Modifications in the Stress Field of a Long Inclined Fault Caused by the Welded-Contact Boundary Conditions across the Interface between Two Elastic Half-Spaces

Abstract

In welded-contact boundary conditions, some stress components are not required to be continuous across the boundary between two elastic half-spaces. The purpose of this note is to study the modifications in the stress field of a long inclined strike-slip, dip-slip or tensile fault caused by the welded-contact boundary conditions across the interface between two elastic half-spaces. The Poisson’s ratios of the two half-spaces do not appear in the stress field of a strike-slip fault. In the case of a dip-slip fault, the Poisson’s ratio of the half-space in which the fault lies, has a significant influence on the stress field across the interface. However, for a tensile fault, the modification in the stress field is significantly affected by the Poisson’s ratios of both the half-spaces.