Evolution of Frictional Behavior of Punchbowl Fault Gouges Sheared at Seismic Slip Rates and Mechanical and Hydraulic Properties of Nankai Trough Accretionary Prism Sediments Deformed at Different Loading Paths
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Frictional measurements were made on natural fault gouge at seismic slip rates using a high-speed rotary-shear apparatus to study effects of slip velocity, acceleration, displacement, normal stress, and water content. Thermal-, mechanical-, and fluid-flowcoupled FEM models and microstructure observations were implemented to analyze experimental results. Slightly sheared starting material (Unit 1) and a strongly sheared and foliated gouge (Unit 2) are produced when frictional heating is insignificant and the coefficient of sliding friction is 0.4 to 0.6. A random fabric gouge with rounded prophyroclasts (Unit 3) and an extremely-fine, microfoliated layer (Unit 4) develop when significant frictional heating occurs at greater velocity and normal stress, and the coefficient of sliding friction drops to approximately 0.2. The frictional behavior at coseismic slip can be explained by thermal pressurization and a temperature-dependent constitutive relation, in which the friction coefficient is proportional to 1/T and increases with temperature (temperature-strengthening) at low temperature conditions and decreases with temperature (temperature-weakening) at higher temperature conditions. The friction coefficient, normal stress, pore pressure, and temperature within the gouge layer vary with position (radius) and time, and they depend largely on the frictional heating rate. The critical displacement for dynamic weakening is approximately 10 m or less, and can be understood as the displacement required to form a localized slip zone and achieve a steady-state temperature condition. The temporal and spatial evolution of hydromechanical properties of recovered from the Nankai Trough (IODP NanTroSEIZE Stage 1 Expeditions) have been investigated along different stress paths, which simulate the natural conditions of loading during sedimentation, underthrusting, underplating, overthrusting, and exhumation in subduction systems. Porosity evolution is relatively independent of stress path, and the sediment porosity decreases as the yield surface expands. In contrast, permeability evolution depends on the stress path and the consolidation state, e.g., permeability reduction by shear-enhanced compaction occurs at a greater rate under triaxialcompression relative to uniaxial-strain and isotropic loading. In addition, experimental yielding of sediment is well described by Cam-Clay model of soil mechanics, which is useful to better estimate the in-situ stress, consolidation state, and strength of sediment in nature.
