Shear zone broadening controlled by thermal pressurization and poroelastic effects during model earthquakes

Chen, Jiangzhi; Rempel, A. W.

doi:10.1002/2014jb011641

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…They can be better understood in the context of tectonic earthquakes in thermal pressurization: coseismic slip generates heat, increasing the temperature and pore pressure if the permeability is low (Rice, ; Sibson, ). The influence of this mechanism on earthquake nucleation and dynamic rupture has been extensively analyzed in the context of elastic media, using theoretical arguments (Garagash, ; Segall & Rice, ) and detailed numerical simulations (Andrews, ; Bizzarri & Cocco, , ; Chen & Rempel, ; Noda et al, ; Noda & Lapusta, ; Schmitt et al, ; Segall & Bradley, ; Schmitt et al, ). Other potentially important effects include the change in fault‐zone porosity due to dilation/compaction of the fault gouge under shear (Samuelson et al, , ; Segall & Rice, ) and the role of off‐fault plasticity in the rupture dynamics (Templeton & Rice, ; Viesca et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Modeling of Injection‐Induced Earthquakes Using Laboratory‐Derived Friction Laws

Cueto‐Felgueroso

Vila

Santillán

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

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Modeling injection-induced earthquakes requires coupling porous media flow, rock mechanics, and fault friction. Highly nonlinear laboratory-derived constitutive laws for fault friction pose a major challenge for computational models that couple flow and geomechanics. We present a finite element formulation to simulate injection-induced earthquake sequences in rate-and-state faults embedded in poroelastic media. We simulate all phases of the stick-slip cycle: from fault reactivation as pressure accumulates near the fault, to earthquake nucleation phase, coseismic rupture propagation and interseismic periods. Our simulations are quasi-dynamic: we neglect inertia, and adopt the so-called radiation damping approximation. We perform validation and verification tests based on a simple spring-block analog that allows straightforward comparison between our 2-D finite element model and the single-degree-of-freedom dynamics. We also verify our frictional contact algorithm by simulating injection-induced earthquakes on a slip-weakening strike-slip fault. We finally study the impact of different rate-and-state laws (aging and slip laws), as well as the role of the degree of poroelastic coupling, by varying the Biot coefficient. We characterize the undrained pressure response triggered by the fast propagation of rupture fronts. Undrained pressure changes during rupture act as an additional coseismic weakening mechanism, controlling the propagation or arrest of the rupture fronts. We find that this feedback between pore pressure and slip propagation, which is absent in uncoupled simulations, leads to distinctively asymmetric rupture patterns in induced earthquakes in poroelastic media. Our results show that capturing the coupling between fault frictional processes and rock poroelastic behavior requires well-resolved and fully coupled simulations.A recent increase in seismicity rates has drawn attention toward injection-induced earthquakes and their potentially

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Modeling of Injection‐Induced Earthquakes Using Laboratory‐Derived Friction Laws

Cueto‐Felgueroso

Vila

Santillán

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

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“…For motivation, this feature affects dynamic rupture and the macroscopic frictional heating of the fault plane (Chen & Rempel, ). The physics are similar to those of a chain failing at its weakest link.…”

Section: Physical Models For Thermal Weakening Of Asperity Tipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seismologists have thus proposed various thermal weakening mechanisms (where τ slide < < τ fail ) that arise once the earthquake is underway and the fault is slipping at coseismic velocity V slip (e.g., Acosta et al, ; Beeler et al, ; Bizzarri, ; Brantut & Mitchell, ; Brantut & Platt, ; Brantut & Viesca, ; Bizzarri & Cocco, , ; Chen & Rempel, , ; Rempel & Weaver, ; Rice, , ). The terminology is not fully standardized and more importantly highly misleading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Weakening of Asperity Tips on Fault Planes at High Sliding Velocities

Sleep

2019

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Real contacts on the scale of~10 μm support gigapascal shear tractions and normal tractions on rapidly sliding faults. At sliding velocities above~0.1 m/s, the asperity tips of the contacts become hot and weak. The macroscopic friction depends on the average strength of the asperity tips during their lifetimes of contact. The strength of the asperity tips does not go essentially to zero once they become weak because frictional heating would then cease and the tips would cool and strengthen. Rather, the contact retains finite strength so that frictional heating balances the heat lost from the asperity tip by conduction. Crudely, the macroscopic coefficient of friction at high sliding velocities decreases with the inverse of the square root of velocity rather than the inverse of the velocity in the widely used model of Rice (2006, https://doi.org/ 10.1029/2005/JB004006). Numerical thermal-mechanical models support this inference. The finite strength of the asperity tips retards lateral extrusion of weakened material from the tips. Otherwise, extrusion would allow the sliding surfaces to converge establishing new contacts, which would renew the strength of the surface. The macroscopic coefficient of friction with somewhat weakened asperity tips remains high enough that the fault surface becomes hot on a millimeter scale in large crustal earthquakes. Fluid pressurization and eventually millimeter-scale melting then reduce the macroscopic shear traction to lower values than does asperity tip weakening acting alone.Plain Language Summary Real contacts support macroscopic stresses on the sliding surfaces of crustal faults. The tips of the asperities of contacts become hot and weaken at the sliding velocities of crustal earthquakes. The strength of the asperity tips does not decrease to zero. Rather a balance is achieved between the heat generated by friction on the asperity tip and the heat lost by conduction. This balance allows the formulation of analytic and numerical models of the strength of crustal faults versus sliding velocity.

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“…Seismologists have proposed thermal dynamic weakening mechanisms (where sliding friction τ slide < < τ fail ) for rock with enough physical detail that application to icequakes is feasible (e.g., Acosta et al, ; Bizzarri & Cocco, , ; Beeler et al, ; Bizzarri, ; Brantut & Mitchell, ; Brantut & Platt, ; Brantut & Viesca, ; Chen & Rempel, , ; Passelègue et al, ; Rempel & Weaver, ; Rice, , ; Sleep, ). The generic term “flash heating” is highly misleading and conflates two processes: (1) thermal weakening occurs at the micron‐scale asperity tips of real contact on the fault surface.…”

Section: Review Of Dynamic Weakening Mechanisms During Earthquakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Friction in Cold Ice Within Outer Solar System Satellites With Reference to Thermal Weakening at High Sliding Velocities

Sleep

2019

JGR Planets

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The icy shells of Enceladus and Europa consist from top down of cold (~100 K) ice at low (<0.1 MPa) pressure, cold ice at high pressure up to ~10 MPa, and warm ice near 273 K the base. The pressure ~10 MPa and temperature near 273 K of basal ice within Enceladus and Europa are similar to that within terrestrial glaciers that are known to have seismicity (icequakes). Warm ice easily melts during sliding so its icequakes are qualitatively explained and expected on these satellites if the macroscopic strain rates are comparable to those within terrestrial glaciers subjected to oceanic tides. However, cold ice at high pressures does not readily macroscopically melt during sliding. A dynamic weakening mechanism for crustal faults in rock may be applicable to Enceladus and Europa. Micron‐scale real contacts support ~0.4‐GPa shear tractions and normal tractions on rapidly sliding ice faults. At sliding velocities above ~0.1 m/s, the asperity tips of the contacts become hot and weak in ice. The macroscopic friction depends on the average strength of the asperity tips during the lifetimes of contact. The strength of the asperity tips self‐organizes so that frictional heating balances the heat lost from the asperity tip by conduction. The macroscopic coefficient of friction at coseismic sliding velocities decreases to a modest fraction of the low‐velocity coefficient of friction, but does not approach zero. This velocity‐weakening mechanism likely allows major icequakes within the cold interiors of Europa and Enceladus.

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Shear zone broadening controlled by thermal pressurization and poroelastic effects during model earthquakes

Cited by 7 publications

References 81 publications

Numerical Modeling of Injection‐Induced Earthquakes Using Laboratory‐Derived Friction Laws

Numerical Modeling of Injection‐Induced Earthquakes Using Laboratory‐Derived Friction Laws

Thermal Weakening of Asperity Tips on Fault Planes at High Sliding Velocities

Friction in Cold Ice Within Outer Solar System Satellites With Reference to Thermal Weakening at High Sliding Velocities

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