This simulator loads an ideal, locked strike-slip fault with steadily increasing shear stress until it reaches the frictional failure threshold. The blocks then slip, stress drops, the fence across the fault shows the offset and a damped trace appears on the seismograph. Change the loading rate, threshold, residual stress and stiffness.
• A real-time 3D scene with 4 inspectable parts (West fault block, East fault block, Fault trace and crossing fence and Illustrative seismograph), with home view, focus-selected-part, auto-rotate, expand, instrument-cover and hide-labels scene tools, plus a model response curve beneath the scene. • Experiment controls: Shear-stress loading rate (0.2-2 MPa / model s); Failure threshold (5-20 MPa); Residual stress fraction (0.1-0.7); Effective fault stiffness (5-30 MPa/m); show explanatory motion markers; pause/resume, 0.1 s and 1 s single-step buttons, four playback speeds and a restart button. • A Curves & measurements tab with a parameter-comparison chart, a live-measurements chart, the model equations and snapshot readouts (Current shear stress; Accumulated slip; Slip events; Stress drop per event; Slip per event). • An Experiments tab with 2 guided presets (fast recurrence and larger residual stress) and a Model verification bench that runs independent fresh models, plus a timestamped event log and a copyable trial report. • A Learn & assess tab with guided lessons, a knowledge-check quiz with reset and a written model-scope statement linking to a technical reference.
While the fault is locked, shear stress rises linearly at the loading rate. When it reaches the strength threshold, stress drops to a residual fraction of that strength and the blocks slip by an amount equal to the stress drop divided by the effective fault stiffness. The lab counts slip events and reports current stress, accumulated slip, stress drop and slip per event.
Raising the loading rate shortens the recurrence interval, while a larger residual fraction leaves less stress released per event.
The model is a spring-slider analogy with ideal instantaneous slips between linear loading periods. It is not earthquake forecasting, a rupture-dynamics model or a magnitude model, and real fault friction and stress fields are far more complex. Ground motion and deformation are magnified and the model seconds do not represent a tectonic loading timescale.
The key idea is that elastic strain accumulates before slip when the blocks are locked, and a sudden release follows when strength is exceeded.
Elastic strain accumulates. While the blocks are locked, the loading raises shear stress, storing deformation in the surrounding rock until the frictional strength is reached.
As the stress drop divided by the effective fault stiffness, where the stress drop is the strength minus the residual fraction of the strength. A stiffer fault slips less for the same stress drop.
No. It is a spring-slider threshold analogy with prescribed loading and ideal slips. Real fault friction, rupture dynamics and stress fields are much more complex, and no timing or magnitude is forecast.
Stress reaches the failure threshold sooner, so the locked interval between slips is shorter. The fast-recurrence experiment demonstrates this.