Jd. Bray et al., ANALYSIS OF EARTHQUAKE FAULT RUPTURE PROPAGATION THROUGH COHESIVE SOIL, Journal of geotechnical engineering, 120(3), 1994, pp. 562-580
An improved understanding of earthquake fault rupture propagation thro
ugh saturated clay would assist engineers in siting and designing faci
lities to be constructed in regions where cohesive soils overlie poten
tially active faults. The results from numerical analyses suggest that
the finite-element method can bc applied to this class of problem pro
vided that the soil's nonlinear stress-strain behavior is adequately m
odeled. It was found that the height of the shear rupture zone in the
overlying saturated clay soil at a specified base rock fault displacem
ent depends primarily on the soil's failure strain. As the clay's fail
ure strain decreases, the shear rupture zone in the clay overlying the
bedrock fault propagates further at a specified base displacement. Ot
her material parameters such as soil shear strength and stiffness also
affect the fault rupture process, but not to the extent of failure st
rain. The orientation of the shear rupture zone through the soil depen
ds largely on the orientation of the underlying bedrock fault plane.