Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Fault Rupture Propagation Based on a Combination of BIEM and FEM Solutions

Abstract eng:
In recent years, dynamic source rupture models have been increasingly used to represent the fault rupture propagation during earthquakes. Several numerical approaches, such as the finite difference method, the finite element method and the boundary integral equation method, have been proposed for the numerical simulation of the rupture propagation. However, seldom do the proposed numerical simulation methods support both the accuracy of the stress field close to the fault surface and the representation of a complex heterogeneous media. For instance, boundary integral equation methods provide accurate stress field near the fault surface, stemming from the analytical fundamental solutions used in their formulation. Yet, these methods are generally applied to a simple homogeneous infinite medium due to the difficulty of determining the required fundamental solutions for more general media. On the other hand, while domain-based methods, such as the finite element method, are applicable to arbitrary complex media, the accuracy of the resulting stress field near the fault surface is low. We propose a new approach for analyzing the fault rupture propagation based on the combination of the boundary integral equation method (BIEM) and the finite element method (FEM) in order to capture the advantages of each approach. We apply it to simple half space problem in order to investigate the effects of the free surface on the fault rupture propagation in 2D P-SV problems.

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