TODAY: Fault Mechanics Webinar Series - What can we learn about friction evolution and rupture behavior from laboratory experiments?* Vito Rubino,

*** TODAY FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2023 @ 1P PDT

What can we learn about friction evolution and rupture behavior from laboratory experiments?
Vito Rubino, Ecole Central de Nantes

Characterizing the rheology of faults is of paramount importance to improve our understanding of frictional ruptures and earthquake physics, as friction controls key processes of rupture nucleation, propagation, and arrest and also influences how damaging earthquakes can be. In this presentation, I will describe the evolution of frictional strength during the propagation of dynamic ruptures using laboratory experiments. Our innovative experimental approach allows us to capture the full-field evolution of particle velocities of dynamic ruptures and decode the nature of friction by tracking its evolution and studying its dependence on slip, slip velocity and their history. We find that friction evolution is consistent with the rate-and-state friction laws combined with flash heating weakening mechanism but not with the widely used slip-weakening laws. Our recent experiments along interfaces enriched with fault gouge, the pulverized rock present in natural fault, reveal an even more complex behavior characterized by intermittent rupture propagation. The measured friction behavior allows us to challenge existing friction laws and formulate new ones. This approach gives a new perspective on the study of friction and provides important insights into earthquake and rupture physics. [more info] [register]

NEW DATE

MONDAY APRIL 17, 2023 @ 2P PDT
Making the Ocean Floor: Two-phase dynamics of mantle melting and formation of oceanic lithosphere
Adina Pusok, Oxford University
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