825 research outputs found
Interplay of seismic and aseismic deformations during earthquake swarms: An experimental approach
Observations of earthquake swarms and slow propagating ruptures on related faults suggest a close relation between the two phenomena. Earthquakes are the signature of fast unstable ruptures initiated on localized asperities while slow aseismic deformations are experienced on large stable segments of the fault plane. The spatial proximity and the temporal coincidence of both fault mechanical responses highlight the variability of fault rheology. However, the mechanism relating earthquakes and aseismic processes is still elusive due to the difficulty of imaging these phenomena of large spatiotemporal variability at depth. Here we present laboratory experiments that explore, in great detail, the deformation processes of heterogeneous interfaces in the brittle-creep regime. We track the evolution of an interfacial crack over 7 orders of magnitude in time and 5 orders of magnitude in space using optical and acoustic sensors. We explore the response of the system to slow transient loads and show that slow deformation episodes are systematically accompanied by acoustic emissions due to local fracture energy disorder. Features of acoustic emission activities and deformation rate distributions of our experimental system are similar to those in natural faults. On the basis of an activation energy model, we link our results to the Rate and State friction model and suggest an active role of local creep deformation in driving the seismic activity of earthquake swarms
Dynamic path selection along branched faults: Experiments involving sub-Rayleigh and supershear ruptures
Building upon previous laboratory earthquake experiments of dynamic shear rupture growth taking place along faults with simple kinks, new and complex fault geometries involving cohesively held fault branches are studied. Asymmetric impact at the specimen boundaries controls the incoming shear ruptures, which are manipulated to propagate at either sub-Rayleigh or supershear velocities. High-speed photography and dynamic photoelasticity are used with a model material, Homalite-100, to monitor incoming and outgoing rupture propagation, acceleration, deceleration, or arrest at the vicinity of the branch location. Differences and similarities of rupture velocity history between cases involving faults with either simple kinks or branches, on the one hand, and sub-Rayleigh and supershear incoming ruptures, on the other, are highlighted and explained. Results of the experiments show a clear general bias toward large branch inclination, smaller branch angles appearing to be overshadowed and suppressed by the stress field associated with the main fault. Of great interest, also, is the sustenance of rupture propagation along a branch by the Mach cone, when the initial rupture is supershear driven. Generally, higher rupture speeds favors larger arrays of branching angles to be triggered. A companion analysis by Templeton et al. (2009) featuring detailed numerical simulations of these experiments provides further insight into the observed phenomena
How fast is rupture during an earthquake? New insights from the 1999 Turkey Earthquakes
We report that during the two devastating 1999 earthquakes in Turkey, rupture propagated over a large part of the nearly 200km long fault zone at supershear speed approaching 5km/s. We present observations and modeling which confirm the original inference of supershear rupture during the Izmit earthquake and we show that supershear rupture also occurred during the Düzce earthquake. We show that the rupture velocity measured—about √2 times the shear wave velocity—is the value predicted by theoretical studies in fracture dynamics. We look for clues to explain these observations
Modeling seismic wave propagation and amplification in 1D/2D/3D linear and nonlinear unbounded media
To analyze seismic wave propagation in geological structures, it is possible
to consider various numerical approaches: the finite difference method, the
spectral element method, the boundary element method, the finite element
method, the finite volume method, etc. All these methods have various
advantages and drawbacks. The amplification of seismic waves in surface soil
layers is mainly due to the velocity contrast between these layers and,
possibly, to topographic effects around crests and hills. The influence of the
geometry of alluvial basins on the amplification process is also know to be
large. Nevertheless, strong heterogeneities and complex geometries are not easy
to take into account with all numerical methods. 2D/3D models are needed in
many situations and the efficiency/accuracy of the numerical methods in such
cases is in question. Furthermore, the radiation conditions at infinity are not
easy to handle with finite differences or finite/spectral elements whereas it
is explicitely accounted in the Boundary Element Method. Various absorbing
layer methods (e.g. F-PML, M-PML) were recently proposed to attenuate the
spurious wave reflections especially in some difficult cases such as shallow
numerical models or grazing incidences. Finally, strong earthquakes involve
nonlinear effects in surficial soil layers. To model strong ground motion, it
is thus necessary to consider the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of soils and
simultaneously investigate seismic wave propagation in complex 2D/3D geological
structures! Recent advances in numerical formulations and constitutive models
in such complex situations are presented and discussed in this paper. A crucial
issue is the availability of the field/laboratory data to feed and validate
such models.Comment: of International Journal Geomechanics (2010) 1-1
Numerical analysis of seismic wave amplification in Nice (France) and comparisons with experiments
The analysis of site effects is very important since the amplification of
seismic motion in some specific areas can be very strong. In this paper, the
site considered is located in the centre of Nice on the French Riviera. Site
effects are investigated considering a numerical approach (Boundary Element
Method) and are compared to experimental results (weak motion and
microtremors). The investigation of seismic site effects through numerical
approaches is interesting because it shows the dependency of the amplification
level on such parameters as wave velocity in surface soil layers, velocity
contrast with deep layers, seismic wave type, incidence and damping. In this
specific area of Nice, a one-dimensional (1D) analytical analysis of
amplification does not give a satisfactory estimation of the maximum reached
levels. A boundary element model is then proposed considering different wave
types (SH, P, SV) as the seismic loading. The alluvial basin is successively
assumed as an isotropic linear elastic medium and an isotropic linear
viscoelastic solid (standard solid). The thickness of the surface layer, its
mechanical properties, its general shape as well as the seismic wave type
involved have a great influence on the maximum amplification and the frequency
for which it occurs. For real earthquakes, the numerical results are in very
good agreement with experimental measurements for each motion component.
Two-dimensional basin effects are found to be very strong and are well
reproduced numerically
Measuring Relations Between Concepts In Conceptual Spaces
The highly influential framework of conceptual spaces provides a geometric
way of representing knowledge. Instances are represented by points in a
high-dimensional space and concepts are represented by regions in this space.
Our recent mathematical formalization of this framework is capable of
representing correlations between different domains in a geometric way. In this
paper, we extend our formalization by providing quantitative mathematical
definitions for the notions of concept size, subsethood, implication,
similarity, and betweenness. This considerably increases the representational
power of our formalization by introducing measurable ways of describing
relations between concepts.Comment: Accepted at SGAI 2017 (http://www.bcs-sgai.org/ai2017/). The final
publication is available at Springer via
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71078-5_7. arXiv admin note: substantial
text overlap with arXiv:1707.05165, arXiv:1706.0636
Finite element simulations of dynamic shear rupture experiments and dynamic path selection along kinked and branched faults
We analyze the nucleation and propagation of shear cracks along nonplanar, kinked, and branched fault paths corresponding to the configurations used in recent laboratory fracture studies by Rousseau and Rosakis (2003, 2009). The aim is to reproduce numerically those shear rupture experiments and from that provide an insight into processes which are active when a crack, initially propagating in mode II along a straight path, interacts with a bend in the fault or a branching junction. The experiments involved impact loading of thin Homalite‐100 (a photoelastic polymer) plates, which had been cut along bent or branched paths and weakly glued back together everywhere except along a starter notch near the impact site. Strain gage recordings and high‐speed photography of isochromatic lines provided characterization of the transient deformation fields associated with the impact and fracture propagation. We found that dynamic explicit 2‐D plane‐stress finite element analyses with a simple linear slip‐weakening description of cohesive and frictional strength of the bonded interfaces can reproduce the qualitative rupture behavior past the bend and branch junctions in most cases and reproduce the principal features revealed by the photographs of dynamic isochromatic line patterns. The presence of a kink or branch can cause an abrupt change in rupture propagation velocity. Additionally, the finite element results allow comparison between total slip accumulated along the main and inclined fault segments. We found that slip along inclined faults can be substantially less than slip along the main fault, and the amount depends on the branch angle and kink or branch configuration
ClbP is a prototype of a peptidase subgroup involved in biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptides
The pks genomic island of Escherichia coli encodes polyketide (PK) and nonribosomal peptide (NRP) synthases that allow assembly of a putative hybrid PK-NRP compound named colibactin that induces DNA double-strand breaks in eukaryotic cells. The pks-encoded machinery harbors an atypical essential protein, ClbP. ClbP crystal structure and mutagenesis experiments revealed a serine-active site and original structural features compatible with peptidase activity, which was detected by biochemical assays. Ten ClbP homologs were identified in silico in NRP genomic islands of closely and distantly related bacterial species. All tested ClbP homologs were able to complement a clbP-deficient E. coli mutant. ClbP is therefore a prototype of a new subfamily of extracytoplasmic peptidases probably involved in the maturation of NRP compounds. Such peptidases will be powerful tools for the manipulation of NRP biosynthetic pathways
Compact planar lenses based on a pinhole and an array of single mode metallic slits
Plasmonic lenses are based on complex combinations of nanoscale high aspect ratio slits. We show that their design can be greatly simplified, keeping similar performance while releasing technological constraints. The simplified system, called Huygens lens, consists in a central aperture surrounded by several identical single mode slits in a thin gold layer that does not rely anymore on surface plasmons. The focusing behaviour with respect to the position and number of slits is investigated, and we demonstrate the interest of this design to get compact array of lenses
Finite Fault Analysis and Near Field Dynamic Strains and Rotations due to the 11/05/2011 (Mw5.2) Lorca Earthquake, South-Eastern Spain
The 11/5/2011 Lorca, Spain earthquake (Mw5.2) and related seismicity produced
extensive damage in the town of Lorca and vicinity. During these earthquakes,
evidence of rotations and permanent deformations in structures were observed.
To analyze these aspects and study the source properties from the near field,
the displacement time histories were obtained including the static component at
Lorca station. Displacement time histories were computed by an appropriate
double time integration procedure of accelerograms. Using these data, the
foreshock and mainshock slip distributions were calculated by means of a
complete waveform kinematic inversion. To study the dynamic deformations, the
3D tensor of displacement gradients at Lorca station was first estimated by a
single station method. Using the finite fault inversion results and by means of
a first order finite difference approach, the dynamic deformations tensor at
surface was calculated at the recording site. In order to estimate the
distribution of the peak dynamic deformations, the calculation was extended to
the close neighboring area of the town. The possible influence of the
near-field deformations on the surface structures was analyzed.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure
- …