On the nonlinear dynamics of rupture

H. Ockendon (1) , D. L. Turcotte (1, 2)

1 Center for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
2 Department of Geological Sciences

The rupture on a fault resulting in an earthquake is clearly a complex process. In order to better understand this process the continuum version of the slider-block model has been considered in some detail. In particular, the role of a cohesive breakaway zone is considered. Solutions of a "piston" problem and a "shock-tube" problem are obtained. For the "dirven" problem the cohesive breakaway solution is combined with a viscous resistance on the fault to obtain solutions that are reasonably realistic in terms of fault rupture.

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Astrophysique [astro-ph]; Sciences de la Terre

H. Ockendon, D. L. Turcotte. On the nonlinear dynamics of rupture. Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 1998, 5 (2), pp.81-92. ⟨hal-00301890⟩