OS12W0143 An experimental method to simulate the fracture of faults in earthquakes, and a macro-mechanics model

Abstract

The author has investigated the subsurface crack growth of silicon nitride ball bearings from the view of fracture mechanics. It was discovered that the stress fields caused by the spherical Hertzian contact fulfill the mechanical conditions of a plate subduction boundary, and also that crack growth under rolling contact fatigue simulates the behavior of plate subduction boundary. Great similarities are found between the earthquake faults and subsurface cracks under rolling contact fatigue. In this paper the similarities are explained and the features of crack growth are described from the viewpoint of mechanics in earthquakes. Especially, based on the similarities, the mechanical relations between intraplate earthquakes and interplate earthquakes are explained.