MEASUREMENTS OF FRICTION COEFFICIENTS AND COHESION FOR FAULTING AND FAULT REACTIVATION IN LABORATORY MODELS USING SAND AND SAND MIXTURES

Simple laboratory tests have been made on dry quartz sand and on mixtures of sand and clay and sand and cement. Tests were made on both low- and high-density specimens of each mixture, as determined by physical handling techniques. The tests included measurements of density, estimates of the coefficient of internal friction based on fault orientation, and estimates of the friction coefficients and cohesion values for fault initiation and reactivation in a shear frame apparatus, which was also used to test artificial fault zones made from pure clay, glass microspheres, and wheat flour. The results suggest that density is determined more by handling technique than by composition, and that friction coefficients and perhaps cohesion both increase with increasing density. The shear testing revealed a consistent drop in cohesion for fault reactivation in all densely packed mixtures tested. Although small, this drop may be significant for some types of laboratory models.