Intersecting Strike-Slip Faults (3D)#

Note

New in v4.1.0

The files are in the directory examples/crustal-strikeslip-3d. The files and directories for this set of examples includes:

README.md:

README file containing a brief description of the various examples.

*.cfg:

PyLith parameter files.

faulttrace*_latlon.txt:

Coordinates of points on fault traces in geographic coordinates.

faulttrace*_utm.txt:

Coordinates of points on fault traces in the UTM zone 11 projection.

generate_gmsh.py:

Python script to generate the finite-element mesh using Gmsh.

generate_cubit.py:

Python script to generate the finite-element mesh using Cubit.

*.msh:

Gmsh finite-element mesh files generated by Gmsh.

*.spatialdb:

Spatial database filesFiles associated with the spatial databases.

output:

Directory containing simulation output. It is created automatically when running the simulations.

Overview#

This suite of examples demonstrates using PyLith to model multiple intersecting faults embedded in a 3D georeferenced domain (Fig. 118). The geometry is based on studies of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence by Uphoff et al. [2022] and Nevitt et al. [2023].

Step 1:

Static uniform coseismic slip with Dirichlet (displacement) boundary conditions.

Step 2:

Static spatially varying coseismic slip with Dirichlet (displacement) boundary conditions.

Diagram of geometry for the intersecting strike-slip faults.

Fig. 118 Diagram of geometry for the domain with three intersecting strike-slip faults. The domain extends from 80 km in the east-west direction, 60 km in the north-south direction, and 40 km in the vertical direction. We refer to the domain boundaries using the names shown in the diagram.#

Important

We describe how to generate the finite-element mesh using both Gmsh and Cubit. For Step 1 we provide PyLith parameter files for both meshes; for Step 2 we only provide the parameter files that use the Gmsh file.

Example Workflow#