Experimental investigation on the origin of carbonaceous materials in the fault zone of the Wenchuan earthquake

Carbonaceous materials in seismic fault zones may considerably influence seismic fault slip;however,the formation mechanism of carbonaceous materials remains unclear.In this study,we proposed a novel hypothesis for the formation of carbonaceous materials in fault gouge.Thus,we conducted a CO_(2) hydrogenation experiment in a high-temperature reactor at a co-seismic temperature,with fault gouge formed during the Wenchuan earthquake as the catalyst.Our experimental results demonstrate that carbonaceous materials in fault zones are formed on the fault gouge during the chemical reaction process,suggesting that the carbonaceous materials are possibly generated from the catalytic hydrogenation of CO_(2),followed by thermal cracking of its products.The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for understanding fault behavior and earthquake physics.

Experimental investigation on frictional properties of stressed basalt fractures

The frictional strength and sliding stability of faults are crucial in interpreting earthquake mechanisms and cycles.Herein,we report friction experiments on basalt fractures,using a self-designed triaxial apparatus that allows direct shear of samples under coupled hydro-mechanical conditions.Velocitystepping(VS)and slide-hold-slide(SHS)experiments are performed on both bare and gouge-bearing surfaces of Xiashan basalt subjected to cyclic shear velocities at 1e30 mm/s,effective normal stresses of 1e5 MPa,and pore pressures of 70e300 kPa.The measured basalt friction coefficients are in the range of 0.67e0.74,which is sensitive to gouge thickness,normal stress,and water.Specifically,a reduction in friction coefficient is observed with an increment in gouge thickness,normal stress,and pore pressure.Based on the microscopic observation of the pre-and post-shearing sliding surfaces,this weakening effect in friction coefficient can be attributed to powder lubrication.Furthermore,the VS test results reveal predominantly velocity-strengthening behavior at investigated slip velocities,and this velocity strengthening behavior does not appear to be influenced by variations in normal stress,gouge thickness,and water.However,changes in sliding velocity and normal stress can lead to a shift between stable and unstable sliding.Specifically,stable sliding is favored by high sliding velocities and low normal stress applied in this study.Finally,we analyze the experimental data by calculating the rate-and-state parameters using the rate-and state-dependent friction(RSF)theory.Importantly,the calculated friction rate parameter(a-b)supports the velocity-strengthening behavior.Both frictional relaxation(Dmc)during hold periods and frictional healing(Dm)upon re-shearing are linearly proportional to the logarithmic hold time,which may be attributed to the growth in true contact area with hold time.This study sheds light on the roles of sliding velocity,and gouge thickness in controlling frictional strength and stability of basalt fractures.

A Comparison Study of Synkinematic Illite Isolation,Quantitative X-ray Powder Diffraction,and K-Ar Dating for Direct Fault Gouge Analyses

K-Ar dating of synkinematic illite is increasingly recognized as a central method to constrain the timing of shallow crustal faulting.Methods of efficient sample preparation and quantitative identification of illite polytypes are critical to acquiring K-Ar isotope data for authigenic clays.In this respect,we compared the commonly used clay size separation method through centrifugation with vacuum filtration technology,showing that the former is prone to extract fractions with finer particle sizes under similar conditions,thus improving the error in the authigenic end-member age.Additionally,we demonstrated that the side-packed mounting method for X-ray diffraction analysis can significantly enhance the randomness in powder samples,thus improving the quantification accuracy compared with the front-packed and back-packed methods.The validity of our quantification method was confirmed by comparing Profex■modeling patterns with a suite of synthetic mixtures of known compositions,yielding an average analytical error of 3%.Dating results of these artificial mixtures and the reference materials indicated that a large range in percentages of detrital illite and a sufficient amount of age data will produce reliable results for ages of both extrapolated end-members.However,if the range is limited,the extrapolated age close to those of datasets is still reliable.

Frictional sliding of infilled planar granite fracture under oscillating normal stress

This paper investigates the frictional behavior of the infilled rock fracture under dynamic normal stress.A series of direct shear tests were conducted on saw-cut granite fractures infilled with quartz using a selfdeveloped dynamic shear apparatus,and the effects of normal load oscillation amplitude,normal load oscillation period and sliding velocity were studied.The test results reveal that the shear response can be divided into three stages over a whole loading-unloading process,characterized by different time spans and stress variations.Generally,a smaller oscillation amplitude,a longer oscillation period and a fast shear velocity promote the stability of the friction system,which is also confirmed by the Coulomb failure criterion calculated based on the observed periodic apparent friction coefficient.The dynamic strengthening/weakening phenomenon is dependent on the oscillation amplitude and product of sliding velocity and oscillation period(vT).Also,the rate and state friction law incorporating the parameter a that characterizes the normal stress variation is employed to describe the dynamic friction coefficient but exhibits an incompetent performance when handling intensive variation in normal stress.Finally,the potential seismicity induced by oscillating normal stress based on the observed stress drop is analyzed.This work helps us understand the sliding process and stability evolution of natural faults,and its benefits for relative hazard mitigation.

K-Ar Dating of Fault Gouges from the Red River Fault Zone of Vietnam

Constraining the timing of fault zone formation is fundamentally important in terms of geotectonics to understand structural evolution and brittle fault processes.This paper presents the first authigenic illite K-Ar age data from fault gouge samples collected from the Red River Shear Zone at Lao Cai province,Vietnam.The fault gouge samples were separated into three grain-size fractions（〈0.1 μm,0.1-0.4 μm and 0.4-1.0 μm）.The results show that the K-Ar age values decrease from coarser to finer grain fractions（24.1 to 19.2 Ma）,suggesting enrichment in finer fraction of morerecently grown authigenic illites.The timing of the fault movement are the lower intercept ages at 0%detrital illite（19.2 ± 0.92 Ma and 19.4 ± 0.49 Ma）.In combination with previous geochronological data,this result indicates that the metamorphism of the Day Nui Con Voi（DNCV） metamorphic complex took place before ca.26.8 Ma.At about 26.8 Ma-25 Ma,the fault strongly acted to cause the rapid exhumation of the rocks along the Red River-Ailoa Shan Fault Zone（RR-ASFZ）.During brittle deformation,the DNCV slowly uplifted,implying weak movement of the fault.This brittle deformation might have lasted for ca.5 Ma.

Suggestion of advanced regression model on friction angle of fault gouge in South Korea

Although friction characteristics of fault gouge are important to understand reactivation of fault,behavior of earthquake,and mechanism of slope failure,analysis results of fault gouge have low accuracy mostly than those of soils or rocks due to its high heterogeneity and low strength.Therefore,to improve the accuracy of analysis results,we conducted simple regression analysis and structural equation model analysis and selected major influential factors of friction characteristics among many factors,and then we deduced advanced regression model with the highest coefficient of determination(R^(2)) via multiple regression analysis.Whereas most coefficients of determination in simple regression analysis are below0.3-0.4,coefficient of determination in multiple regression analysis is remarkably large as 0.657.

Effect of mineralogy on friction-dilation relationships for simulated faults:Implications for permeability evolution in caprock faults

This paper experimentally explores the frictional sliding behavior of two simulated gouges:one,a series of quartz–smectite mixtures,and the other,powdered natural rocks,aiming to evaluate and codify the effect of mineralogy on gouge dilation and frictional strength,stability,and healing.Specifically,velocity-stepping and slide-hold-slide experiments were performed in a double direct shear configuration to analyze frictional constitutive parameters at room temperature,under normal stresses of 10,20,and 40 MPa.Gouge dilation was measured based on the applied step-wise changes in shear velocity.The frictional response of the quartz–smectite mixtures and powdered natural rocks are affected by their phyllosilicate content.Frictional strength and healing rates decrease with increasing phyllosilicate content,and at 20 wt.%a transition from velocity-weakening to velocity-strengthening behavior was noted.For both suites of gouges,dilation is positively correlated with frictional strength and healing rates,and negatively correlated with frictional stability.Changes in the permeability of gouge-filled faults were estimated from changes in mean porosity,indexed through measured magnitudes of gouge dilation.This combined analysis implies that the reactivation of caprock faults filled with phyllosilicaterich gouges may have a strong influence on permeability evolution in caprock faults.

Dating Fault Activity Based on Surface Texture of Quartz Grains from the Bailong River Fault

Much important information referring to fault motion （e.g., fault activities period, intensity, frequency, and even dynamic background） can be revealed by resolving fault gouge, which is the result of fault motion while extruding or grinding. The field investigation encompassed sample collecting from the Bailong River fault system of the western segment of the Qinling Orogenic Belt （QOB）; 44 samples of fault gouges were collected for quartz micro-morphology analysis. These samples were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy. In addition, 14 samples were tested for thermo-luminescence dating. The results showed that most of the surface textures of quartz grains are characterized by fish scale, moss-like texture, and stalactite. However, a small amount of orange peel-like fractures and worm-hole-like shaped surface texture were observed. Moreover, a few typical conchoids or subconchoidal fractures in quartz grains can be seen. This implies that the Bailong River Fault was active repeatedly during the Quaternary period, but the main motion period is the Pleistocene. The 14 thermo-luminescence dating values showed two age groups： 343.29-184.06 ka and 92.18-13.87 ka. These study data reveal that fault movement started during the Pliocene, occurred frequently in the early-middle period of the Pleistocene, and the peak frequency of the motion was reached in the early Pleistocene. The fault motions were stopped terminated in the early Holocene. The results are significant for the natural disaster risk evaluation in the western segment of the QOB.

Patterns of Clay Minerals Transformation in Clay Gouge, with Examples from Revers Fault Rocks in Devonina Niqiuhe Formation in The Dayangshu Basin

The role of authigenic clay growth in clay gouge is increasingly recognized as a key to understanding the mechanics of berittle faulting and fault zone processes,including creep and seismogenesis,and providing new insights into the ongoing debate about the frictional strength of brittle fault(Haines and van der Pluijm,2012).However,neither the conditions nor the processes which

The Fractal Feature of Granulometric Composition in Fault Gouges from the Yishu Fault Zone and Adjacent Northwest-Trending Faults and Its Seismo-geological Implications

In this work,the fractal dimension of granulometric composition in the fault gouge from the Yishu fault zone and northwest-trending faults on its west side is calculated and studied based on the fractal theory of rock fragmentation.The seismo-geological implications of the fractal dimension of granulometric composition in fault gouges are also discussed.The results show that the Yishu fault zone is more active than the northwest-trending faults and the Anqiu-Juxian fault is the most active in the Yishu fault zone.The fractal dimension of fault gouge is a parameter describing the relative active age and rupture mode of the fault and forming age of the fault gouge.The fractal dimension value is also related to the parent rock,thickness,structural position,and clay content of the fault gouge.

A Tool Path Generation Strategy for Sculptured Surfaces Machining

This paper presents a strategy to generate interference-free tool paths for machining sculptured surfaces. The strategy proposed here is first to determine the tool path topology. The values of the step length and the path interval are then calculated based on the machining tolerance requirements. After detecting and eliminating the tool interference, the interference-free tool path is generated. The effectiveness of the developed algorithm is demonstrated through simulation and actual cutting tests.

The Characteristics of Quartz Micro-morphology of The Fault Gouge in Bailongjiang Fault System and Its Chronology

A great deal of important information referring to fault motion (such as fault activities period, intensity, frequency, and even dynamic background, etc.) can be revealed by resolving fault gouge, which are the special result of fault motion while extruding or grinding. Based on the field investigation, collected from Bailongjiang fault system of Western Qinling Orogenic (QO) Belt, 44 samples of fault gouge were for quartz micro-morphology observation and statistics by the field emission SEM, and 14 samples were tested by thermo-luminescence dating. The results showed that most of the micro-morphology of quartz grains are fish scale and orange-haut fractures, but a small amount of moss-like, stalactitic, and subconchoidal fractures. Also very few decay of quartz grains and typical conchoids fracture quartz grains can be seen. This implied that the Bailongjiang fault system was motioned repeatedly in Quaternary period but main motion period was Pleistocene. 14 thermo-luminescence dating values showed herewith two groups as 343.29-184.06 ka and 92.18-13.87 ka. Therefore, the conclusions can be reached that the fault system were motioned starting at Pliocene epoch, frequently in the middle of Pleistocene (343.29-184.06 ka), and peak frequency in late Pleistocene (92.18-13.87 ka). The fault system motions have stopped at Holocene. The results are significant for the natural disaster risk evaluation in western QO region.

Adaptability of ESR dating of fault gouge in aseismic region:A case study on Hangzhou region, China

ESR dating has been widely used in seismic assessment. In this paper, we collected fault gouge samples systematically for ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) dating, and sediment samples of overlying strata, and offset strata for OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating along Xiaoshan-Qiuchuan fault (XQF) trending NE-SW, Xiaofeng-Sanmen fault (XSF) trending NW-SE, and Changhua-Putuo fault (CPF) trending E-W. In the same fault outcrop, the ESR data of fault gouge is greater than the OSL data of the strata offset by fault. Therefore, the ESR data of fault gouge colleted in Hangzhou region do not represent the time of weak fault movement in Late Quaternary region, but represent the strong fault movements in Late Cenozoic. The episode of fault movement in Late Cenozoic could be speculated according to the ESR data: 1.000.58 Ma, there were strong fault movements along the XSF, XQF and CPF in Hangzhou region; 0.580.45 Ma, the fault movements of all faults became weaker and did not zero ESR signals significantly for ESR dating of fault movements; 0.450.20 Ma, there were strong fault movements along part of XQF; 0.10.01 Ma, there were fault movements along the XSF only, but the fault movements were not strong enough to reset the ESR signal; Since 0.01 Ma, the Hangzhou region tends to be stable. In addition, the XSF might be the division line of fault segmentation of XQF; there were strong fault movements along the southwest segment of XQF during 0.45 Ma to 0.20 Ma; while the fault movements along the northeast segment of XQF mainly occurred during 1.000.58 Ma.

Fractal research of fault gouge

The process and result of fractal research of natural fault gouge collected from the active fault zone at northern edge of Western Qinling Mt. by using optical and electronic microscope technics were introduced in this paper. The fractal dimension of this fault gouge is D =2.594±0.122 (2 D plane D =1.594±0.122), and its upper limit of fractal dimension occurs at grain size at 9.6～19.2 mm. The study result shows that this gouge is fractal, and its characteristic displacement parameter of stick slip friction can be determined by upper limit of fractal dimension. The feature of protolith which affect fractality and the significance of gouge fractal to seismic fault changes are also disscussed in the paper.

ESTIMATING THE CUTTER＇S MAXIMUM DIAMETER IN 5－AXIS NC FACE MILLING OF TURBINE BLADES

Based on the principles of differential geometry,the basic equations are derived for generating gouging free tool path in 5-axis NC face milling,the influence of surface's local geometry is discussed,and the conditions of using cutter with reasonable diameter are presented.

Determining the Relative Age of Fault Activity through Analyses of Gouge Mineralogy and Geochemistry: A Case Study from Vápenná(Rychleby Mts), Czech Republic

The relative age of fractures can be determined through structural analyses in the field or through the detailed mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (AAS method, volumetric, and gravimetric analysis) of fault gouge in the laboratory. The aim of this work was to compare these approaches. It was hypothesised that the two methods would yield consistent results. The studied faults were located in the Rychleby Mts, part of the Sudetic Marginal Fault Zone. The relative age of the faults was determined in the field through the application of the intersection law. The fault gouges were sampled in a crystalline limestone quarry near the village of Vápenná. The mineralogical composition of the fault gouges has been established by XRD analysis of powder samples and analysis of preferentially oriented clay minerals. From our result, it is clear that these two approaches yielded consistent results with regard to the relative age of the faults.

Characteristics of Fault Gouge from the Northwest-Trending Faults in Western Shandong and Its Seismogeological Significance

A systematical study is made on the characteristics of fault gouge from NW-trending faults in western Shandong.The macroscopic features of the fault gouge zones were investigated.From the data on surface structure of quartz fragments from the fault gouge and its maturity,the relative age,the movement mode,the rupture pattern,and the activities of the NW-trending faults are determined.Moreover,their seismogeological significance and some problems in study of fault gouge are discussed.

K-Ar dating of extensional fault gouge from the Yi-Shu segment of the Tan-Lu fault zone

Two grabens were developed in the Yi-Shu segment of the Tan-Lu fault zone (TLFZ) during its exten-sional activities, and are now confined by four major NNE-trending normal faults and filled with Creta-ceous sediments. These faults were developed due to their reactivities, containing gouge and cutting the graben sediments. Detailed fieldwork demonstrates that the faults experienced sinistral transten-sional moment related to regional NE-SW extension during the reactivity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the finest gouge samples gives illite crystallinity values higher than 0.42o?2θ, indicating temperatures experienced by the gouge samples were less than 150℃ . From the relation between K-Ar data and proportions of detrital illite in different size fractions of the gouge samples, we conclude that refaulting for the western boundary fault of the TLFZ, abbreviated to F4, took place at ca. 90 Ma and for the eastern boundary fault, abbreviated to F1, happened from 70 to 60 Ma. During the two phases of reactivity imposed by the same NE-SW extension, the TLFZ experienced uplifting and no sediments were deposited in the two grabens. It is suggested that the TLFZ experienced extension during the Late Cretaceous, which supports the inference that lithospheric thinning was still undergoing in the east of the North China Craton during the Late Cretaceous magmatic hiatus.

Microstructural Features of Fault Gouges in Active Faultand Their Implication

Stick slip and stable creep are two principal modes of fault motion. The formeris considered to be closely related to earthquake generation. The determination of themode of motion during geologic time along a fault outcropped on earth surface is ofcritical importance to the assessment of the behaviour of fault activity.