Preparatory Slip in Laboratory Faults: Effects of Roughness and Load Point Velocity

Abstract

Aseismic slip may occur during a long preparatory phase preceding earthquakes, and what controls it remains poorly understood. In this study, we explored the role of load point velocity and surface roughness on slow slip during the preparatory stage prior to stick-slip events. To that end, we conducted displacement-rate controlled friction experiments by imposing varying load point velocities on sawcut granite samples with different surface roughness at a confining pressure of 35 MPa. We measured the average slip along the fault with the recorded far-field displacements and strain changes, while acoustic emission sensors and local strain gages were used to capture local slip variations. We found that the average amount of aseismic slip during the preparatory stage increases with roughness, whereas precursory slip duration decreases with increased load point velocity. These results reveal a complex slip pattern on rough faults which leads to dynamic ruptures at high load point velocities.