A Model of Rupturing Lithospheric Faults with Reoccurring Earthquakes

Abstract

An isothermal small-strain model based on the concept of generalized standard materials is devised, combining Maxwell-type rheology, damage, and perfect plasticity in the bulk. An interface analogue of the model is prescribed at the lithospheric faults, exploiting concepts of adhesive contacts with interfacial plasticity. The model covers simultaneously features such as rupturing of the fault zone accompanied with weakening/healing effects and also seismic waves emission and propagation connected with the sudden ruptures of the fault or a fluid-like aseismic response between the ruptures. A stable numerical strategy based on semi-implicit discretization in time is devised, and its convergence is shown. Numerical simulations documenting the capacity of the model to simulate earthquakes with repeating occurrence are performed, too.

Simulation of slip transients and earthquakes in finite thickness shear zones with a plastic formulation

“…Here we develop an approach that considers that aging is the result of the damage history in the fault zone 35 , 39 , 40 . When the shear zone yields, the incremental accumulation of plastic strain/damage results in incremental changes in shear stress.…”

Quasistatic adhesive contact delaminating in mixed mode and its numerical treatment

“…Also, if a bi-directional evolution of delamination (involving healing) would be considered, then the contribution to the stored energy becomes especially important because it just facilitates the driving force for possible healing (cf. [22]).…”

A general thermodynamical model for adhesive frictional contacts between viscoelastic or poro-viscoelastic bodies at small strains

“…However, no rigorous proof of the solution existence or the convergence of a numerical scheme to the exact solution was provided in these works. From the mathematical point of view, overviews of existing partial models in literature can be found, e.g., without Coulomb friction (f = 0) in [20,49,52] (isothermal), without inertia/friction and interfacial plasticity but with fracture-mode-mixity sensitive debonding (sometimes called also delamination) in [31] (isothermal) or [43,44] (anisothermal); see also a review chapter [50].…”