鉱物科学から断層摩擦のメカニズム解明に挑む;鉱物科学から断層摩擦のメカニズム解明に挑む;A challenge for understanding the friction of faults from mineral science

Maximum friction coe‹cients of common minerals can be characterized by empirical Byerlee's rule, however, some important faultforming minerals such as mica and clay minerals have ultimately low friction coe‹cient. The layered structure and high a‹nity to water should be related to the low friction coe‹cient. We have investigated the interlayer bonding energy, adsorption energy of water molecules, and physical properties of adsorbed water by using molecular simulations, surface xray scattering, and surface forces measurements. These results were used for interpreting the weak friction coe‹cients of layered minerals.