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Source location of AE
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Source location studies of AE events in rock samples are interesting and important
aspects of rock physics. The first study was carried out by Scholz (1968) on cylindrical
specimens of Westerly granite under uniaxial compressive stress conditions. Then,
Mogi (1968) carried out source location measurements on beam-shaped specimens
of various rocks under bending load conditions. While reviewing these early studies
Hardy (1972) stated the following:
Although Scholzs studies represent a pioneering effort in laboratory scale acoustic emission source location in geologic materials, with the limited studies carried
out, and the questionable location accuracy (i 0.1 in.), the results should be
considered with caution. Recent comments by Harding (1970) and Mogi (1968) further reinforce this opinion. Probably the most outstanding laboratory source location
study carried out to date with respect to geologic materials is that by Mogi (1968). In
order to provide a simple geometry, Mogi utilized beam shaped specimens deformed
under four-point loading. During these studies Mogi investigated specimens of three
marbles, three granites, a trachyte and an andesite.
The present author wrote in the introduction to his paper (Mogi, 1968): Recently,
Scholz (1968) tried to determine source locations of elastic shocks prior to rupture of
a granite specimen, by use of initial motions of S-waves. He remarked a clustering
of micro-fracturing on the eventual fault plane. In his study, however, a total of
twenty-two shocks only were located and results were accompanied by appreciable
errors, so that detailed features in source locations in the fracturing process were not
clear. The present experimental procedure by use of initial motions of P-waves is very
simple and provides accurate results. By this new technique, a large number of source
locations in successive stages in fracturing process have been determined for various
rock specimens with different structures.
Onoe (1974), Chairman of the AE research group, Japan, wrote in his general
review paper that Mogis experiment was well-known as the first reliable study in
the world, in which the fracture propagation process was tracked by the AE source
location method.
Thereafter, a large number of source location studies were carried out using more
modern methods (e.g. Lockner and Byerlee, 1977; Nishizawa et al., 1981; Yanagidani
et al., 1985; Masuda et al., 1988). Among these studies, the earliest experiment by
Mogi (1968) is probably still one of the most accurate source location studies, and it
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2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK
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is helpful to understand the process of fracture propagation prior to the main rupture
of a rock sample. In this section, this experiment will be explained in detail.
Figure 5.1. Experimental system for measurement of source location of AE events caused
by bending stress (Mogi, 1968).
Figure 5.2. (a) (b) Examples of records of AE events in bending experiment of a granite
specimen. Arrival times in seconds are indicated by the watch photographed together in each
frame. (a) Two wave records from the same transducer by different magnification; (b) Two
wave records from different transducers P1 and P2 . Differences of arrival time of P-wave can
be seen clearly.
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differences of arrival time of P-waves between the two traces in Fig. 5.2 (b), source
locations are determined in millimeters. From these wave records, radiation patterns
of elastic waves, focal mechanism, frequency spectrum and other features can also
be investigated.
5.2.b Determination of source location of AE events
In the experiment, a bending load was applied to beam-shaped rock specimens. The
specimen shape and the loading system are shown in Figs 5.3 and 5.4. By this application of a uniform bending load to the central part of the specimen, the upper and
lower sides are stressed in compression and tension, respectively. Since the tensile
strength of brittle rocks at atmospheric pressure is about one-tenth of the compressive
strength, fractures take place only on the tensile side in the central part, particularly
in the surface layer. Thus, if the stress gradient within the beam is ignored, this experiment approximately corresponds to a simple tension experiment, in which the tensile
stress on the surface layer is uniform in the central part of the specimen.
5.2.b.1 One-dimensional case
At first, one-dimensional source locations of AE events in a direction of tensile stress
(OL in Fig. 5.3) were determined. Locations of transducers are shown in Fig. 5.3. P1
and P2 are transducers for measurement of signals and Pt are transducers for triggering
a synchroscope-camera system. The delay of arrival times of elastic waves of P2 from
Pt makes it possible to observe initial motions of elastic waves fromAE sources. Examples of signals observed at P1 and P2 in the fracturing process in a granite specimen
Figure 5.3. The rock sample and transducers used in studying one-dimensional source locations of AE events in rocks subjected to bending stress. P1 and P2 : transducers for AE signal
observations. Pt : Transducers for triggering a synchroscope and a camera.
Figure 5.4. The rock sample and transducers used in studying two dimensional source locations of AE events. P1 , P2 , P3 and P4 : transducers for two-dimensional source locations of AE
events. Pt : Transducers for triggering synchroscopes and cameras.
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Figure 5.5. Source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions of time in Inada
granite specimen (I4). The applied stress in the tensile side is shown as a function of time in
the left figure. Stages A, B and C are shown in the right side.
above-mentioned region where the main rupture will occur. The total frequency
distribution of AE sources in the OL direction has a single sharp peak.
Figure 5.6 shows the two-dimensional source locations in successive stages B, C1 ,
C2 and C3 . In stage B, AE sources are distributed at random in the stressed region. At
this stage, the location of the impending main rupture cannot be predicted. In stage
C1 , AE events begin to concentrate in a limited region. In stages C2 and C3 , the
source region develops in the direction perpendicular to the applied tensile stress up
to the main rupture.
The successive development of the active area before the main rupture is represented
by the main crack pattern in Fig. 5.7. The highly active areas, the shaded areas in
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Figure 5.7. Successive development of the source regions of AE events in the stages C1 C3
and an observed main crack.
Figure 5.8. Source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions of time in Inada
granite specimen (I5). The applied stress in the tensile side is shown as a function of time in
the left figure. Stages A, B and C are shown in the right side.
this figure, successively migrated outward, and an area where the activity had been
markedly high in the preceding stage became relatively calm in the subsequent stage.
This feature in the fracturing process is also seen in the seismic activity in largescale fields. In the right picture in Fig. 5.7, the main crack pattern observed after the
experiment is compared with AE source locations. The above-mentioned development
of the AE source region indicates the successive propagation of the main tensile crack
perpendicular to the direction of tensile stress.
Figures 5.85.10 show similar AE source locations in an Inada granite specimen
(I5). Figure 5.8 shows a typical simple pattern of one-dimensional source location in
the OL direction (the direction of tensile stress). AE events begin to occur in stage
B, and AE sources appear at random in this stage. In the next stage (C), AE sources
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Figure 5.10. Successive development of the source regions of AE events in the stages C2 ,
C31 , C32 and C33 and an observed main crack.
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Figure 5.11. Source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions of time in Inada
granite specimen (I2). The applied stress in the tensile side is shown as a function of time in
the left figure. The top figure is the total number (n) of AE events along the OL direction.
and III correspond well to the locations of observed cracks. As can be seen in this
figure, the most active region was located at zone I in the initial stage (1), at zone II
in the middle stage (2) and at zone III in the last stage (3). Thus, the active region
systematically migrated with time along the OL direction.
In Fig. 5.15, the elastic energies (relative values) released as AE events in zones I,
II and III are shown as functions of time. The activity in zone I abruptly increased
in stage (1) and gradually decreased in the following stages. This curve is similar
to that of some earthquake swarms. With the decay of the activity in zone I, the
Figure 5.12. Frequency curves of AE events originated from the whole region (top), I zone
(middle) and II zone (bottom). Stages A, B and C correspond to those on Fig. 5.11.
Figure 5.13. Source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions of time in Kitagi
granite specimen (K2). The top figure shows the total number of AE events along the OL
direction.
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Figure 5.14. Left figure: distributions of sources of AE events in the OL direction in stages
(1), (2), (3); Right figure: the total number of AE events (1) + (2) + (3) and the observed main
crack pattern in the rock specimen.
Figure 5.15. Energies (in relative scale) of AE events originated from I, II and III zones as
function of time in Kitagi granite specimen (K2).
activities in zones II and III increase gradually in stage (2) and markedly in the last
stage (3). The curve shapes in zone I and zone III are contrary to each other, and
the curve in zone II seems to show an intermediate pattern between the adjacent zones
I and III.
5.3.b Andesite (moderately heterogeneous silicate rock)
The one- and two-dimensional AE source locations of Shirochoba andesite specimen
(S2) are shown in Figs 5.16 and 5.17. The degree of heterogeneity of this rock is
appreciably lower than that of granites, and so AE activity in the fracturing process is
noticeably lower than that of granites. The fracturing process is also divided into three
stages: A, B and C. As can be seen in the one-dimensional AE source locations in the
OL direction shown in Fig. 5.16, AE activity in stage B is very low and AE sources are
located in a wide region. In stage C, AE activity increases markedly and AE sources
are located in a limited region up to the main rupture. The two-dimensional source
locations in successive stages are shown in Fig. 5.17. In stage B, the AE activity is
very low and AE sources are located at random. In stage C1 , the AE activity increases
and AE sources are located in a limited linear zone perpendicular to the direction of
the tensile stress. This active zone developed successively to the upper boundary in
the following stages C2 and C3 , then the main rupture occurred in this region.
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Figure 5.18. Source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions of time in three
Mizuho trachyte specimens M1 , M3 and M4 . Circles show the magnitude of AE events.
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Figure 5.19. Top figure shows source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions
of time and the bottom figure shows stress () and strain () as functions of time in the
fine-grained marble.
Figures 5.19 and 5.20 show typical experimental results for fine-grained marble
(YF) and coarse-grained marble (YC), respectively. Each upper picture shows AE
source locations in the OL direction as functions of time. Lower picture shows the
applied stress and the strain as functions of time. In the fine-grained marble with
homogeneous structure, no measurable AE events occur prior to a main rupture.
In the coarse-grained marble, however, a number of AE events continued to occur
up to the main rupture. In this case, AE sources do not concentrate in a limited
region, but they are not distributed at random. As can be seen in Fig. 5.20, the AE
activity is not continuous in space and time up to the main rupture. This pattern of AE
source locations may be attributed to a relatively large-scale inhomogeneous stress
distribution due to the coarse grain size. Fracturing behavior of the medium-grained
marble, as suggested by AE source location experiments, is intermediate between the
above-mentioned extreme cases.
5.3.e Fracture of a semi-infinite body by an inner pressure source
The source location of AE events generated by the fracturing process of a semiinfinite brittle medium loaded by an inner stress source was studied as a simple model
experiment of the generation of a shallow earthquake. The experimental method is
schematically explained in Fig. 5.21. The top picture and the bottom picture show
Figure 5.20. Top figure shows source locations of AE events in the OL direction as functions
of time and the bottom figure shows stress () and strain () as functions of time in the
coarse-grained marble.
the vertical section and the horizontal view of the main part of the experimental
device. Concrete was used as a brittle medium. A hollow rubber sphere, to which
compressed oil is supplied by a pump, is buried at a depth. P1 P4 are transducers
for AE measurement and Pt is the transducer for triggering the synchroscope-moving
camera system, mentioned earlier.
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Figure 5.22. Two dimensional AE source locations during the fracturing process of the
semi-infinite body. Solid circles indicate AE events prior to the main fracture and open circles
indicate AE events after the main fracture.