Poster #169, Fault and Rupture Mechanics (FARM)
Dynamic Rupture Simulations of Coseismic Interactions on Orthogonal Strike-Slip Faults
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Poster Presentation
2021 SCEC Annual Meeting, Poster #169, SCEC Contribution #11594 VIEW PDF
ntless other events). In other words, the orthogonal fault question is an earthquake gate question: what allows rupture to propagate through the junction and through both component faults versus confining rupture to one fault or the other, and is this a persistent behavior or does it change with time? Understanding the physics behind these different behaviors is important for evaluating hazard near orthogonal fault systems.
Here, I use the 3D finite element method to simulate dynamic rupture on simplified orthogonal strike-slip fault systems, to determine which geometrical and stress conditions produce coseismic rupture on both component faults. In models with uniform initial tractions on both faults, which isolate the effects of fault geometry, the position of the nucleation zone relative to the second fault is key: if the initial part of the rupture unclamps/reduces normal stress on the orthogonal fault, it will rupture, and if the initial rupture clamps/increases normal stress on the orthogonal fault, it experiences no more than a small patch of triggered slip at the junction. If the initial rupture nucleates on a fault segment that ends at cross fault, the stopping phase from rupture reaching the end of the fault will cause the cross fault to rupture, regardless of clamping or unclamping. In models where I resolve a uniform regional stress field on the faults, which leads to different initial tractions on each fault, I find that only a narrow range of stress orientations allow multi-fault rupture. Within that range, however, stopping phases and nucleation location control rupture patterns the same way as in the uniform traction models.
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Here, I use the 3D finite element method to simulate dynamic rupture on simplified orthogonal strike-slip fault systems, to determine which geometrical and stress conditions produce coseismic rupture on both component faults. In models with uniform initial tractions on both faults, which isolate the effects of fault geometry, the position of the nucleation zone relative to the second fault is key: if the initial part of the rupture unclamps/reduces normal stress on the orthogonal fault, it will rupture, and if the initial rupture clamps/increases normal stress on the orthogonal fault, it experiences no more than a small patch of triggered slip at the junction. If the initial rupture nucleates on a fault segment that ends at cross fault, the stopping phase from rupture reaching the end of the fault will cause the cross fault to rupture, regardless of clamping or unclamping. In models where I resolve a uniform regional stress field on the faults, which leads to different initial tractions on each fault, I find that only a narrow range of stress orientations allow multi-fault rupture. Within that range, however, stopping phases and nucleation location control rupture patterns the same way as in the uniform traction models.
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