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Journal of Mining Sciences

2013 year, number 6

Modeling Trigger Effects in Faulting Zones in Rocks

A. P. BOBRYAKOV
N.A. Chinakal Institute of Mining, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnyi pr. 54, Novosibirsk, 630091 Russia
Keywords: shear, trigger effects, soft loading, faults, friction, slipping

Abstract

The laboratory modeling of unsteady deformation at interface of a faulting zone, aimed at studying motions over rigid surfaces with an in-between interlayer of pre-stressed granular medium now exposed to trigger destressing, has shown that relationship of the force drop and displacement of rigid boundaries under the trigger destressing is linear. The slope of straight lines characterizes the resultant rigidity of the system and depends on the set of the input parameters: the spring simulating elasticity of fault surfaces; the granular medium simulating the faulting contact friction; the short-term friction drop trigger. It is found that soft loading takes much energy and results in lower force drop but higher displacements under destressing. The author illustrates that the destressing of the granular medium pre-set in the limit state is accompanied with displacement discontinuities at the rigid boundaries and partial drop of the shearing force.