This is a compilation of the properties of different analog materials used to simulate deformational processes in structural geology. Such experiments are often called analog or analogue models. The organization of this page follows the review of rock analog materials in structural geology and tectonics of Reber et al. 2020. [1]
These materials need to exhibit brittle deformation upon failure as well as elastic and viscous deformation before failure.
Material | Applications | Studies |
---|---|---|
Plexiglas and glass | Plexiglas and glass is useful for many applications. Some of which are: | Erdogan & Sih 1963; [4] Thomas and Pollard 1993; [5] Cooke & Pollard,1996; [6] Daniels & Hayman, 2008; [2] Lu, Lapusta & Rosakis,2007; [7] Owens & Daniels, 2011; [3] Rubino, Rosakis, & Lapusta, 2019 [8] |
Gelatin | Gelatin has been used to simulate: | Bot, vanAmerongon, Groot, Hoekstra, & Agterof, 1996; [21] Brizzi, Funiciello, Corbi, Di Giuseppe, & Mojoli, 2016; [22] Canon-Tapia and Merle, 2006; [14] Corbi et al., 2011; [12] Corbi et al., 2013; [13] Di Giuseppe et al., 2009; [23] Hyndman & Alt, 1987; [15] Kavanagh, Menand, & Daniels, 2013; [24] Kavanagh, Menand, & Sparks, 2006; [16] Kervyn, Ernst, de Vires, Mathieu, & Jacobs, 2009; [17] Kobchenko et al., 2014; [9] Lee, Reber, Hayman, & Wheeler, 2016; [10] Menand & Tait, 2002; [18] Pollard, 1973; [19] Rivalta, Bottinger, & Dahm, 2005; [20] Touvet, Balmforth, Craster, & Sutherland, 2011; [11] van Otterloo & Cruden, 2016 [25] |
Foam | Foam is mostly used as an analog simulating elastic loading on the crust between earthquake events. [26] [27] [28] [29] If the foam used has a low stiffness, it can be dynamically scaled to preexisting fault surfaces' and earthquake cycles [30] | Anooshehpoor & Brune,1999; [26] Anooshehpoor, Heaton, Shi & Brune, 1999; [27] Brune,1973; [28] Caniven et al., 2015; [29] Rosenau et al., 2017; [30] Rosenau, Lohrmann, & Oncken, 2009; [31] Rosenau & Oncken, 2009 [32] |
Clays | Clay is used to simulate deformation in the upper crust through distributed deformation and localized failure. The properties of clay depend on the mineralogy, grain size distribution and water content. | Bonanno, et al., 2017; [33] Bonini et al., 2016; [34] Cooke and van der Elst, 2012; [35] DeGroot & Lunne, 2007; [36] Eisenstadt & Sims, 2005; [37] Hatem, Cooke, & Toeneboehn, 2017; [38] Henza, Withjack, & Schlische, 2010; [39] Kenny, 1967; [40] Mitra & Paul, 2011; [41] Paul & Mitra, 2013; [42] Toeneboehn, 2017; [43] Toeneboehn, 2018; [44] White, 1949; [45] Withjack, Henza, & Schlische, 2017 [46] |
Material | Applications | Studies | |
---|---|---|---|
Sand | During deformation, sand exhibits distributed deformation, compaction followed by dilatation, prior to failure via grain rearrangement. Sand is often used to simulate folding or faulting. [47] | Abdelmalak et al., 2016; [48] Cobbold, Durand, & Mourgues, 2001; [49] Daniels & Hayman, 2008; [2] Davis, Suppe, & Dahlen,1983; [47] Galland, Burchardt, Hallot, Mourgues, & Bulois, 2014; [50] Galland, Cobbold, Hallot, d'Ars, & Delavaud, 2006; [51] Gomes, 2013; [52] Hayman, Ducloue, Foco, & Daniels, 2011; [53] Herbert et al., 2015; [54] Klinkmuller et al., 2016; [55] Lohrmann et al, 2003; [56] Panien, Buiter, Schreurs, & Pfiffner, 2006; [57] Rosenau et al., 2009 [31] | |
Micro beads | Micro beads are useful for: | Boutelier, Schrank, & Cruden, 2008; [58] Dooley, Jackson, & Hudec, 2007; [61] Dooley, Jackson, & Hudec, 2009; [62] Duffy et al., 2018; [63] Hudec, Jackson, & Schttltz-Ela, 2009; [64] Jackson et al., 2019 [65] Rossi & Storti, 2003; [59] Schellart, 2000 [60] | |
Other | Lentils | Lentils have been used to study the distribution of shear surfaces observed in clay rich sediments. | Tarling & Rowe, 2016 [66] |
Crushed Walnut Shells | Crushed walnut shells have been used for their low density and non-abrasive nature. | Cruz, Teyssier, Perg, Take, & Fayon, 2008 [67] | |
Poppy Seeds | Poppy seeds were used in an analog model as particles in suspension for determining the yield strength of subliquidus basalt. | Hoover, Cashman, & Manga, 2001 [68] | |
Rice | Rice has been used to simulate earthquakes and fault roughness. | Rosenau et al., 2009 [31] | |
Sugar | Sugar has been used: | Moore, Vendeville, & Wiltschko, 2005; [70] Rosenau et al., 2009; [31] Schellart, 2000; [60] Schellart & Strak, 2016 [69] | |
Sand-hemihydrate calcium sulphate | Sand-hemihydrate calcium sulphate mixtures, in different mixing ratios, are used as an "ultra-weak" sandstone to simulate fault and fracture processes in analogue modelling at the outcrop scale (about 10 m). | Massaro et al., 2022; [71] Massaro et al., 2023 [72] |
Various fluids are used to simulate deformation of the lower crust and mantle, such as: linear, non-linear, and yield stress fluids.
Fluid type | Material | Application | Studies |
---|---|---|---|
Linear viscous fluids | Silicone Oils/Polymers | Silicone oils/polymers can have varying viscosities, which can be changed by adding fillers (dry granular materials) or aolic acid. In combination with brittle model materials, silicone oils/polymers can investigate many processes in salt tectonics, including the deformation of sediments adjacent and above a salt body. | Boutelier, Schrank, & Cruden, 2008; [58] ten Grotenhuis et al., 2002; [73] Weijermars, 1986; [74] Brun & Fort, 2004; [75] Brun & Mauduit, 2009; [76] Cobbold, Szatmari, Demercian, Coelho, & Rossello, 1995; [77] Dooley & Hudec, 2017; [78] Dooley et al., 2009; [62] Dooley, Jackson & Hudec, 2013; [79] Dooley, Jackson & Hudec, 2015; [80] Duffy et al., 2018; [63] Letouzey, Colletta, Vially & Chermette, 1995; [81] Smit, Brun, Fort, Cloetingh, & Ben-Avraham, 2008; [82] Vendeville & Jackson, 1992; [83] Weijermars, 1986; [74] Weijermars, Jackson, & Vendeville, 1993 [84] |
Honey* | Honey, glucose syrup, and molasses exhibit strain independent deformation. The viscosity depends on the sugar content and temperature of the material. This makes them suitable to simulate the lower crust and mantle. *Honey can also be used as a non-linear viscous fluid under certain conditions. | Schellart, 2011 [85] | |
Glucose Syrup | |||
Molasses | |||
Gum Rosin | Gum rosin was used to study thermomechanical processes in the lithospheric mantle. | Cobbold & Jackson, 1992 [86] | |
Water | Water has been used to model any low viscosity material. | Paola et al., 2006 [87] | |
Non-linear viscous fluids | Silicone Oils/Polymers | Silicone is also used as a non-linear viscous material by adding high amounts of filler. The most common filler material used is plasticine. | Boutelier et al., 2008; [58] Rudolf, Boutelier, Rosenau, Schreurs, & Oncken, 2016 [88] |
Bingham fluid | Paraffin Wax | Paraffin wax can be used in analog experiments as a linear or non-linear yield stress fluid. By mixing paraffin wax with petrolatum, the yield stress, shear thinning, and shear softening behavior can be modified. | Duarte et al., 2014; [89] Rossetti et al.,1999 [90] |
Petrolatum | Petrolatum is commonly used as:
At this time, pure petrolatum has not been used for analog material. | Cobbold, 1975; [91] Duarte et al., 2014; [89] Neurath and Smith, 1892 [92] | |
Hershel-Bulkley fluid | Carbopol | Carbopol has been used in analogue models of: | Balmforth & Rust, 2009; [94] Birren & Reber, 2019; [97] Davaille et al., 2013; [96] Di Federico et al., 2017; [93] Reber et al., 2015; [98] Schrank, Boutelier, & Cruden, 2008 [95] |
Composite materials combine phases with different physical properties. A common composite mixture contains dry granular materials and fluids. These analog materials have been used:
The most commonly used granular materials in composite mixtures are:
Common fluids used in composite mixtures are:
Visco-elasto-plastic deformation exhibits a combination of elastic, viscous, and plastic deformation at the same time. Various asphalts and bituminous materials demonstrate visco-elasto-plastic deformation but they are rarely as modeling materials (McBirney and Best, 1961 [103] ).Common modeling materials demonstrating complex rheology are;
Tectonophysics, a branch of geophysics, is the study of the physical processes that underlie tectonic deformation. This includes measurement or calculation of the stress- and strain fields on Earth’s surface and the rheologies of the crust, mantle, lithosphere and asthenosphere.
The Manila Trench is an oceanic trench in the Pacific Ocean, located west of the islands of Luzon and Mindoro in the Philippines. The trench reaches a depth of about 5,400 metres (17,700 ft), in contrast with the average depth of the South China Sea of about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is created by subduction, in which the Sunda Plate is subducting under the Philippine Mobile Belt, producing this almost N-S trending trench. The convergent boundary is terminated to the north by the Taiwan collision zone, and to the south by the Mindoro terrane. It is an area pervaded by negative gravity anomalies.
Pseudotachylyte is an extremely fine-grained to glassy, dark, cohesive rock occurring as veins that form through frictional melting and subsequent quenching during earthquakes, large-scale landslides, and impacts events. Chemical composition of pseudotachylyte generally reflects the local bulk chemistry, though may skew to slightly more mafic compositions due to the preferential incorporation of hydrous and ferro-magnesian minerals into the melt phase.
The Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault is major geological fault that runs a length of roughly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) in a NNE-SSW orientation and exhibits current seismicity. It is located in the Chilean Northern Patagonian Andes. It is a dextral intra-arc strike-slip fault. Most large stratovolcanoes of the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes are aligned by the fault which allows for the movement of magma and hydrothermal fluids.
Fault gouge is a type of fault rock best defined by its grain size. It is found as incohesive fault rock, with less than 30% clasts >2mm in diameter. Fault gouge forms in near-surface fault zones with brittle deformation mechanisms. There are several properties of fault gouge that influence its strength including composition, water content, thickness, temperature, and the strain rate conditions of the fault.
The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, also sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Rift, is a series of faults that run for about 1,000 km from the Maras Triple Junction to the northern end of the Red Sea Rift. The fault system forms the transform boundary between the African Plate to the west and the Arabian Plate to the east. It is a zone of left lateral (sinistral) displacement, signifying the relative motions of the two plates. Both plates are moving in a general north-northeast direction, but the Arabian Plate is moving faster, resulting in the observed left lateral motions along the fault of approximately 107 km at its southern end. A component of extension is also present in the southern part of the transform, which has contributed to a series of depressions, or pull-apart basins, forming the Gulf of Aqaba, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, and Hula basins. A component of shortening affects the Lebanon restraining bend, leading to uplift on both sides of the Beqaa valley. There is local transtension in the northernmost part of the fault system, forming the Ghab pull-apart basin. The fault system runs roughly along the political border of Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon.
In structural geology section restoration or palinspastic restoration is a technique used to progressively undeform a geological section in an attempt to validate the interpretation used to build the section. It is also used to provide insights into the geometry of earlier stages of the geological development of an area. A section that can be successfully undeformed to a geologically reasonable geometry, without change in area, is known as a balanced section.
Tilted block faulting, also called rotational block faulting, is a mode of structural evolution in extensional tectonic events, a result of tectonic plates stretching apart. When the upper lithospheric crust experiences extensional pressures, the brittle crust fractures, creating detachment faults. These normal faults express themselves on a regional scale; upper crust fractures into tilted fault blocks, and ductile lower crust ascends. This results in uplift, cooling, and exhumation of ductilely deformed deeper crust. The large unit of tilted blocks and associated crust can form an integral part of metamorphic core complexes, which are found on both continental and oceanic crust.
Analogue modelling is a laboratory experimental method using uncomplicated physical models with certain simple scales of time and length to model geological scenarios and simulate geodynamic evolutions.
In structural geology, strain partitioning is the distribution of the total strain experienced on a rock, area, or region, in terms of different strain intensity and strain type. This process is observed on a range of scales spanning from the grain – crystal scale to the plate – lithospheric scale, and occurs in both the brittle and plastic deformation regimes. The manner and intensity by which strain is distributed are controlled by a number of factors listed below.
Subduction polarity reversal is a geologic process in which two converging plates switch roles: The over-lying plate becomes the down-going plate, and vice versa. There are two basic units which make up a subduction zone. This consists of an overriding plate and the subduction plate. Two plates move towards each other due to tectonic forces. The overriding plate will be on the top of the subducting plate. This type of tectonic interaction is found at many plate boundaries.
The Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone is a northwest-trending geological fault zone in southern Chile and Argentina. The fault zone runs from Mocha Island in the Pacific to the Andes where it aligns Villarrica, Quetrupillán and Lanín volcanoes. It is one of several fault zones that traverses the north-south Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault.
Microcracks in rock, also known as microfractures and cracks, are spaces in rock with the longest length of 1000 μm and the other two dimensions of 10 μm. In general, the ratio of width to length of microcracks is between 10−3 to 10−5.
Fault zone hydrogeology is the study of how brittlely deformed rocks alter fluid flows in different lithological settings, such as clastic, igneous and carbonate rocks. Fluid movements, that can be quantified as permeability, can be facilitated or impeded due to the existence of a fault zone. This is because different mechanisms that deform rocks can alter porosity and permeability within a fault zone. Fluids involved in a fault system generally are groundwater and hydrocarbons.
Julia Ann “Jan” Tullis is an American structural geologist and emerita Professor at Brown University. Tullis is known for her work in structural geology, especially for her experimental work in deformation mechanisms, microstructures, and rheology of crustal rocks.
Oblique subduction is a form of subduction for which the convergence direction differs from 90° to the plate boundary. Most convergent boundaries involve oblique subduction, particularly in the Ring of Fire including the Ryukyu, Aleutian, Central America and Chile subduction zones. In general, the obliquity angle is between 15° and 30°. Subduction zones with high obliquity angles include Sunda trench and Ryukyu arc.
The East Luzon Trough is an oceanic trench north of the Philippine Trench and east of the island of Luzon. The trench is located near the Philippine orogeny and located in the southeastern region of the Philippine Sea Plate. The depth of the trough is 5,700 meters. The East Luzon Trough formed during the Eocene and Oligocene epoch, 40–24 million years ago.
Ernest Henry Rutter is a British geologist and geophysicist. He is known for his research on structural geology and the physics of natural rock deformation.
Jacques Malavieille is a French geologist. He is known for research combining geological fieldwork with analog modeling, and with some computer modeling, for scientific understanding of lithospheric deformation.
James Gregory "Greg" Hirth is an American geophysicist, specializing in tectonophysics. He is known for his experiments in rock deformation and his applications of rheology in development of models for tectonophysics.