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Numerical simulation of hydro-mechanical constraints on the geometry of a critically tapered accretionary wedge

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Abstract

A critically tapered active accretionary wedge was simulated using a numerical analysis of plastic slip-line theory to understand the mechanics of morphologic evolution. The concept of critical state soil mechanics was applied to describe the entire wedge area overlying a basal décollement fault. Presuming a condition of two-dimensional plane strain along the compressional direction, we obtained the numerical solution of conjugate plastic slip lines at a critical state of stress defined by the Coulomb yield criterion. The velocity vectors were obtained by applying the associate flow rule with the boundary conditions at the upper surface of the wedge. Finally, the detachment was determined from the effective stress condition inside the wedge and the sliding friction coefficient along the fault. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that the morphology of a critically tapered wedge is dependent on the frictional strengths of both the wedge materials and the basal fault. The critical taper angle decreases with increasing internal friction angle and decreasing basal friction coefficient. The results also revealed that the pore pressure controls the morphology of the accretionary wedge for cohesive sediments but not for non-cohesive materials. The effect of pore pressure on the morphology of a critically tapered accretionary wedge becomes more significant as the cohesion increases. Assuming that the cohesion is very low, we could infer the ranges of strengths that most observed wedge geometry data have 0.3–0.6 for the basal friction coefficient and ~35–45° for the internal friction angle of the wedge materials.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Basic Research Program of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and, in part, by the project ‘Korea-International Ocean Discovery Program (K-IODP)’ funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea.

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  1. Petroleum and Marine Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon, 34121, Republic of Korea

    Insun Song

  2. Department of Petroleum Resources Technology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea

    Insun Song

  3. Geological Research Center, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon, 34121, Republic of Korea

    Hee Jae Koh

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Song, I., Koh, H.J. Numerical simulation of hydro-mechanical constraints on the geometry of a critically tapered accretionary wedge. Geosci J 24, 275–293 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-019-0023-x

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