Mode of development of sigmoidal en echelon fractures

The solution of stress distribution for a multicrack system and model experiments confirm that en echelon cracks mutually interact with each other during their growth. Such a mechanical interaction deviates the crack-tip stress axes orientations from that of the bulk stress field and leads to a continuous change in propagation direction of tension cracks, initially at a right angle to the bulk tension direction. The sigmoidal shape of en echelon fractures evolve through rotation and crack length increments with changing orientations. The theoretical analysis shows that the instantaneous fracture-tip stress orientation is a function of initial crack spacing, orientation of crack array with respect to the principal axes of far-field stress.     

Analysis of fracture network connectivity using percolation theory

Connectivity aspects of fracture networks are analyzed in terms of percolation theory. These aspects are of fundamental importance in characterization, exploitation, and management of fractured formations. General connectivity and power law relationships are determined that characterize the density of fractures and average number of intersections per fracture necessary to ensure network connectivity, the likelihood of a fractured formation being hydraulically connected, and the probability that any specific fracture is connected to the conducting portion of the network. Monte Carlo experiments with a two-dimensional fracture network model confirm the percolation theory predictions. These relationships may prove useful in formulating theoretically tractable approximations of fracture nerworks that capture the essential system properties.     

The information content of high-frequency seismograms and the near-surface geologic structure of “hard rock” recording sites

Due to hardware developments in the last decade, the high-frequency end of the frequency band of seismic waves analyzed for source mechanisms has been extended into the audio-frequency range (>20 Hz). In principle, the short wavelengths corresponding to these frequencies can provide information about the details of seismic sources, but in fact, much of the signal is the site response of the nearsurface. Several examples of waveform data recorded at hard rock sites, which are generally assumed to have a flat transfer function, are presented to demonstrate the severe signal distortions, includingf _max, produced by near-surface structures. Analysis of the geology of a number of sites indicates that the overall attenuation of high-frequency (>1 Hz) seismic waves is controlled by the whole-path-Q between source and receiver but the presence of distinctf _max site resonance peaks is controlled by the nature of the surface layer and the underlying near-surface structure. Models of vertical decoupling of the surface and nearsurface and horizontal decoupling of adjacent sites on hard rock outcrops are proposed and their behaviour is compared to the observations of hard rock site response. The upper bound to the frequency band of the seismic waves that contain significant source information which can be deconvolved from a site response or an array response is discussed in terms off _max and the correlation of waveform distortion with the outcrop-scale geologic structure of hard rock sites. It is concluded that although the velocity structures of hard rock sites, unlike those of alluvium sites, allow some audio-frequency seismic energy to propagate to the surface, the resulting signals are a highly distorted, limited subset of the source spectra.     

Seismic measurements of the internal properties of fault zones

The internal properties within and adjacent to fault zones are reviewed, principally on the basis of laboratory, borehole, and seismic refraction and reflection data. The deformation of rocks by faulting ranges from intragrain microcracking to severe alteration. Saturated microcracked and mildly fractured rocks do not exhibit a significant reduction in velocity, but, from borehole measurements, densely fractured rocks do show significantly reduced velocities, the amount of reduction generally proportional to the fracture density. Highly fractured rock and thick fault gouge along the creeping portion of the San Andreas fault are evidenced by a pronounced seismic low-velocity zone (LVZ), which is either very thin or absent along locked portions of the fault. Thus there is a correlation between fault slip behavior and seismic velocity structure within the fault zone; high pore pressure within the pronounced LVZ may be conductive to fault creep. Deep seismic reflection data indicate that crustal faults sometimes extend through the entire crust. Models of these data and geologic evidence are consistent with a composition of deep faults consisting of highly foliated, seismically anisotropic mylonites.     

用遥感图象分析北天山西段活动断裂的展布特征及活动速率

利用航空照片对北天山西段的线性构造进行解释,经分析得出活动断层的展布图象,即NE、NW、EW向断裂几乎同等发育。它们相互交截形成许多菱形块体。其中一组NE向断裂在过去的资料中未曾提及过。     

Erosion of bentonite particles at the interface of a compacted bentonite and a fractured granite

Compacted bentonite has been considered as a candidate buffer material in the underground repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An erosion of bentonite particles caused by a groundwater flow at the interface of a compacted bentonite and a fractured granite was studied experimentally under various geochemical conditions. The experimental results showed that bentonite particles could be eroded from a compacted bentonite buffer by a flowing groundwater depending upon the contact time, the flow rate of the groundwater, and the geochemical parameters of the groundwater such as the pH and ionic strength.

A gel formation of the bentonite was observed to be a dominant process in the erosion of bentonite particles although an intrusion of bentonite into a rock fracture also contributed to the erosion. The concentration of the eroded bentonite particles eroded by a flowing groundwater was increased with an increasing flow rate of the groundwater. It was observed from the experiments that the erosion of the bentonite particles was considerably affected by the ionic strength of a groundwater although the effect of the pH was not great within the studied pH range from 7 to 10. An erosion of the bentonite particles in a natural groundwater was also observed to be considerable and the eroded bentonite particles are expected to be stable at the given groundwater condition.

The erosion of the bentonite particles by a flowing groundwater did not significantly reduce the physical stability and thus the performance of a compacted bentonite buffer. However, it is expected that an erosion of the bentonite particles due to a groundwater flow will generate bentonite particles in a given groundwater condition, which can serve as a source of the colloids facilitating radionuclide migration through rock fractures.