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Some questions of geomechanics of the faults in the continental crust

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Abstract

We present the results of laboratory experiments on studying the formation of different slip modes on the interfaces in a rock massif such as aseismic creep, stick-slip, and periodic slow-slip events. It is shown that the way of releasing the accumulated elastic energy is determined by the mesoscale structure of the gouge rather than by its macroscopic strength characteristics. The evolution of the stress chains which are formed and broken during the displacement on the fracture, as well as the length and number of these chains, completely determines the regularities of the deformation. The role of these load-bearing elements in nature can be played, e.g., by the “contact spots,” which determine the regularities of stress concentration near the interblock boundary. We consider the effects of low-amplitude vibrations on stressed fractures. It is shown that, depending on the mode of deformation, the vibration impact can either reduce or boost the amplitude of separate events and the fraction of energy that is released dynamically. In the conclusion of the paper, we discuss the possibility of using the shear strength of the fault zone as a geomechanical parameter controlling the mode of deformation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geospheres’ Dynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 38, korp. 1, Moscow, 117334, Russia

    G. G. Kocharyan, A. A. Ostapchuk, V. K. Markov & D. V. Pavlov

  2. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy per. 9, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, 141700, Russia

    G. G. Kocharyan

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  1. G. G. Kocharyan
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  2. A. A. Ostapchuk
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  3. V. K. Markov
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  4. D. V. Pavlov
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Correspondence to G. G. Kocharyan.

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Original Russian Text © G.G. Kocharyan, A.A. Ostapchuk, V.K. Markov, D.V. Pavlov, 2014, published in Fizika Zemli, 2014, No. 3, pp. 51–64.

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Kocharyan, G.G., Ostapchuk, A.A., Markov, V.K. et al. Some questions of geomechanics of the faults in the continental crust. Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 50, 355–366 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351314030021

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351314030021

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