| Geology and Mechanics of Compaction Band Formation in Sandstone | |
| Personnel: K. Sternlof, D. Pollard, G. Chopra Collaborators: John Rudnicki (Northwestern University) Sponsor: U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Stanford Rock Fracture Project | |
Description:
Detailed observations of compaction bands exposed in the Aztec Sandstone of southeastern Nevada indicate that these thin, tabular,
bounded features of localized porosity loss initiated at pervasive grain-scale flaws that collapsed in response to compressive
tectonic loading. They can be represented mechanically as both contractile Eshelby inclusions and as closing-mode anticracks,
which generate near-tip compressive stress concentrations consistent with self-sustaining, in-plane propagation. Our
two-dimensional numerical boundary element modeling of compaction bands as anticracks in a homogeneous, linear elastic continuum
effectively captures the mechanics of their propagation, interaction and pattern development at the outcrop scale, and provides a
framework within which to interpret these patterns as indicators of regional tectonic paleo stress and strain.
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| Selected Publications: Sternlof, K. R., Rudnicki, J.W. and Pollard, D. D., Anticrack-inclusion model for compaction bands in sandstone: submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. Sternlof, K. R., Pollard, D. D. and Chopra, G., Compaction band propagation and pattern development in sandstone: Field evidence and numerical modeling: in preparation for submission to Journal of Structural Geology. Sternlof, K. R., Geotectonic characterization of compaction bands in the Aztec Sandstone, southeastern Nevada: in preparation for submission to Geological Society of America Bulletin. | |