Evolution of b-Value and Fractal Dimension of Acoustic Emission Events During Shear Rupture of an Immature Fault in Granite

The present study investigated the evolutions of b-value and fractal dimension of acoustic emission (AE) events during shear rupture of a naturally-created rough fracture in a granite specimen under triaxial compression. Acoustic emission signals were monitored by 16 sensors mounted directly on the surface of the specimen, and AE waveforms were sampled at 16 bits and 25 MHz. Reliable hypocenters were determined using P-wave arrival times picked up from the waveforms. Acoustic emission magnitude was determined from the maximum amplitude monitored by two peak detectors, which have a relative magnitude range of 0 to 2.75. A three-dimensional X-ray computed tomography scan was performed after the test to explore the fracture geometry. Acoustic emission activity was initiated during hydrostatic compression. With increasing differential stress, AEs demonstrated an increasing event rate, a decrease (from approximately 1.8 to 1.6) with a subsequent precursory increase (from 1.6 to 1.8) in fractal dimension, a quick decrease in b-value (from 1.0 to approximately 0.5), and a quick increase in fractal dimension (from 1.8 to 2.0). The exponentially increasing event rate, gradually decreasing b-value, and slowly increasing fractal dimension may be an intermediate-term indication of fault reactivation. In contrast, a progressively increasing event rate, a rapid drop in b-value, and a rapid increase in fractal dimension may facilitate short-term prediction of large events, which reflect the rupture of large patches. Acoustic emission hypocenters were clustered on the entire fracture surface. The present study sheds some light on detecting early signs of fault reactivation by monitoring injection-induced seismicity in areas with faults of different maturity.