Related papers: A variational critical-state theory of friction
Natural faults often contain a fluid-saturated, granular fault-gouge layer, whose failure and sliding processes play a central role in earthquake dynamics. Using a two-dimensional discrete element model coupled with fluid dynamics, we…
The way granular materials response to an applied shear stress is of the utmost relevance to both human activities and natural environment. One of the their most intriguing and less understood behavior, is the stick-instability, whose most…
The development of rate- and state-dependent friction laws offered important insights into the key physical mechanisms of the frictional behaviour of fault gouges and their seismic cycle. However, past approaches were specifically tailored…
A fundamental mystery in earthquake physics is ``how can an earthquake be triggered by distant seismic sources?'' Here, we use discrete element method simulations of a granular layer, during stick-slip, that is subject to transient…
Slow earthquakes differ from regular earthquakes in their slower moment release and size distribution dominated by smaller events. However, the physical origin of these slow earthquake statistics remains controversial. In this work, we…
Fault zones mature through the accumulation of earthquakes and the wearing of contact asperities at multiple scales. This study examines how wear-induced gouge production affects the evolution of fault seismicity, focusing on earthquake…
We study experimentally the fluctuations of deformation along a shear fault naturally emerging within a compressed frictional granular medium. Using laser interferometry, we show that the deformation inside this granular gouge occurs as a…
Frictional sliding, e.g., earthquakes along geological faults, are mediated either by frictional crack-like ruptures, where interfacial (fault) slip is accumulated during the entire sliding event, or by frictional pulse-like ruptures,…
The burgeoning need to sequester anthropogenic CO$_2$ for climate mitigation and the need for energy sustenance leading upto enhanced geothermal energy production has made it incredibly critical to study potential earthquakes due to fluid…
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 traction evolution is a fundamental ingredient to model the dynamics of an earthquake rupture which ultimately controls, during the coseismic phase, the energy release, the stress redistribution and the consequent excitation of seismic…
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…
We perform molecular dynamics simulations of homogeneous athermal systems of poly-disperse soft discs under shear. For purely repulsive interactions between particles, and under a confining external pressure, a monotonous flow curve (strain…
We develop a model for sheared gouge layers that accounts for the local increase in temperature at the grain contacts during sliding. We use the shear transformation zone (STZ) theory, a statistical thermodynamic theory, to describe…
Important physical observations in rupture dynamics such as static fault friction, short-slip, self-healing, and supershear phenomenon in cracks are studied. A continuum model of rupture dynamics is developed using the field dislocation…
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…
Sheared granular layers undergoing stick slip behavior are broadly employed to study the physics and dynamics of earthquakes. Here, a two dimensional implementation of the combined finite discrete element method (FDEM), which merges the…
Earthquakes are produced by the propagation of rapid slip along tectonic faults. The propagation dynamics is governed by a balance between elastic stored energy in the surrounding rock, and dissipated energy at the propagating tip of the…
Geologic shear fractures such as faults and slip surfaces involve marked friction along the discontinuities as they are subjected to significant confining pressures. This friction plays a critical role in the growth of these shear…
The coupled mechanics of fluid-filled granular media controls the behavior of many natural systems such as saturated soils, fault gouge, and landslides. The grain motion and the fluid pressure influence each other: It is well established…