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Title: Automatic Time Step Control to Resolve Hydromechanically Driven Fault Reactivation, Spontaneous Nucleation, and Seismic Arrest

Journal Article · · Water Resources Research

Abstract A physical understanding of the progression from flow‐driven (quasi‐static) poromechanical deformation to dynamic fault rupture is critical to the resilient operations of several engineering systems. These processes are bridged by a progression from fault reactivation to the spontaneous nucleation of unstable sliding. Toward addressing this challenge, novel automatic time step size control methods are developed to enable accurate and efficient simulation of these dynamics and transitions from the first principles. The controllers combine local models for discretization error and Coulomb failure conditions to automatically adjust the time step size across several orders of magnitude. The methods do not require additional empirical or theoretical input and can resolve the pre‐rupture, interseismic, and seismic periods to the allowed accuracy. The computational results reveal that the proposed methods automatically capture the onset of reactivation and nucleation for homogeneous and heterogeneous fields. Hydrodynamic and structural heterogeneity lead to disparate critical nucleation sizes compared to those predicted by theory. The results highlight its potential in predicting induced seismicity in realistic subsurface engineering systems and at practical scales.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0031777
OSTI ID:
2204060
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2222496
Journal Information:
Water Resources Research, Journal Name: Water Resources Research Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 59; ISSN 0043-1397
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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