Related papers: Micro-slips inside a granular shear band as nano-e…
Nearly all aspects of earthquake rupture are controlled by the friction along the fault that progressively increases with tectonic forcing, but in general cannot be directly measured. We show that fault friction can be determined at any…
Over the last two decades, strain and GPS measurements have shown that slow slip on earthquake faults is a widespread phenomenon. Slow slip is also inferred from correlated small amplitude seismic signals known as nonvolcanic tremor and low…
This paper is concerned with the trends of stress fluctuations in dry granular materials as functions of the sample size D and of the grain diameter d. Results are obtained in the plateau regime of large axial deformation, during…
A better understanding and anticipation of natural processes such as landsliding or seismic fault activity requires detailed theoretical and experimental analysis of rock mechanics and geomaterial dynamics. These last decades, considerable…
The localization of slow and fast slip in fault gouges may play a crucial role in understanding the mechanics of earthquakes and slow slip events. Here, we investigate the fracture energy accompanying this localization and the subsequent…
In a realistic three-dimensional setup, we simulate the slow deformation of idealized granular media composed of spheres undergoing an axisymmetric triaxial shear test. We follow the self-organization of the spontaneous strain localization…
Microscale granular sliding within fault gouge is fundamental to earthquake nucleation, yet the mechanism by which temperature affects friction through interfacial water remains poorly understood. Here, large-scale molecular dynamics…
Studying the effect of mechanical perturbations on granular systems is crucial for understanding soil stability, avalanches, and earthquakes. We investigate a granular system as a laboratory proxy for fault gouge. When subjected to a slow…
Granular materials show inhomogeneous flows characterized by strain localization. When strain is localized in a sheared granular material, rigid regions of a nearly undeformed state are separated by shear bands, where the material yields…
Faults are complex systems embedded in an evolving medium fractured by seismic ruptures. This off-fault damage zone is shown to be thermo-hydro-mechano-chemically coupled to the main fault plane by a growing number of studies. Yet,…
We study strain localization as an enhanced velocity weakening mechanism on earthquake faults. Fault friction is modeled using Shear Transformation Zone (STZ) Theory, a microscopic physical model for non-affine rearrangements in granular…
Potential energy stored during the inter-seismic period by tectonic loading around faults is released during earthquakes as radiated energy, heat and fracture energy. The latter is of first importance since it controls the nucleation,…
Friction and fault surface evolution are critical aspects in earthquake studies. We present the preliminary result from a novel experimental approach that combines rotary shear testing with X-ray micro-computed tomography (${\mu}$CT)…
Localized deformation patterns are a common motif in morphogenesis and are increasingly finding widespread applications in materials science, for instance as memory devices. Here we describe the emergence of spatially localized deformations…
The unjamming transition of granular systems is investigated in a seismic fault model via three dimensional Molecular Dynamics simulations. A two--time force--force correlation function, and a susceptibility related to the system response…
Recent studies have established correlations between non-affine motion and macroscopic stress fluctuations in sheared granular media. However, a comprehensive examination of the relationship between non-affine motion, macroscopic stress…
We investigate the propagation of fluid-driven fault slip on a slip-weakening frictional interface separating two identical half-spaces of a three-dimensional elastic solid. Our focus is on axisymmetric circular shear ruptures as they…
Tightly packed granular particles under shear often exhibit intriguing intermittencies, specifically, sudden stress drops that we refer to as quaking. To probe the nature of this phenomenon, we prototype a circular shear cell that is…
Sensitive and fast force measurements are performed on sheared granular layers undergoing stick-slip motion, along with simultaneous imaging. A full study has been done for spherical particles with a +-20% size distribution. Stick-slip…
Fluid pressure and flow in the crust is a key parameter controlling earthquake physics. Since earthquake slip is linked to spatio-temporal localisation of deformation, it is expected that the localised fluid pressure around the fault plane…