A review of frictional sliding on brine-penetrated faults in salt

André Niemeijer, Martijn van den Ende, Chris Spiers, Chris Marone

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademic

Abstract

We review and discuss experimental observations of the frictional sliding of
porous, fluid saturated faults in salt. In previous work, granular salt has been used almost
exclusively as an analogue for quartz under hydrothermal conditions due to its high solubility
at room temperature. However, the frictional behavior of salt itself is of interest, since
localized frictional or frictional-viscous shear might occur at low effective stresses, such as
those expected if migrating brine permeates localized zones during salt tectonics or after
cavern abandonment. Results from slide-hold-slide experiments, performed at room
temperature and an effective normal stress of 1, 2.5 and 5 MPa, show that porous/granular
faults in salt regain strength within hours. Slip-dependent weakening, velocity-weakening and
stick-slip behavior were observed during sliding at constant velocity, implying significant
potential for unstable, localized deformation under fluid-saturated conditions. The results
demonstrate that localized frictional or frictional-viscous shear of salt could occur in fluidpermeated zones at interfaces between lithologies, is potentially unstable and might provide
pathways for fluid expulsion.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Mechanical Behavior of Salt X
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech X), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 06-08 July 2022
EditorsJ.H.P. de Bresser, M.R. Drury, P. A. Fokker, M. Gazzani, S.J.T. Hangx, A.R. Niemeijer, C.J. Spiers
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherCRC Press
Pages38-45
Number of pages8
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9781003295808
ISBN (Print)9781032282206
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jul 2022
Event10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt - Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Duration: 6 Jul 20228 Jul 2022

Conference

Conference10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt
Abbreviated titleSaltMech X
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityUtrecht
Period6/07/228/07/22

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