Incipient Fault Motion Due to a Spherical Explosion.
Abstract
The problem of incipient fault motion due to a spherical elastic wave in an infinite homogeneous isotropic medium is considered analytically. The shear failure criterion for the joint is taken to be of the usual Mohr-Coulomb form, which results in a single scalar quantity, S, determining the stress state at which failure occurs. A complete picture of shear failure is obtained by plotting constant-S contours in the theta-r sub j plane, where theta defines the fault or joint orientation and r sub j is the distance from the source. In some cases it is found that there exist certain unexpected orientations for which shear failure is inhibited, even though the fault is very close to the source. Also, a quantitative description of catastrophic shear failure on a fault or joint depends on detailed time-resolved stress histories; simple quantitative models based solely on total explosive energy, for example, are incomplete.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA030044
Entities
People
- D. R. Schmitz
- J. N. Johnson