Finite Element Meshing of the SCEC Community Fault Model: Methods and Algorithms
Abstract
Complex models of fault interactions and crustal deformation have been developed for Southern California. The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) has sponsored the creation of the Community Fault Model (CFM), http://epicenter.usc.edu/cmeportal/cmodels.html, a 3D representation of active faults in southern California that are deemed capable of generating moderate to large earthquakes. In order to integrate the CFM into finite element models of stress and strain, SCEC has also supported development of mesh generation algorithms and tools to create computational meshes that capture CFM geometry. A series of simple benchmark meshes have been created and made available to the community (see URL), as well as more complex meshes that incorporate the CFM geometry for the faults associated with Landers and Hector Mine earthquakes. General methods that take advantage of algorithms for conforming Delaunay tetrahedral meshing of a planar straight line complex (the fault triangulation) are described and their application to meshing over one hundred faults from the CFM are presented. These methods have general application to meshing of other non-manifold geometries. The results of visco-elastic crustal deformation calculations that utilize these finite element meshes illustrate applications. Geodynamics modeling, from data integration, conceptual model development, model construction, algorithm development, and computations and analysis, has become complex enough to necessitate the compartmentalization and specialization of some tasks.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AGUFM.G21C0682G
- Keywords:
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- 0545 Modeling (4255);
- 0560 Numerical solutions (4255);
- 1209 Tectonic deformation (6924);
- 3299 General or miscellaneous;
- 8020 Mechanics;
- theory;
- and modeling