Related papers: A variational critical-state theory of friction
We assess if a characteristic length for a non-linear interfacial slip instability follows from theoretical descriptions of sliding friction. We examine friction laws and their coupling with the elasticity of bodies in contact and show that…
Earthquakes are rupture-like processes that propagate along tectonic faults and cause seismic waves. The propagation speed and final area of the rupture, which determine an earthquake's potential impact, are directly related to the nature…
We present results from a physical experiment which demonstrates that a sheared granular medium behaves in a manner analogous to earthquake activity. The device consists of an annular plate rotating over a granular medium in a stick-slip…
During an earthquake, slip occurs in a localised shear zone that features a heavily granulated fault core that can be characterised as a shear band. We study the formation of this fault core in a granular rock such as sandstone by…
Frictional motion is harder to initiate than to sustain, as evident when pushing a heavy object. This disparity between static and kinetic friction drives instabilities and stick-slip dynamics in systems ranging from nanodevices and MEMS to…
A mathematical model for an elastoplastic porous continuum subject to large strains in combination with reversible damage (aging), evolving porosity, water and heat transfer is advanced. The inelastic response is modeled within the frame of…
Plate motion near the fault gouge layer, and the elastic interplay between the gouge layer and the plate under stick-slip conditions, is key to understanding the dynamics of sheared granular fault systems. Here, a two-dimensional…
Our understanding of earthquakes is based on the theory of plate tectonics. Earthquake dynamics is the study of the interactions of plates (solid disjoint parts of the lithosphere) which produce seismic activity. Over the last about fifty…
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…
Earthquakes at seismogenic plate boundaries are a response to the differential motions of tectonic blocks embedded within a geometrically complex network of branching and coalescing faults. Elastic strain is accumulated at a slow strain…
Slip at a frictional interface occurs via intermittent events. Understanding how these events are nucleated, can propagate, or stop spontaneously remains a challenge, central to earthquake science and tribology. In the absence of disorder,…
The transition from quasi-static slip growth to dynamic rupture propagation constitutes one possible scenario to describe earthquake nucleation. If this transition is rather well understood for homogeneous faults, how the friction…
The rock heterogeneity exists widely in fault zones; however, the intrinsic mechanism of how it affects the mechanical behavior of faults is poorly understood. To develop a quantitative understanding of the effect of the rock heterogeneity…
Shear banding is widely observed in natural fault zones as well as in gouge layers in laboratory experiments. Understanding the dynamics of strain localization under different loading conditions is essential for quantifying strength…
Heating during frictional sliding is a major component of the energy budget of earthquakes and represents a potential weakening mechanism. It is therefore important to investigate how heat dissipates during sliding on simulated faults. We…
Friction is ubiquitous in daily life, from nanoscale machines to large engineering components. By probing the intricate interplay between system parameters and frictional behavior, scientists seek to unveil the underlying mechanisms that…
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…
Variational phase-field models of brittle fracture are powerful tools for studying Griffith-type crack propagation in complex scenarios. However, as approximations of Griffith's theory-which does not incorporate a strength criterion-these…
It was discovered recently that frictional granular materials can exhibit an important mechanism for instabilities, i.e the appearance of pairs of complex eigenvalues in their stability matrix. The consequence is an oscillatory exponential…
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.…