Evolution of the Gouge Particle Size Distribution: A Markov Model

—The hydrologic and mechanical properties of faults are determined by their internal structures and zoning due to fracturing, grain breakage and diagenesis. The proposed model in this study is a first step in the development of a more complete model of fault internal structure. It describes the evolution of the gouge particle size distribution (PSD) with shear induced grain breakage within a small, assumed uniform volume element. A Markov formalism is applied for binary breakage within each time step over the many time steps constituting the evolution. The particle size, strain- and stress-dependent breaking probability is constructed based on physical arguments and data on natural and simulated gouge PSDs. The model is calibrated by using the results of on Ottawa sand PSD experiments. A perfect fit is obtained between experimental and numerically simulated PSDs for a range of normal effective stress (NES). Results of the numerical simulations capture the bimodal form of gouge PSD and also clearly define two different breakage mechanisms. The gouge development behavior makes a dramatic transition as the normal effective stress exceeds the grain crushing stress of the gouge mineral.¶For a more complete intrafault structure analysis, the interplay of diagenesis and the mechanics of grain breakage can be integrated into a single mechano-chemical model of the type presented here. The model proposed here has great potential for predicting the complex roles of faults as seals or fluid conduits.     

断层泥极限粒度存在的可能机理及其意义

通过对济南辉长岩的双剪摩擦实验发现,在一定的正压力下,存在着相应的断层泥极限粒度。应用颗粒破碎理论及破裂表面能密度进行分析,并结合对模拟断层带的显微观察,作者认为,摩擦功的消耗由颗粒磨细向形成R_1等剪裂面的转变是断层泥极限粒度存在的可能机理。另外,文中还对应用断层泥极限粒度反演其主要形成期围压值的可行性作了初步论证。     

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.     

Microstructural features of fault gouges from Tianjing-shan-Xiangshan fault zone and their geological implications

Detailed observation of the microstructural features of 11 fault gouge and 3 fault breccia samples collected from Tianjingshan-Xiangshan fault zone has revealed that fault gouge can be classified into 3 types: flow banded granular gouge, foliated gouge and massive gouge. The determination of the shape preferred orientation (SPO) of survivor grains in fault gouges indicates that the foliated gouge displays a profound SPO inclined to the shear zone boundary, similar to theP-foliation; flow banded granular gouge displays a SPO parallel to the shear zone boundary, while massive fault gouge and fault breccia display a random SPO. All these fault gouges fall in different fields of shear rate ternary diagram.     

Self-similar cataclasis in the formation of fault gouge

Particle-size distributions have been determined for gouge formed by the fresh fracture of granodiorite from the Sierra Nevada batholith, for Pelona schist from the San Andreas fault zone in southern California, and for Berea sandstone from Berea, Ohio, under a variety of triaxial stress states. The finer fractions of the gouge derived from granodiorite and schist are consistent with either a self-similar or a logarithmic normal distribution, whereas the gouge from sandstone is not. Sandstone gouges are texturally similar to the disaggregated protolith, with comminution limited to the polycrystalline fragments and dominantly calcite cement. All three rock types produced significantly less gouge at higher confining pressures, but only the granodiorite showed a significant reduction in particle size with increased confining pressure. Comparison with natural gouges showed that gouges in crystalline rocks from the San Andreas fault zone also tend to be described by either a self-similar or log-normal particle distribution, with a significant reduction in particle size with increased confining pressure (depth). Natural gouges formed in porous sandstone do not follow either a self-similar or a log-normal distribution. Rather, these are represented by mixed log-normal distributions. These textural characteristics are interpreted in terms of the suppression of axial microfracturing by confining pressure and the accommodation of finite strain by scale-independent comminution.     

Acoustic and vibration precursors from shear-slip characteristics of simulated zigzag-type gouge fault

Earthquake precursors are vitally important for warning and risk evaluation, but shedding light on them is a complex task for seismologists and geologists. We attempted to illuminate the precursory rules of fault failure by traditional biaxial-direction shear tests for a zigzag-type gouge with different size and arrangement of simulated faults manufactured from polymethyl methacrylate materials. Shear stress, acoustic emissions, and vibration signals were recorded and comparatively analyzed. Two important findings were obtained: (1) the linearly increasing trend of shear stress peaks generated by foreshocks may indicate the foreshock effect before a larger earthquake triggered by natural fault gouge failure; and (2) four kinds of earthquake precursors were discovered, and earthquake intensity and precursors may be dependent on the time of macro-fracture formation and the quantity of micro-fractures initiated before mainshock. The study contributes to interpreting earthquake shear-slip characteristics and may even help provide warnings of failure and instability.     

Evolution of Wear and Friction Along Experimental Faults

We investigate the evolution of wear and friction along experimental faults composed of solid rock blocks. This evolution is analyzed through shear experiments along five rock types, and the experiments were conducted in a rotary apparatus at slip velocities of 0.002–0.97 m/s, slip distances from a few millimeters to tens of meters, and normal stress of 0.25–6.9 MPa. The wear and friction measurements and fault surface observations revealed three evolution phases: A) An initial stage (slip distances <50 mm) of wear by failure of isolated asperities associated with roughening of the fault surface; B) a running-in stage of slip distances of 1–3 m with intense wear-rate, failure of many asperities, and simultaneous reduction of the friction coefficient and wear-rate; and C) a steady-state stage that initiates when the fault surface is covered by a gouge layer, and during which both wear-rate and friction coefficient maintain quasi-constant, low levels. While these evolution stages are clearly recognizable for experimental faults made from bare rock blocks, our analysis suggests that natural faults “bypass” the first two stages and slip at gouge-controlled steady-state conditions.     

鲁西北西向断裂的断层泥及其地震地质意义

对鲁西北西向断裂的断层泥进行了较系统的研究。通过对断层泥的宏观特征、断层泥中石英碎砾的表面结构特征和断层泥的成熟度的研究,确定了断裂活动的地质时代、运动方式、破裂形式和活动度,并对断层泥的地震地质意义进行了讨论     

The role of the chemical environment in frictional deformation: Stress corrosion cracking and comminution

The roles of chemically assisted crack and fracture propagation and chemically assisted comminution in frictional deformation are evaluated in this study. Double cantilever beam (DCB) crack propagation data are presented which show that the role of pH in chemically assisted fracture, and to a lesser extent the role of ionic concentration are important in stress corrosion cracking. Data on very slow crack growth and the stress corrosion limit are also presented. These data suggest that stress corrosion cracking may play an important role in compound earthquakes and in asperity breakdown in faults. The comminution literature is also reviewed in order to assess the role of chemically assisted comminution in frictional deformation. It appears that chemically assisted comminution may be important at low and high ionic strength because it may reduce the effective viscosity and the shear strength of fault gouge. At intermediate ionic concentration the role of pH, as an agent which enhances crack and fracture propagation, appears to be more important in reducing the coefficient of sliding friction.     

断层泥在孕震过程中的作用

本文用粘弹性理论,探讨了老断层失稳扩展型地震的孕育过程中,断层泥的作用问题.得到了如下结果:即使区域背景场和扰动场保持不变,断层局部应力场仍会因断层泥的蠕变而变化.其中切向应力分量σ0_ηη(t),在其它所有分量都缓慢衰减的同时缓慢增大.一旦这个应力分量在断层尖端附近的极大值点,积累至大于岩石的断裂强度,断层的失稳扩展便会从这点发生.与空腔断层相比,断层泥使σ0_ηη(t)的突变过程变成了缓慢渐近过程,并使σ0_ηη(t)的渐近值有所降低,因而会推迟和减少地震的发生.文中还讨论了断层失稳扩展方向等问题.      

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.     

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.     

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.     

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     

断层摩擦系数及其演化定量研究的新途径

在活断层的力学性质参数中 ,摩擦系数有着特别重要的意义 .它是建立活断层运动学与动力学之间物理力学关系进而促进地震地质研究沿着“由静到动、由定性到定量”方向深入发展的关键性参数之一 ,也是建立活断层重新滑动准则从而定量评估断层稳定性或地震危险性不可缺少的物理参数 .目前 ,断层摩擦系数主要是应用双剪法对采自断层的断层泥进行实验室测试和研究而取得的 .这样取得的结果很难说能够代表断层实际摩擦系数 ,尤其很难反映断层深部摩擦性状 ,采用实验室方法是无法测知不同地质时期断层活动所显示的摩擦性状及其演化特征的 .因此 ,必须寻找定量确定断层摩擦系数及其演化特征的新途径 .通过理论研究和实际应用提出了根据对活断层运动学实测资料的分析并结合年代学测试定量确定断层摩擦系数和动力学主要参数及其演化特征的新途径 .     

Fractal research of fault gouge

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Frictional Properties and Microstructure of Calcite-Rich Fault Gouges Sheared at Sub-Seismic Sliding Velocities

We report an experimental and microstructural study of the frictional properties of simulated fault gouges prepared from natural limestone (96 % CaCO₃) and pure calcite. Our experiments consisted of direct shear tests performed, under dry and wet conditions, at an effective normal stress of 50 MPa, at 18–150 °C and sliding velocities of 0.1–10 μm/s. Wet experiments used a pore water pressure of 10 MPa. Wet gouges typically showed a lower steady-state frictional strength (μ = 0.6) than dry gouges (μ = 0.7–0.8), particularly in the case of the pure calcite samples. All runs showed a transition from stable velocity strengthening to (potentially) unstable velocity weakening slip above 80–100 °C. All recovered samples showed patchy, mirror-like surfaces marking boundary shear planes. Optical study of sections cut normal to the shear plane and parallel to the shear direction showed both boundary and inclined shear bands, characterized by extreme grain comminution and a crystallographic preferred orientation. Cross-sections of boundary shears, cut normal to the shear direction using focused ion beam—SEM, from pure calcite gouges sheared at 18 and 150 °C, revealed dense arrays of rounded, ~0.3 μm-sized particles in the shear band core. Transmission electron microscopy showed that these particles consist of 5–20 nm sized calcite nanocrystals. All samples showed evidence for cataclasis and crystal plasticity. Comparing our results with previous models for gouge friction, we suggest that frictional behaviour was controlled by competition between crystal plastic and granular flow processes active in the shear bands, with water facilitating pressure solution, subcritical cracking and intergranular lubrication. Our data have important implications for the depth of the seismogenic zone in tectonically active limestone terrains. Contrary to recent claims, our data also demonstrate that nanocrystalline mirror-like slip surfaces in calcite(-rich) faults are not necessarily indicative of seismic slip rates.     

Parallel 3-D Simulation of a Fault Gouge Using the Lattice Solid Model

Despite the insight gained from 2-D particle models, and given that the dynamics of crustal faults occur in 3-D space, the question remains, how do the 3-D fault gouge dynamics differ from those in 2-D? Traditionally, 2-D modeling has been preferred over 3-D simulations because of the computational cost of solving 3-D problems. However, modern high performance computing architectures, combined with a parallel implementation of the Lattice Solid Model (LSM), provide the opportunity to explore 3-D fault micro-mechanics and to advance understanding of effective constitutive relations of fault gouge layers. In this paper, macroscopic friction values from 2-D and 3-D LSM simulations, performed on an SGI Altix 3700 super-cluster, are compared. Two rectangular elastic blocks of bonded particles, with a rough fault plane and separated by a region of randomly sized non-bonded gouge particles, are sheared in opposite directions by normally-loaded driving plates. The results demonstrate that the gouge particles in the 3-D models undergo significant out-of-plane motion during shear. The 3-D models also exhibit a higher mean macroscopic friction than the 2-D models for varying values of interparticle friction. 2-D LSM gouge models have previously been shown to exhibit accelerating energy release in simulated earthquake cycles, supporting the Critical Point hypothesis. The 3-D models are shown to also display accelerating energy release, and good fits of power law time-to-failure functions to the cumulative energy release are obtained.     

Grain size and chemical controls on the ductile properties of mostly frictional faults at low-temperature hydrothermal conditions

A conceptually simple process which establishes a steady grain size distribution is envisioned to control the ductile creep properties of fault zones that mainly slip by frictional processes. Fracture during earthquakes and aseismic frictional creep tend to reduce grain size. However, sufficiently small grains tend to dissolve so that larger grains grow at their expense, a process called Ostwald ripening. A dynamic stedy state is reached where grain size reduction by fracture is balanced by grain growth from Ostwald ripening. The ductile creep mechanism within fault zones in hard rock is probably pressure solution where the rate is limited by diffusion along load-bearing grain-grain contacts. The diffusion paths that limit Ostwald repening are to a considerable extent the same as those for pressure solution. Active Ostwald ripening thus implies conditions suitable for ductile creep. An analytic theory allows estimation of the steady-state mean grain size and the viscosity for creep implied by this dynamic steady state from material properties and from the width, shear traction, and long-term slip velocity of the fault zone. Numerical models were formulated to compute the steady state grain size distribution. The results indicate that ductile creep, as suggested in the companion paper, is a plausible mechanism for transiently increasing fluid pressure within mostly sealed fault zones so that frictional failure occurs at relatively low shear tractions, 10 MPa. The relevant material properties are too poorly known, however, for the steady state theory (or its extension to a fault that slips in infrequent large earthquakes) to have much predictive value without additional laboratory experiments and studies of exhumed faults.     

民乐盆地某些活断层断层泥中石英颗粒的表面特征及其地震地质意义

本文对民乐盆地三条活动断层断层泥内石英颗粒表面的显微构造作了较系统的研究。根据这些石英颗粒表面特征对该区莺落峡等断层的滑动性质和断层活动的相对年代进行了讨论。提出了以下的新看法:莺落峡断层的中段为粘滑段,东西两段为蠕滑段,古震源在该断层的黑河口一带,发生的时代大致在晚更新世晚期或全新世早期;茨湖断层具有最新活动特征,粘滑标志明显。另外清水沟老断层在全新世时也有新活动。