Stick-Slip as a Mechanism for Earthquakes

Brace, W. F.; Byerlee, J. D.

doi:10.1126/science.153.3739.990

Cited by 889 publications

(470 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…DSEs are often called "stick slips," and they are thought to be analogous to earthquakes [Brace and Byerlee, 1966]. DSEs are associated with measureable fault slip, sudden drops in the stress supported by the sample, and intense radiation of seismic waves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip

2014

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Recent modeling studies have explored whether earthquakes begin with a large aseismic nucleation process or initiate dynamically from the rapid growth of a smaller instability in a "cascade-up" process. To explore such a case in the laboratory, we study the initiation of dynamic rupture (stick slip) of a smooth saw-cut fault in a 76 mm diameter cylindrical granite laboratory sample at 40-120 MPa confining pressure. We use a high dynamic range recording system to directly compare the seismic waves radiated during the stick-slip event to those radiated from tiny (M À6) discrete seismic events, commonly known as acoustic emissions (AEs), that occur in the seconds prior to each large stick slip. The seismic moments, focal mechanisms, locations, and timing of the AEs all contribute to our understanding of their mechanics and provide us with information about the stick-slip nucleation process. In a sequence of 10 stick slips, the first few microseconds of the signals recorded from stick-slip instabilities are nearly indistinguishable from those of premonitory AEs. In this sense, it appears that each stick slip begins as an AE event that rapidly (~20 μs) grows about 2 orders of magnitude in linear dimension and ruptures the entire 150 mm length of the simulated fault. We also measure accelerating fault slip in the final seconds before stick slip. We estimate that this slip is at least 98% aseismic and that it both weakens the fault and produces AEs that will eventually cascade-up to initiate the larger dynamic rupture.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip

2014

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“…In particular, earthquake initiation on mature faults that contain a granular fault gouge (as a result of wear and frictional slip of the fault interfacial surfaces) is attributed to this solid-to-fluid-like transition. A fault system accumulates strain energy during inter-seismic periods, known as the "stick" phase, and a "slip event" corresponds to an earthquake [1,2,3]. The stick-slip dynamic regime of a sheared granular layer is controlled by mechanical and physical properties of the layer, including its confining pressure and shearing velocity [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of boundary vibration on the frictional behavior of a dense sheared granular layer

et al. 2014

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We report results of 3D Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations aiming at investigating the role of the boundary vibration in inducing frictional weakening in sheared granular layers. We study the role of different vibration amplitudes applied at various shear stress levels, for a granular layer in the stick-slip regime and in the steady-sliding regime. Results are reported in terms of friction drops and kinetic energy release associated with frictional weakening events. We find that larger vibration amplitude induces larger frictional weakening events. The results show evidence of a threshold below which no induced frictional weakening takes place. Friction drop size 2 is found to be dependent on the shear stress at the time of vibration. A significant increase in the ratio between the number of slipping contacts to the number of sticking contacts in the granular layer is observed for large vibration amplitudes. These vibration-induced contact rearrangements enhance particle mobilization and induces a friction drop and kinetic energy release. This observation provides some insight into the grain-scale mechanisms of frictional weakening by boundary vibration in a dense sheared granular layer. In addition to characterizing the basic physics of vibration induced shear weakening, we are attempting to understand how a fault fails in the earth under seismic wave forcing. This is the well know phenomenon of dynamic earthquake triggering. We believe that the granular physics are key to this understanding.

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“…The simplest model, introduced by Euler, distinguishes between a static friction coefficient and a dynamic one. It was extended to a slip velocity dependent coefficient and studied by several authors on systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom [8], [9], [5], [12], with also an important application in the analysis of the sliding of geological faults [2], [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Singular perturbation approach to an elastic dry friction problem with non-monotone coefficient

Renard¹

2000

Quart. Appl. Math.

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Abstract.In this paper we study a one-dimensional dynamic model of dry friction with slip velocity dependent coefficient. In many cases, this model has more than one solution. We introduce a perturbed friction condition which allows us to regain the uniqueness of the solution. We show that the perturbed problem's solutions pointwise converge to a particular solution of the initial problem when the perturbation parameter tends to zero. The singular perturbation approach provides the analysis of a criterion used to select a solution of the problem, and suggests a method to study more elaborated dry friction problems.

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Stick-Slip as a Mechanism for Earthquakes

Cited by 889 publications

References 8 publications

Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip

Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip

Effect of boundary vibration on the frictional behavior of a dense sheared granular layer

Singular perturbation approach to an elastic dry friction problem with non-monotone coefficient

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