Effect of initial damage on rock pulverization along faults

Pulverized rocks have been found in the damage zone around the San Andreas Fault, at distances greater than 100 m from the fault core. This damage is atypical in that it is pervasive and strain is not localized along main fractures as expected at these distances from the fault core. With high strain rate experiments, the authors have previously shown that above a strain rate threshold, the localization of strain along a few fractures is inhibited. Pulverized rocks may be generated by seismic waves at high frequency. Here we generalize these conclusions by discussing the effect of the initial fracture network in the sample on the transition from strain localization along a few fractures to diffuse damage throughout the sample. Experimental data are compared with statistical theory for fracture propagation. This analysis shows that the threshold in strain rate is a power law of initial fracture density and that a pre-damaged rock is easier to pulverize. This implies that pulverized rocks observed on the field may result from successive loadings.