Impact of fault permeability anisotropy on the nucleation and rupture of injection-induced earthquakes

IF 6.2 1区工程技术 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS

Computers and Geotechnics Pub Date : 2025-09-10 DOI:10.1016/j.compgeo.2025.107613

David Santillán , Ruben Juanes , Sandro Andrés , Luis Cueto-Felgueroso

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of fault permeability anisotropy on the nucleation and rupture of injection-induced earthquakes. Using numerical models, we analyze the effects of varying fault permeability in both, transverse and longitudinal directions. Our research focuses on understanding how these hydraulic properties influence the onset of slip, the nucleation length, and the propagation of the rupture.

We simulate more than 400 cases with different combinations of friction parameters and hydraulic properties, verifying that the reference scaling

L_{\infty} = \frac{b}{{(b - a)}^{2}} \frac{G^{'} D_{c}}{\bar{σ_{n}^{'}}}

provides satisfactory results for scaling nucleation length. Our findings indicate that increased fault permeability delays the onset of slip and affects nucleation patterns, with high longitudinal permeability promoting larger nucleation lengths and high transverse permeability resulting in longer nucleation times.

During rupture propagation, poroelastic effects cause undrained responses in pore pressure, significantly affecting the fault strength. Permeable faults exhibit more symmetrical rupture patterns and higher seismic moments than impermeable faults. The study highlights the crucial role of hydraulic properties in the development of nucleation and rupture of induced earthquakes, emphasizing the importance of these properties for designing safer injection protocols.

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断层渗透率各向异性对注入地震成核和破裂的影响

研究了断层渗透率各向异性对注入地震成核和破裂的影响。利用数值模型分析了断层渗透率在横向和纵向上的影响。我们的研究重点是了解这些水力特性如何影响滑移的开始、成核长度和破裂的扩展。我们模拟了400多个不同摩擦参数和水力性能组合的情况，验证了参考标度L∞=b(b−a)2G ‘ dcσ n ’¯对标度成核长度有满意的结果。我们的研究结果表明，断层渗透率的增加延迟了滑动的开始并影响成核模式，高纵向渗透率促进更大的成核长度，高横向渗透率导致更长的成核时间。在破裂扩展过程中，孔隙弹性效应引起孔隙压力不排水响应，显著影响断层强度。渗透性断层比非渗透性断层表现出更对称的破裂模式和更高的地震矩。该研究强调了水力特性在诱发地震成核和破裂发展中的关键作用，强调了这些特性对设计更安全的注入方案的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Computers and Geotechnics 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

15.10%

发文量

438

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： The use of computers is firmly established in geotechnical engineering and continues to grow rapidly in both engineering practice and academe. The development of advanced numerical techniques and constitutive modeling, in conjunction with rapid developments in computer hardware, enables problems to be tackled that were unthinkable even a few years ago. Computers and Geotechnics provides an up-to-date reference for engineers and researchers engaged in computer aided analysis and research in geotechnical engineering. The journal is intended for an expeditious dissemination of advanced computer applications across a broad range of geotechnical topics. Contributions on advances in numerical algorithms, computer implementation of new constitutive models and probabilistic methods are especially encouraged.