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DOE OSTI2013

Tomographic imaging of Central Java, Indonesia: Preliminary result of joint inversion of the MERAMEX and MCGA earthquake data

The realization of local earthquake tomography is usually conducted by removing distant events outside the study region, because these events may increase errors. In this study, tomographic inversion has been conducted using the travel time data of local and regional events in order to improve the structural resolution, especially for deep structures. We used the local MERapi Amphibious EXperiments (MERAMEX) data catalog that consists of 292 events from May to October 2004. The additional new data of regional events in the Java region were taken from the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (MCGA) of Indonesia, which consist of 882 events, having at least 10 recording phases at each seismographic station from April 2009 to February 2011. We have conducted joint inversions of the combined data sets using double-difference tomography to invert for velocity structures and to conduct hypocenter relocation simultaneously. The checkerboard test results of Vp and Vs structures demonstrate a significantly improved spatial resolution from the shallow crust down to a depth of 165 km. Our tomographic inversions reveal a low velocity anomaly beneath the Lawu - Merapi zone, which is consistent with the results from previous studies. A strong velocity anomaly zone with low Vp, low Vs and low Vp/Vs is also identified between Cilacap and Banyumas. We interpret this anomaly as a fluid content material with large aspect ratio or sediment layer. This anomaly zone is in a good agreement with the existence of a large dome containing sediment in this area as proposed by previous geological studies. A low velocity anomaly zone is also detected in Kebumen, where it may be related to the extensional oceanic basin toward the land.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2014

Elongational rheology and cohesive fracture of photo-oxidated LDPE

It was found recently that low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples with different degrees of photo-oxidation represent an interesting system to study the transition from ductile to cohesive fracture and the aspects of the cohesive rupture in elongational flow. Sheets of LDPE were subjected to photo-oxidation in the presence of air using a xenon lamp to irradiate the samples for times between 1 day and 6 weeks. Characterisation methods included Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solvent extraction method, and rheology in shear and uniaxial extensional flows. Linear viscoelasticity was increasingly affected by increasing photo-oxidation due to crosslinking of LDPE, as corroborated by the carbonyl index, acid and aldehydes groups, and gel fraction. The molecular stress function model was used to quantify the experimental data, and the nonlinear model parameter β was found to be correlated with the gel content. The uniaxial data showed that the transition from ductile to cohesive fracture was shifted to lower elongational rates, the higher the gel content was. From 2 weeks photo-oxidation onwards, cohesive rupture occurred at every strain rate investigated. The true strain and true stress at cohesive fracture as well as the energy density applied to the sample up to fracture were analyzed. At low gel content, rupture was mainly determined by the melt fraction while at high gel content, rupture occurred predominantly in the gel structure. The strain at break was found to be independent of strain rate, contrary to the stress at break and the energy density. Thus, the true strain and not the stress at break or the energy density was found to be the relevant physical quantity to describe cohesive fracture behavior of photo-oxidated LDPE. The equilibrium modulus of the gel structures was correlated with the true strain at rupture. The stiffer the gel structure, the lower was the deformation tolerated before the sample breaks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Fracture propagation in Indiana Limestone interpreted via linear softening cohesive fracture model

In this study, we examine the use of a linear softening cohesive fracture model (LCFM) to predict single-trace fracture growth in short-rod (SR) and notched 3-point-bend (N3PB) test configurations in Indiana Limestone. The broad goal of this work is to (a) understand the underlying assumptions of LCFM and (b) use experimental similarities and deviations from the LCFM to understand the role of loading paths of tensile fracture propagation. Cohesive fracture models are being applied in prediction of structural and subsurface fracture propagation in geomaterials. They lump the inelastic processes occurring during fracture propagation into a thin zone between elastic subdomains. LCFM assumes that the cohesive zone initially deforms elastically to a maximum tensile stress ( σ max ) and then softens linearly from the crack opening width at σ max to zero stress at a critical crack opening width w 1 . Using commercial finite element software, we developed LCFMs for the SR and N3PB configurations. After fixing σ max with results from cylinder splitting tests and finding an initial Young's modulus ( E ) with unconfined compressive strength tests, we manually calibrate E and w 1 in the SR model against an envelope of experimental data. We apply the calibrated LCFM parameters in the N3PB geometry and compare the model against an envelope of N3PB experiments. For accurate simulation of fracture propagation, simulated off-crack stresses are high enough to require inclusion of damage. Different elastic moduli are needed in tension and compression. We hypothesize that the timing and location of shear versus extensional micromechanical failures control the qualitative macroscopic force-versus-displacement response in different tests. For accurate prediction, the LCFM requires a constant style of failure, which the SR configuration maintains until very late in deformation. The N3PB configuration does not maintain this constancy. To be broadly applicable between geometries and failure styles, the LCFM would require additional physics, possibly including elastoplastic damage in the bulk material and more complicated cohesive softening models.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

The upper mantle geoid: Implications for continental structure and the intraplate stress field

We use the fact that geoid anomalies are directly related to the local dipole moment of the density-depth distribution to help constrain density variations within the lithosphere and the associated tectonic stresses. The main challenge with this approach is isolating the upper mantle geoid contribution from the full geoid (which is dominated by sources in the lower mantle). Here, we address this issue by using a high-pass spherical harmonic filtering of the EGM2008–WGS 84 geoid to produce an “upper mantle” geoid. The tectonic implications of the upper mantle are discussed in terms of plate tectonics and intraplate stresses. We find that globally there is a ~9 m geoid step associated with the cooling oceanic lithosphere that imparts a net force of ~2.5 × 10 12 N/m in the form of “ridge push”—a magnitude that is consistent with one-dimensional models based on first-order density profiles. Furthermore, we find a consistent 6 m geoid step across passive continental margins which has the net effect of reducing the compressive stresses in the continents due to the ridge push force. Furthermore, we use the upper mantle geoid to reevaluate the tectonic reference state which previous studies estimated using an assumption of Airy-based isostasy. Our evaluation of the upper mantle geoid confirms the near-equivalence of the gravitational potential energy of continental lithosphere with an elevation of ~750 m and the mid-ocean ridges. This result substantiates early conclusions about the tectonic reference state and further supports the prediction that continental regions are expected to be in a slightly extensional state of stress.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Heart Shape to Fracture Distance: Characterizing Hydraulic Fracture Propagation before Hits

Estimating the distance from the hydraulic fracture tip to the monitor well can be useful for fracture characterization, well spacing optimization, and preventing parent-child well interference. A heart-shaped signal is referred to as the extensional precursor of a fracture hit recorded by crosswell strain measurements and can serve as a vital tool for such estimation. This study incorporates the 3D displacement discontinuity method (DDM) to understand the impact of fracture geometry and monitor well offset on the heart-shaped signal’s characteristics. Results from numerical simulation and analytical solutions reveal a strong linear correlation between the spatial extent of the heart-shaped signal and the fracture tip distance. This relationship was further developed to predict tip distance using field data from the Hydraulic Fracture Test Site 2 (HFTS2). A reasonable approximation result from field data further validates the methodology. In addition, it is worth noting that the estimation accuracy depends on the ratio between fracture dimension and tip distance. The findings of this study offer a novel approach for real-time monitoring and characterizing hydraulic fracture propagation, which can be further used for well spacing optimization in unconventional and enhanced geothermal system reservoir development, as well as caprock integrity monitoring for carbon sequestration projects.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗