Abstract.
We report on the experimental observation of the phenomenon of, spontaneously nucleated, supershear rupture and on the visualization of the mechanism of subRayleigh to supershear rupture transition in frictionally-held interfaces. The laboratory experiments mimic natural earthquakes. The results suggest that under certain conditions supershear rupture propagation can be facilitated during large earthquakes.
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Rosakis, A.J., Kanamori, H. & Xia, K. Laboratory Earthquakes. Int J Fract 138, 211–218 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-006-0030-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-006-0030-6