层带上地震活动的特征和慢地震的机制.     

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.     

The kinematics of gouge deformation

The methods and first results of a new approach to examining fault gouge are described. Samples of undisturbed fault gouge from the exhumed Lopez fault zone in the San Gabriel Mountains, California were impregnated with low viscosity epoxy resin and sectioned to produce microscope slides. The slides were photographed using optical and electron microscopy with magnifications ranging in factors of 2 from 12.5 to 1600. At all scales, the particles appeared angular with planar faces, suggesting tensile failure. No shear zones were discernable. The particle size distribution was studied. At each magnification the particles were sorted by diameter into four classes, differing in mean diameter by factors of 2. The numbers in each class were then scaled by the characteristic class dimension. The process revealed a remarkable degree of self-similarity. Over the range examined, the fractal dimension was within 5% of 2.60.On the basis of the observations, a new model for the mechanical processes that generate gouge is offered. It is argued that self-similarity results from repeated tensile splitting of grains. Unlike earlier models that consider splitting probability to be either independent of particle size or due to the preexisting distribution of defects, we propose that failure probability depends largely on the relative size of nearest neighbors. If nearest neighbors of the same size are preferentially broken, any initial distribution of particles will tend toward a self-similar distribution having a fractal dimension of 2.58.The model allows us to outline a procedure whereby the observed comminution in a fault zone can be related to the shear strain that the zone has accommodated and propose a theoretical frequency magnitude relation for the seismic energy emitted by the fracture process.     

Evolution of the ductile shear zone of the Paishanlou gold deposits,western Liaoning,China

The combination of field surveys with analysis of microstructure of tectonite and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) on quartz fabric indicated that three periods of ductile shear events developed in the Paishanlou gold deposits and the E-W and NE-striking ductile shear zones were formed during each event. The E-W-striking ductile shear zone, accompanied by compressional and dextral shear slip, was shear-cut by the NE-striking shear zones, accompanied by compressional-sinistral shear slip and sinistral-normal shear slip, successively. An E-W-striking ductile shear zone developed at a deeper tectonic level and at middle- to high-temperatures, accompanied by abundant microstructures, including microlayering between a polycrystal quartz belt and mica, and quartz deformation was depended on cylinder (10-10) 〈a〉 or 〈c〉 glide. The development of an E-W-striking shear zone can be seen as a tectonic pattern in the region of the Paishanlou gold deposits of the collision between the Mongolian tectonic belt and the North Archean Craton from Suolun to the Linxi suture zone during the Indosinian. The NE-striking ductile shear zone developed approximately 160 Ma during the early Yianshanian at middle to shallow tectonic levels and at middle- to low-temperatures, accompanied by typical microstructures, including polycrystal quartz aggregation and quartz subgrain rotation recrystallization, etc., and quartz deformation was depended on prismatic (1011) 〈a〉 glide. The last ductile shear event around the NE-striking shear zone developed at low temperatures and shallow tectonic levels, yielding to a pre-existing NE-striking shear zone, accompanied by abundant microstructures, including low-temperature quartz grain boundary migration and bulging recrystallization. The last ductile shear movement may be related to lithosphere thinning and the destruction of the North China Craton from approximately 130-120 Ma, and this shear event resulted directly in the mineralization in the Paishanlou region.     

Fabric development in brittle-to-ductile shear zones

Brittle-to-ductile shear zones from two separate geological settings are shown to have nucleated on zones of predominantly brittle deformation. The shear zones are not simply foliated cataclasites, since they contain abundant evidence of dynamic recrystallization of constituent minerals. A small quartz diorite lens in the Borrego Springs shear zone, southern California, contains centimeter-scale cataclasite zones that exhibit a gradual transition into foliated rock. Alteration of magnesiohornblende to actinolite, feldspar to white mica plus quartz, and biotite to chlorite, produced elongate minerals that define the foliation. During the later stages of deformation, intracrystalline slip and dynamic recrystallization of quartz and feldspar were important deformation mechanisms.The widespread occurrence of mineralized dilatant cracks predated the development of meter-to-decimeter-scale ductile shear zones in the Striped Rock granite, southern Virginia. Again, important deformation mechanisms in the final stages of deformation were intracrystalline slip and dynamic recrystallization of quartz.In both field areas the role of fluids has been important from the onset of brittle deformation. Fluids may have enhanced early fracturing in addition to causing the alteration and hydrolytic weakening of host rock minerals and the introduction of new mineral species. Each of these processes is thought to have contributed to the later localization of crystal plastic deformation in the rocks.     

Water-rock interactions in fault gouge

Measurements were made of the amounts of D,¹⁸O, and H₂O⁺ in fault gouge collected over a depth of 400 m in the San Andreas fault of California. The amounts and isotopic compositions of the pore fluids, also analyzed, suggest that formation waters from adjacent Franciscan rocks have migrated into the gouge and mixed with local meteoric water. Thus the gouge is an open system permeable to fluid flow. This permeability has important implications concerning heat flow along the fault zone.Analyses of the fault gouge itself give information on the amounts, timing, and conditions of formation of the clay minerals.Stable-isotope analyses of materials from fault zones are good indicators of water-rock interactions that bear importantly on processes taking place in seismically active regions.