Laboratory Earthquake Measurements with the High-speed Digital Image Correlation Method and Applications to Super-shear Transition

Mapping full-field displacements and strains on the Earth's surface during an earthquake is of paramount importance to enhance our understanding of earthquake mechanics. In this study, the feasibility of such measurements using image correlation methods is investigated in a laboratory earthquake setup. Earthquakes are mimicked in the laboratory by dynamic rupture propagating along an inclined frictional interface formed by two Homalite plates under compression, using the configuration developed by Rosakis and coworkers (e.g., Rosakis et al., 2007). In our study, the interface is partially glued, in order to confine the rupture before it reaches the ends of the specimen. The specimens are painted with a speckle pattern to provide the surface with characteristic features for image matching. Images of the specimens are taken before and after dynamic rupture with a 4 Megapixels resolution CCD camera. The digital images are analyzed with two software packages: VIC-2D (Correlated Solutions Inc.) and COSI-Corr (Leprince et. al, 2007). Both VIC-2D and COSI-Corr are able to characterize the full-field static displacement of a dynamic crack. For example, in a case with secondary mode I cracks, the correlation analysis performed with either software clearly shows (i) the relative displacement (slip) along the frictional interface, (ii) the rupture arrest on the glued boundaries, and (iii) the presence of two wing cracks. The obtained displacement measurements are converted to strains, using de-noising techniques. The digital image correlation method is then used in combination with high-speed photography. We will report our progress on the study of a spontaneously expanding sub-Rayleigh shear crack advancing along an interface containing a patch of favorable heterogeneity, such as a preexisting subcritical crack or a patch with higher prestress. According to the predictions of Liu and Lapusta (2008), intersonic transition and propagation can be achieved in the presence of a favorable heterogeneity for much lower prestress levels than those predicted by the Burridge-Andrews mechanism. Our current numerical work is directed towards elucidating this speed transition mechanism and designing full-field, dynamic experiments to validate our predictions.