Deformation of Irregular Layered Half-Space Due to Long Strike Slip Fault

This paper investigates the effect of irregular boundary and source depth in a two dimensional model due to movement of a long strike slip fault. A model having horizontal orthotropic elastic layer of uniform thickness coupling in three different ways to an irregular boundary of an orthotropic elastic half-space (having rectangular shaped irregularity on its boundary surface) has been considered. To study the effect of fault depth, we divide the problem into two cases. In case first, the fault is assumed to be present in regular orthotropic elastic layer at a distance say 'd' from the upper surface of the layer. In second case, the fault is assumed to be present in irregular orthotropic elastic half-space at same depth 'd' from the boundary surface of elastic half-space. For each type of coupling, the effect of rectangular irregularity and variation in fault depth on displacements and stresses for both layers and half-space are studied graphically. The present paper has wide applications in material science engineering, geosciences and soil mechanics.

Keywords:

Strike slip , Welded contact , Smooth-rigid contact , Rough-rigid contact , Rectangular irregularity