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Win-Tensor, an interactive computer program for fracture analysis and

crustal stress reconstruction

Poster · April 2011

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 Win-Tensor:
an interactive computer program for brittle structural analysis
and crustal stress reconstruction

Koninklijk Museum D. Delvaux

voor Midden-Africa
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium (damien.delvaux@africamuseum.be)
Musée royal
de l’Afrique Centrale Tensor web site: http://users.skynet.be/damien.delvaux/Tensor/tensor-index.html

Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 13, EGU2011-4018, EGU General Assembly 2011

Win-Tensor - Introduction
The pioneering work of Jacques Angelier contributed largely to the formulation and dissemination of the crustal stress analyses and inversion techniques from brittle structural data,
progressively raising them to the rank of standard tools in brittle structural analysis. Largely inspired by his abundant work, we developed the TENSOR computer program, initially to
test and learn this new methodology 20 year ago. It rapidly evolved into a user friendly interactive program that was adopted by many for their crustal stress analysis, using both
geological fault-slip data (faults with slip lines and fractures) and earthquake focal mechanisms. In 2004, a new Windows version (Win_Tensor) started to be developed, allowing
further technical and user interface improvements.
Data Worksheet
Processing Worksheet
General organization
Win-Tensor is organized in 2
linked windows: a Data
Worksheet and a Processing
Worksheet.
Data are entered in the Data
Worksheet, validated and
compiled in a standard format.
The compiled data are
transferred to the Processing
Worksheet which has several
functions implemented in
processing tabs, a subset
manager and a data table with
the compiled data and the
corresponding processing
results.

Data base creation .

Digitalizing tool Requested data fields
The Win-Tensor data base (.wtd) contains site
A data entry (line) is composed of a series of fields that have to be
description data, orientation data for geological
filled before it can be validated and compiled in a standard format.
brittle structures and earthquake focal
mechanisms, subset description and solutions Data Id: A unique identificator for the data
recording.
Data format: Determines the way the orientation data are expressed
The structural data can be entered by
- direct controlled input Data type: Slickensided faults, fractures, bedding/foliation planes,
- copy-paste from an excel sheet stylolitic peaks, axes, earthquake focal mechanisms
- digitizing scanned stereonets
- reading appropriately formatted text file or Orientation data: fault plane, slip line and slip sense for
excel sheet. slickensided faults, two conjugated shear planes, P & T axes for focal
mechanisms, …
Data Worksheet, details
Semi-quantitative parameters:
- Slip sense confidence level (C- Certain, P- Probable, S- Supposed)
- Weighting factor (arbitrary, from 0.0 to 9.9)
- Activation type (0- non-activated, 1- neoformed, 2- reactivated,)
- Striae intensity (1- weak, 2- medium, 3- strong, 4- corrugations)

Subset indexes: An index from 1.0 to 99.9 for grouping the data into
subsets (integer part for major subsets and decimal part for minor
subsets)
Comments: Any text description of the fault data
 Data Processing Sheet
The processing sheet contains modules for rose
diagrams, statistics, stress tensor determination by 3
different techniques (PBT, Right Dieder and Rotational
Optimisation), Mohr diagrams and rotations. It has a
subset manager and a table presenting the compiled data
and the processing results.
Preliminary stress tensor determination
Both the PBT and the Right Dieder methods allow a direct estimation of the stress axes orientation and relative
magnitude. PBT is based on the average orientation of areas of p, b & t kinematic axes of all individual data. Right
Dieder is based on areas of compression and extension associated to right dieders of all individual data combined in a
single stereonet and representing the possible orientation of s1 and s3 stress axes. These two methods produce
approximate results that are refined with the Rotational Optimisation procedure.
PBT method Right Dieder method

Rose diagrams

Stress tensor optimisation

Statitics of orientation data
Using the preliminary tensor as a starting point, a number of solutions to be tested are generated by successive rotations
around the 3 stress axes and using a range of values for the stress ratio R.
Rotation stability curves
The solutions are tested by calculating the resolved
stress on fault planes in order to minimize a misfit
function. This misfit function combines 2 terms. The
first term exploits the directional part of the resolved
shear stress (orientation and sense) for minimizing a
misfit angle. The second term uses the resolved
magnitudes for optimizing the resolved normal and
shear stresses magnitudes to favor slip on the plane.

Rotational optimisation method

Rotations

Mohr diagram

Solution recording and report generation to Word & text files

Solution manager Data filtering and separation into subsets
A special care has been paid to the interactive procedures for data selection, filtering and separation into
homogenous subsets, using a combination a tree view subset management and data subset indexes, and
specific filtering and query functions.
Solution report on Word
Quality ranking procedure
A quality ranking procedure was also developed in collaboration with the World Stress Map project.
Program distribution
Win-Tensor has been widely distributed and applied to geological and sismotectonic case studies in a large
variety tectonic settings. It is freely available for academic and non-profit research by request to the author.
or by downloading from the Tensor web site (check regularly for updates).

References
Win-Tensor Program, available at: http://users.skynet.be/damien.delvaux/Tensor/tensor-index.html.
Delvaux D., Barth, A., 2010. African Stress Pattern from formal inversion of focal mechanism data. Implications for rifting dynamics.
Tectonophysics 482, 105-128.
Delvaux, D., Moeys, R., Stapel, G., Petit, C., Levi, K., Miroshnichenko, A., Ruzhich, V., Sankov, V., 1997. Paleostress reconstructions
and geodynamics of the Baikal region, Central Asia. Part II: Cenozoic rifting. Tectonophysics, 282: 1-38.
Delvaux, D., Sperner, B., 2003. Stress tensor inversion from fault kinematic indicators and focal mechanism data: the TENSOR program.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 212, 75-100.
Sperner, B., Müller, B., Heidbach, O., Delvaux, D., Reinecker, J. and Fuchs, K., 2003. Tectonic Stress in the Earth’s Crust: Advances in
the World Stress Map Project. Geological Society , London, Special Publications 212, 101-116.
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