HR: 1330h
AN: T43B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Discrete Particle Model for Deformation of Assemblies of Steel Balls Under Extension: Application to Sandbox Models
AU: * Bibee, M A
EM: mbibee@ucsd.edu
AF: University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Geosciences Research Division 0220, La Jolla, CA 92093-0220 United States
AU: Calantoni, J
EM: joec@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7440.3, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AU: Sclater, J G
EM: jsclater@ucsd.edu
AF: University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Geosciences Research Division 0220, La Jolla, CA 92093-0220 United States
AB: Experiments on sandboxes provide a useful tool for understanding the deformation of both sedimentary sequences and the continental crust. Boerner and Sclater (1992) have shown that the deformation under extension of assemblies of steel balls can reproduce many of the basic features of these experiments. We use a discrete particle model (DPM) to simulate previously performed physical experiments, which consisted of extending close-packed assemblies of steel balls placed on a rubber sheet attached to moveable boundaries. Steel balls are modeled with spherical elements in the DPM where normal and tangential forces generated at contact points are modeled with springs and friction, respectively. The simulations allow for a quantitative examination of the displacement and rotation of each steel ball as well as provide estimates of the contact forces between them. We perform a suite of simulations to explore the behavior of the model due to variations in the material properties of the balls and rate of extension of the assembly. Qualitative visual analysis shows that the simulations reproduce the qualitative features from the physical experiments such as dilation, rotation, and fault formation. Our success in matching most of the major features of the experiment indicates that the DPM may have a real future in improving our understanding of the deformation of both sedimentary sequences and the continental crust.
DE: 3200 MATHEMATICAL GEOPHYSICS (New field)
DE: 3210 Modeling
DE: 8100 TECTONOPHYSICS
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly