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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Friction of Shear-Fracture Zones
Jan ÅStrömTimo RiikiläJ. I. Pylväinensubject
kitkata114haurausfrictionGeneral Physics and AstronomyMechanicsbrittlenessTectonicsfracture mechanicsShear (geology)Large strainStress relaxationBrittle solidsFracture processShear zonemurtumismekaniikkaGeologydescription
A shear fracture of brittle solids under compression undergoes a substantial evolution from the initial microcracking to a fully formed powder-filled shear zone. Experiments covering the entire process are relatively easy to conduct, but they are very difficult to investigate in detail. Numerically, the large strain limit has remained a challenge. An efficient simulation model and a custom-made experimental device are employed to test to what extent a shear fracture alone is sufficient to drive material to spontaneous selflubrication. A “weak shear zone” is an important concept in geology, and a large number of explanations, specific for tectonic conditions, have been proposed. We demonstrate here that weak shear zones are far more general, and that their emergence only demands that a microscopic, i.e., fragment-scale, stress relaxation mechanism develops during the fracture process. peerReviewed
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-01-01 | Physical Review Letters |