1. Fractal Fragmentation in Crustal Shear Zones
- Author
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Sandy Steacy and C. G. Sammis
- Subjects
Fractal ,Geomechanics ,Nucleation ,Crust ,Geophysics ,Shear zone ,Fractal dimension ,Seismology ,Brittle fracture ,Geology - Abstract
Understanding the geometry and evolution of fracture systems in the crust is a fundamental problem in geomechanics. Although the basic elements of brittle fracture, such as the nucleation, growth, and interaction of microcracks from preexisting flaws, have been studied extensively in the laboratory and are reasonably well understood theoretically, patterns of such fractures that develop in zones of crustal deformation is a topic of current research. The reason is that crustal fracture networks are developed over a wide range of scales, and the interaction between structures at different scales is not well understood. Most laboratory experiments involve deformation on only one scale before the effects of sample boundaries become important.
- Published
- 1995
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