Related papers: Earthquake dynamics constrained from laboratory ex…
There is evidence of triggering of tremor by seismic waves emanating from distant large earthquakes. The frequency contents of triggered and ambient tremor are largely identical, suggesting that tremor does not depend directly on the nature…
Employing the discrete element method, we study the rheology of dense granular media mixtures, varying in size, density, and frictional properties of particles, across a spectrum from quasi-static to inertial regimes. By accounting for the…
We introduce here the two-fractal model of earthquake dynamics. As the fractured surfaces have self-affine properties, we consider the solid-solid interface of the earth's crust and the tectonic plate below as fractal surfaces. The overlap…
We study a 2D quasi-static discrete {\it crack} anti-plane model of a tectonic plate with long range elastic forces and quenched disorder. The plate is driven at its border and the load is transfered to all elements through elastic forces.…
In the quest to determine fault weakening processes that govern earthquake mechanics, it is common to infer the earthquake breakdown energy from seismological measurements. Breakdown energy is observed to scale with slip, which is often…
The mechanical response of a wet granular layer to imposed shear is studied experimentally at low applied normal stress. The granular material is immersed in water and the shear is applied by sliding a plate resting on the upper surface of…
The failure of frictional interfaces -- the process of frictional rupture -- is widely assumed to feature crack-like properties, with far-reaching implications for various disciplines, ranging from engineering tribology to earthquake…
To model rupture dynamics, a friction law must be assumed. Commonly used constitutive laws for modeling friction include slip-weakening laws which are characterized by a drop from static to dynamic frictional stress. Within this framework,…
Description of the transitional process from a static to a dynamic frictional regime is a fundamental problem of modern physics. Previously we developed a model based on the well-known Frenkel-Kontorova model to describe dry macroscopic…
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…
Analysis of the global centroid-moment tensor catalog reveals significant regional variations of seismic energy release to 290 km depth. These variations reflect radial and lateral contrasts in thermomechanical competence, consistent with a…
Granular materials such as sand, powders, and grains are omnipresent in daily life, industrial applications, and earth-science [1]. When unperturbed, they form stable structures that resemble the ones of other amorphous solids like metallic…
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…
One great challenge of modeling granular systems lies in capturing the rheologic dependencies on scale. For example, there are marked differences between quasi-static, intermediate, and rapid flow regimes. In this study, we demonstrate that…
Seismological and geodetic observations of fault zones reveal diverse slip dynamics, scaling, and statistical laws. Existing mechanisms explain some but not all of these behaviors. We show that incorporating an off-fault damage…
We propose a new approach for generating synthetic earthquake catalogues based on the physics of soft glasses. The continuum approach produces yield-stress materials based on Lattice-Boltzmann simulations. We show that, if the material is…
The shear rheology of dense colloidal and granular suspensions is strongly nonlinear, as these materials exhibit shear-thinning and shear-thickening, depending on multiple physical parameters. We numerically study the rheology of a simple…
Fault-damage zones comprise multiscale fracture networks that may slip dynamically and interact with the main fault during earthquake rupture. Using 3D dynamic rupture simulations and scale-dependent fracture energy, we examine dynamic…
Continuous GPS and broadband seismic monitoring have revealed a variety of disparate slip patterns especially in shallow dipping subduction zones, among which regular earthquakes, slow slip events and silent quakes1,2. Slow slip events are…
In nature, granular materials fail in abrupt avalanches, earthquakes, and other hazardous events, and also creep over time. Proposed failure mechanisms for these systems are broadly framed as friction-limited. However, mechanical…