Analysis of Stresses in Gypsum–Cement Mortar Blocks with Strike–Slip Faults of 
Different Orientations Inferred from Acoustic Emission and Embedded Strain 
Sensors

Su, Zhandong; Niu, Yao; Zang, Arno; Liu, Xiaoli; Sun, Jinzhong; Zang, Mingdong; Zhou, Sizhe; Wang, Zhiwen; Li, Xiaorui; Zhang, Jianyong

doi:10.1007/s00603-024-04356-w

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Add to Basket

Please note that a newer version of this item is available:
https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5029658_4

DetailsSummary

Released

Journal Article

Analysis of Stresses in Gypsum–Cement Mortar Blocks with Strike–Slip Faults of Different Orientations Inferred from Acoustic Emission and Embedded Strain Sensors

Authors

Su, Zhandong
External Organizations;

Niu, Yao
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/zang

Zang, Arno
2.6 Seismic Hazard and Risk Dynamics, 2.0 Geophysics, Departments, GFZ Publication Database, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum;

Liu, Xiaoli
External Organizations;

Sun, Jinzhong
External Organizations;

Zang, Mingdong
External Organizations;

Zhou, Sizhe
External Organizations;

Wang, Zhiwen
External Organizations;

Li, Xiaorui
External Organizations;

Zhang, Jianyong
External Organizations;

External Ressource

No external resources are shared

Fulltext (public)

There are no public fulltexts stored in GFZpublic

Supplementary Material (public)

There is no public supplementary material available

Citation

Su, Z., Niu, Y., Zang, A., Liu, X., Sun, J., Zang, M., Zhou, S., Wang, Z., Li, X., Zhang, J. (2025): Analysis of Stresses in Gypsum–Cement Mortar Blocks with Strike–Slip Faults of Different Orientations Inferred from Acoustic Emission and Embedded Strain Sensors. - Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 58, 3889-3908.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-04356-w

Cite as: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5029658

Abstract

The regional tectonic stress and rupture processes near a fault are essential for estimating rock mass stability and understanding earthquake nucleation. In this study, a strike–slip fault analog sample (size: 2 m × 1 m × 1 m) was prefabricated by using cement, gypsum, river sand, putty powder, and borax. Horizontal uniaxial compression experiments were performed to mimic a strike–slip fault with different orientations (15°, 30°, 35°, 45°, and 60°). Embedded strain cubes (each with a side length of 30 mm, made of polyurethane with three sets of mutually perpendicular strain rosettes) close to the fault tips and the acoustic emission (AE) technique were used to monitor rupture behavior. The faulting process was divided into four stages: primary stage, steady-state creep, accelerating creep, and post-earthquake creep. The fault orientation substantially affected the variation range of local stress deflection angle in dilatation quadrants from −30° to 30°, and in the compression quadrants from −30° to 0°. A larger fault orientation increased the likelihood of a mixed failure mode dominated by shear. The highest correlation between the absolute change of the local stress deflection angle and the AE event count rate was observed during steady-state creep, and the relationship was well fitted by Boltzmann function. The 35° fault shows the strongest rupture activity before the earthquake occurrence. A simple shear model can be applied to explain the faulting process when the fault’s strike is oblique to the direction of applied load.