Simulating stick‐slip failure in a sheared granular layer using a physics‐based constitutive model

Autor: Chris Marone, Charles K. C. Lieou, Paul A. Johnson, Eric G. Daub, Robert E. Ecke, Robert A. Guyer
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 122:295-307
ISSN: 2169-9356
2169-9313
DOI: 10.1002/2016jb013627
Popis: We model laboratory earthquakes in a biaxial shear apparatus using the Shear-Transformation-Zone (STZ) theory of dense granular flow. The theory is based on the observation that slip events in a granular layer are attributed to grain rearrangement at soft spots called STZ's, which can be characterized according to principles of statistical physics. We model lab data on granular shear using STZ theory and document direct connections between the STZ approach and rate-and-state friction. We discuss the stability transition from stable shear to stick-slip failure and show that stick-slip is predicted by STZ when the applied shear load exceeds a threshold value that is modulated by elastic stiffness and frictional rheology. We also show that STZ theory mimics fault zone dilation during the stick phase, consistent with lab observations.
Databáze: OpenAIRE