On the micromechanics of slip events in sheared, fluid-saturated fault gouge
- Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Dept. of Mechanical and Process Engineering; Swiss Federal Lab. for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Dübendorf, (Switzerland); Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States). Dept. of Physics
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Geosciences
- Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Dept. of Mechanical and Process Engineering; Swiss Federal Lab. for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Dübendorf, (Switzerland)
We used a three-dimensional discrete element method coupled with computational fluid dynamics to study the poromechanical properties of dry and fluid-saturated granular fault gouge. The granular layer was sheared under dry conditions to establish a steady state condition of stick-slip dynamic failure, and then fluid was introduced to study its effect on subsequent failure events. The fluid-saturated case showed increased stick-slip recurrence time and larger slip events compared to the dry case. Particle motion induces fluid flow with local pressure variation, which in turn leads to high particle kinetic energy during slip due to increased drag forces from fluid on particles. The presence of fluid during the stick phase of loading promotes a more stable configuration evidenced by higher particle coordination number. Our coupled fluid-particle simulations provide grain-scale information that improves understanding of slip instabilities and illuminates details of phenomenological, macroscale observations.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Federal Inst. of Technology (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1469531
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-17-25964
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 12; ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Potential Energy as Metric for Understanding Stick–Slip Dynamics in Sheared Granular Fault Gouge: A Coupled CFD–DEM Study
|
journal | April 2018 |
On the Micromechanics of True Triaxial Test, Insights from 3D DEM Study
|
journal | May 2018 |
Estimating Fault Friction from Seismic Signals in the Laboratory | text | January 2017 |
Machine Learning Reveals the State of Intermittent Frictional Dynamics in a Sheared Granular Fault | text | January 2019 |
Similar Records
Cohesion-Induced Stabilization in Stick-Slip Dynamics of Weakly Wet, Sheared Granular Fault Gouge
Modeling of Stick-Slip Behavior in Sheared Granular Fault Gouge Using the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method