Determination of the temperature field due to frictional heating on a sliding interface

Abstract

In the recent years we assisted to an increasing number of studies devoted to the quantification of the effects of temperature developed as a consequence of frictional heat on a sliding interface. The temperature field generated on the fault surface is responsible of a large number of physical and chemical dissipative process, summarized in Bizzarri (2010a). Among these we mention here the flash heating of micro–asperity contacts, basically consisting in a different behavior of fault friction at high fault slip velocities [e.g., Bizzarri, 2009a; Noda et al., 2009], the melting of rocks and gouge particles [Nielsen et al., 2008; Bizzarri, 2010b], the thermally–induced pressurization of fluids in saturated fault structures [Andrews, 2002; Bizzarri and Cocco, 2006; Rice, 2006]. A key issue of all these studies is the proper calculation of the temperature distribution on the fault surface and its temporal evolution.

In this study we compare two different analytical solutions proposed in the literature with the special aim to clarify their prominent features, the numerical advantages and the different physical implications of each of them. In particular, we will compare the temporal evolution of the obtained temperature in the case of spontaneously spreading, fully dynamic rupture on a fault of finite width and we will show how the solutions can be reconciled.