Experimental Study of Different Modes of Block Sliding along Interface. Part 3. Numerical Modeling

This paper completes a series of studies on the patterns of block sliding along interface. It has been shown that in order to model the whole range of crustal block movements, the empirical rate and state friction law must be supplemented with a term that accounts for the appearance of additional shear resistance associated with the dynamic viscosity of the contact between blocks. With this term, the experimentally observed slow slip events can be modeled with good accuracy. A generalization of results of the entire series of studies published in several issues of the journal suggests that both the dynamic and quasi-static modes of sliding along faults are components of a single deformation process. The parameter that governs the formation and evolution of a fault sliding mode is the ratio between the effective values of the fault zone stiffness and rock mass stiffness. Their variation determines the occurrence of a particular sliding mode.