stress

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Deformation
Jan Kees Blom
November 2011
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Definitions
Deformation is the change
of size and/or shape of a
(rock)body.
It can include:
translation
rotation
volume change
shape change (strain)

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Translations
If a rock body
translates, if moves as
a whole in a certain
direction.
Geologic examples:
faults
joints
plate tectonics
crystal lattice
disruptions
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Translations 2
Translations are described by a displacement vector.
This describes three parameters of the translation:
displacement distance (mm - kms)
displacement direction (azimuth & plunge)
polarity of displacement (toward the SW)
The real displacement may have followed a different
route altogether.

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Rotations
With a rotation, all points of a rock body are rotated
around the same rotation axis.
A rotation is described by :
rotation axis (azimuth & plunge)
direction of rotation ((anti-)clockwise, looking down
the axis)
angle of rotation (in degrees)

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Rotations 2
Geologic examples of
rotations:
folds
continent rotations
rotated minerals with
deformation
layers at listric faults
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strain
Translations and rotations
change the position or
orientation of a (rock)body,
but it keeps its shape and
size. This is not the case
with strain
Strain is a combination of 2
things:
volume change
shape change
Unravelling strain can be
very difficult indeed

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Displacement field and particle paths
Fossen 2010
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Total deformation
Total deformation path can be a
combination of different types of
deformation
Fossen 2010
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Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous
deformation
To keep strain analysis
relatively simple, we look only
at homogenous strain
straight lines remain
straight
parallel lines remain
parallel
circles become ellipses
It is almost impossible to do a
meaningful analysis of
heterogeneous strain
Homogeen
Heterogeen
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Homogeneous ?
In reality, most rocks have
deformed
heterogeneously....
By looking at a smaller (or
sometimes larger) scale, the
deformation can statistically
be characterised as
homogeneous (e.g. the
bottom left square)
Homogeen
Heterogeen
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Scale/strain relation
The scale of observation is thus very
important in strain analysis (see right)
At every scale the deformation is
heterogeneous, but at a smaller scale
there are always areas where it is
homogeneous (the circles and
ellipses represent the different kinds
of strain)
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Strain
Homogenous strain is easily
visualised using a simple
drawing.
The drawing right shows a
circle, an ellipse and two
lines with different
orientations that are being
deformed.
Check the different shapes
they assume during
deformation
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Strain description
What is needed to
describe strain?

A value for changes
in line length
A value for changes
in angles
hoekverandering
lijnlengteverandering
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Line length
Changes is line length can be given in three ways:
elongation :
e = (l
1
- l
0
)/ l
0

stretch :
s = 1 + e = l
1
/ l
0

quadratic elongation:
= (1+e)
2
= ( l
1
/ l
0
)
2

with l
0
= original length and l
1
= length after strain
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Line length 2
Changes in line length in
geology can be found in
stretched layers or fossils,
but also in cross sections:
Arizona, Bohannon et al.1993
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Change of angle
The change of angles is described
using the shear strain
The angular shear of a line l is the
change of angle between two
originally perpendicular lines
is positive in a clockwise direction
also used is the shear strain with
= tan
n
l
l

n
deformation

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Strain ellipse in 2D
One of the previous slides showed
how a circle changed into an ellipse
during homogeneous strain
It is therefore not surprising that the
deformation of rocks is often
described using the strain ellipse
(ellipsoid in 3D).
This shows the shape of an original
circle (ball) after deformation as an
ellipse(oid)
In figure: X always larger or equal
to Y
Fossen 2010
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Strain in 3 dimensions
Some reference states
of strain
Uniaxial: strain in one
direction (top)
Plane strain: no length
change along Y axis
(middle)
3 dimensional strain:
change along all axes
(bottom)
Fossen 2010
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Principal Strain Axes
A useful way to describe 3 dimensional strain is by
means of three mutually perpendicular axes, the
principal strain axes XYZ
X has the largest, Z the smallest elongation.
These axes XYZ did not undergo any change of
angles or angular shear, and thus have remained
perpendicular.
NOTE: the principal strain axes are usually not
parallel to the principal axes of stress (see later)
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Strain Ellipsoid
The three principal strain
axes are the axes of an
ellipsoid, the strain ellipsoid.
This represents the shape
obtained by a imaginary
sphere of unit-scale that
has been deformed with the
rock
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Types of strain 1
Volume change
X=Y=Z>1: isotropic volume increase (strain ellipsoid
becomes a larger sphere)
X=Y=Z<1: isotropic volume decrease (strain ellipsoid
becomes a smaller sphere)
XYZ1 where two or all are different: anisotropic volume
change (strain ellipsoid becomes ellipsoid)
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Types of strain 2
Uniaxial strain (compaction)
Uniaxial contraction: X=Y>Z,
X=1
Uniaxial extension: X>Y=Z,
Z=1

Compaction of sediments is a
form of uniaxial contraction
Note that the dip of the layers
becomes less with compaction
Fossen 2010
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Kinds of homogeneous strain
Irrotational or coaxial strain : principal stain axes do
not rotate
Rotational or non-coaxial strain : principal strain axes
do rotate but remain mutually perpendicular
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Irrotational strain
dilatation (volume-, but no shape change)
extension (becoming longer along one axis (X) and possibly
shorter along the others)
pure shear: principal strain axes do not rotate, but all others
do.
With high strain, all other lines rotate toward plane of
maximum flattening or line of maximum extension

X
Z
Pure
shear
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Rotational strain
Here the principal strain axes do rotate with continued
deformation.
It can be compared with the sliding of a deck of cards or a phone
book.
High strain: everything rotates toward plane of max flattening or
line of max extension, and these rotate toward shear direction
Note: these kinds of strain are special cases among the endless
possibilities that exist!
X
Z
Simple
shear
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Particle paths and flow apophyses
Particle paths (green) describe the route taken by particles
during deformation
Apophyses (blue) are theoretical lines that separate different
field of flow, alpha is angle between apophyses
Pure shear Simple shear Subsimple shear
Fossen 2010
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Not always clear
Both simple and pure shear
may give very similar structures
Deformed markers, such as
flattened pebbles (a) give no
info on the type of deformation,
they could be formed by simple
shear (b) or by pure shear (c),
or any other types of
deformation
Fossen 2010
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Why is strain interesting?
Examples:
A fault or shear zone influences
porosity and permeability of the
rock mass, depending on the
amount of strain.
A preferred orientation of
minerals (foliation) due to
deformation may lead to
anisotropic characteristics of the
rocks
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Strain and structures
Folds (below left): Z more or less perpendicular to fold axial plane
Slaty cleavage (below right): Z perpendicular to cleavage
Shear zones (below middle): X and XY plane rotate toward shear plane
Lineations: may form parallel to Y (boudins, intersections) or X (extreme
extension)
www.geolab.unc.edu
Z
Z
Fossen 2010
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How to measure strain
Originally round particles (e.g.
ooids (top), radiolarians)
pebbles in a conglomerate
Fossils, (e.g., brachio-pods,
ammonites (below) of belemnites
(museum)
boudins
folds
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Strain markers
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Large scale
Even though most of the local deformation in the
northern North Sea is simple shear, on a large scale it
looks more like pure shear
Fossen 2010
Stress
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Stress: definitions
Deformation of rocks is a reaction of those rocks on stress
(tension, pressure)
A force (F) is the product of mass and acceleration (a)
(F=ma)
A stress (o) is a pair of equal, but opposite forces, working
on a certain area (A) (o =F/A)
Unit of stress: Pascal (N/m
2
= kg/ms
2
), in crust often MPa
(=10
6
Pa), but people continue to work with pounds per
square inch (1 Pa

= 14.1 psi)
Observed strain tells us something about the stress the
rocks experienced
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Stress
Rocks in the subsurface are always subjected to stress
at least the weight of the overlying rock-column
(lithostatic stress), and
the weight of the overlying water-column in the pore-
spaces of those rocks (hydrostatic stress).
As water is not compressible, waterpressure can also
work against the rock pressure...
In addition to this, other, external forces can also work
on the rockmass...
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Stress & Pressure
Stress & pressure are equal physical quantities, but
are used in different contexts
Use Stress (o) for:
Directional stress
Materials with shear strength
For rocks and most sediments
Use Pressure (P) for:
hydrostatic stress field
Materials with no shear strength
Any fluid or gas


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Normal and shear stress
A stress o working on a certain surface, can be subdivided
in two components:
one at a right angle to the surface, the normal stress (o
n
)
one parallel to the surface, the shear stress (t or o
s
)
(in 3D, t can be subdivided further (o
s1
& o
s2
)
o
n
prevents movement along the surface
t enhances movement along the surface
Fossen 2010
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Experiments
Through experiments, one can
determine the behaviour of rocks under
different stress conditions.
This is done on pressure benches,
such as an axial bench of which the
principle is illustrated below
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Stress an a plane in 2D
We would like to determine the
stress conditions on a certain
plane within a sample under
these conditions:
a 30 degree angle to the
vertical
a axial stress of 10.000 Pa


a confining pressure of
5.000 Pa

We look at a small triangle with
thickness 1 and hypotenuse N

O
Y
X
N eenheden
1 eenheid
30
o
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Balance of forces
In the XY plane, we are then
dealing with forces and
dimensions as shown in the
graph
Balancing gives:
F
ox
= F
xo
& F
oy
= F
yo
=>
5000 x cos30 x N = S
x
x N
=> S
x
= 4331 Pa
10000 x sin30 x N = S
y
x N
=> S
y
= 5000 Pa

30
o
N
Sin 30 x N
Cos 30
x
N
F
xo
S
x
S
y
F
oy
F
ox
Yy
= 10000 Pa
Yx
F
yo
5000
Pa
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Stress-vector
We now know the stresses in
the X and Y directions
Pythagoras gives the direction
and size of the stress vector
working on our plane:
o
2
= S
x

2
+ S
y
2


=> o = 6614 Pa
This vector makes an angle of
41 degrees with the horizontal
(tan | = S
Y
/ S
X
)
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Stress-vector
This stress vector o can in turn be
subdivided in two components:
one at a right angle to the plane,
the normal stress:
o
n
= cos11 x 6614 = 6253 Pa
one parallel to the plane, the
shear stress :
t = sin11 x 6614 = 2153 Pa

11
Amount of stress
The amounts of shear stress (right)
and normal stress (left) (and forces)
on any plane are dependent upon the
orientation of that plane relative to
the stress field
shear stress normal stress
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Stress-ellipse
Combining the stress conditions
for all differently oriented planes
gives us the total state of stress
of the sample
If we let all the stress vectors meet
in one point in the sample, we find
that they form an ellipse, the stress
ellipse
10.000 Pa
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Stress-ellipsoid
The same can be done in three
dimensions, the result will be a stress
ellipsoid.
The three mutually perpendicular main
axes are called the principal stress
directions.
o
1
is the largest, o
2
the middle and o
3

the smallest of these.
These principal stress directions are also
perpendicular to planes on which work no
shear stresses.

Fossen 2010
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Stress conditions
What does this stress
ellipsoid tell us?
Lets look at a few stress
conditions:
hydrostatic stress
horizontal extension
horizontal compression

tension is negative,
compression positive
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Hydrostatic stress
In hydrostatic stress, stresses
have the same magnitude in all
directions:
o
1
= o
2
= o
3
= p
This means that the stress
ellipsoid is a ball, and that there
are no shear stresses working
on the material (why?)
The same holds for lithostatic
stress.
The stress increases with depth
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Horizontal extension
If we combine a hydrostatic
stress with horizontal
extension, the ball changes to
an ellipsoid
This means that the horizontal
stress is less than the vertical
one, so the material can
undergo horizontal extension
o
1
is vertical, o
3
horizontal



Alzijdige druk + constante horizontale rek = horizontale extensie
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Horizontal compression
Combining hydrostatic stress
with horizontal compression
also gives and ellipsoid, but
with a different orientation
This time the largest stress is
horizontal, leading to
horizontal compression of the
crust :
o
1
is horizontal, o
3
vertical
Alzijdige druk + constante horizontale druk = horizontale compressie
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Relation stress and faults
Different orientations of the
stress ellipsoid lead to
different faults in the crust:
o
1
horizontal & o
3
vertical:
thrust faults
o
1
vertical & o
3
horizontal: normal faults
o
1
& o
3
horizontal: strike-
slip faults





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Subdivision ellipsoid
Every stress ellipsoid can be subdivided into two
components:
hydrostatic stress (ball-shape)
deviatoric stress (ellipsoid)

The hydrostatic stress causes change in volume

The deviatoric stress causes shape change
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Stress equations 1
One of the most fundamental questions in structural geology
is what causes rocks to fracture and/or fault.

Whether a plane within a rock actually becomes a fault
plane depends on the normal and shear stresses working
on that plane.

If the normal stress is much larger than the shear stress,
nothing will happen, in the opposite case the rock will break.

When exactly does rock break?
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Stress equations 2
Suppose a fault has occurred along a plane that has a angle u
of 30
o
with respect to o
1
.

How much were the normal and shear stress at the moment of
failure?

We can calculate this with the stress equations of Ramsay
(1967):
o
n
= (o
1
+ o
3
) + (o
1
- o
3
) cos 2u
t = (o
1
- o
3
) sin2u
(how much are they for hydrostatic stress?)
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Mohr circles
The stress equations can be graphically displayed using Mohr
circles

o
n
and t are dependant on the orientation of the plane on
which they work

By plotting them against each other in a diagram, their relation
becomes clear

o
1
and o
3
are plotted on the horizontal o
n
-axis after which we
draw a circle with (o
1
+ o
3
) as its centre
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Mohr circle (stress)
This circle is called the
Mohr circle for stress

In Mohr space, shear
stress is plotted against
normal stress

Normal stress is positive if
compressive
Shear stress is positive if
dextral
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Mohr circle
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Mohr circles
In this way we can find o
n
and t for all orientations of
planes
The same can be done in 3D,
by drawing circles for o
2
& o
3
and o
1
& o
2
, and plotting
them all in the same diagram
(see figure)
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Different Mohr circles
Different stress conditions give
different Mohr circles:
Hydrostatic stress (top)
(o
1
= o
2
= o
3
)
Uniaxial compression (middle)
(o
1
> o
2
= o
3
=0 )
Uniaxial tension (below)
( 0 = o
1
= o
2
> o
3
)
Axial compression (fig 22)
(o
1
> o
2
= o
3
)
Triaxial compression (fig 23)
(o
1
> o
2
> o
3
)
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To break or not to break
With the Mohr circle in the
back of our mind, we can look
at failure in rocks
By loading a rock sample until
it fails (right) we can measure
the orientation of the failure
plane and the stress
conditions under which failure
occurred
Different types of (idealized) deformation


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No problems (yet)
The results of loading test are
plotted in a stress-strain diagram
Differential stress
(o
1
- o
3
) on the vertical axis,
Strain (e) on the horizontal axis
With small loads, the material
reacts elastic, as a spring, and
returns to its original shape after
the load is removed
o = E e
(E = Youngs modulus)
o
Plastic deformation
When yield stress is
reached, plastic
deformation occurs
After removal of
stress, the elastic
strain is restored, but
the plastic strain
remains

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Breaking....
So if the loading continues,
plastic , deformation will occur
The material remains cohesive,
but changes shape permanently.
With continued stress increase,
the strength of the material is
reached and it breaks: brittle
deformation
At higher confining pressures,
the material will remain ductile
for longer

o
Crack!!
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Broken
When the sample has failed,
the angle u of the failure plane
can be measured and the
conditions can be plotted on
the Mohr circle, with o
1
= F/A
and o
3
= confining pressure
The experiment can then be
repeated with the same
material, but at different
confining pressures
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Failure envelope
By plotting the results of lots
of these experiments the
failure envelope can be
found.
This gives the conditions that
must be passed for failure to
occur
Is the failure envelope known
for a material, predictions
about the occurrence of failure
can be made
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Mohr-Coulomb criterion
This failure envelope is
described by the Mohr-
Coulomb failure criterion:
t = o
o
+ o
with o
o
the cohesion of the
material and the coefficient
of internal friction ( = tan ,
the slope of the line)
Note well: the Mohr-Coulomb
criterion gives a straight line,
which in reality is not always
the case, especially in the
tensional part.
It does give a good
explanation for macroscopic
brittle behaviour in rocks.
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Griffith criterion
In the tensional area, the failure
envelope is described by the
Griffith criterion:
t
2
= | 4 o
t
(o
t
+ o) |
o
t
is the tensile strength of the
material.
This criterion gives a parabolic
failure envelope in the tensile
area, which corresponds well
with observations
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Griffith criterion 2
For the Griffith criterion, it is
assumed that the material is
full of small defects and
microcracks, which play an
important role in tension
At the end of the cracks, the
stress concentrates, causing
growth of the cracks, and
eventually failure






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Von Mises Criterion
Both the Mohr-Coulomb and the
Griffith criterion relate to brittle
behaviour.
At high confining pressures, the
material will behave in a ductile
way.
Here, the von Mises criterion
applies:
| t
*
| = const

n
von Mises
Griffith
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Failure criteria
We can see all these criteria in
action if we subject a rod of
marble to stress at different
confining pressures p until it
breaks:
a: p = 0.1 Mpa : (tension cracks)
b: p = 3.5 Mpa : Coulomb (single
fault at 30
o
)
c: p = 35 Mpa : threshold
Coulomb-von Mises (faults at 45
o

and ductile fattening)
d: p = 300 Mpa : von Mises
(ductile)
Twiss & Moores 1992,
Fig.9.10
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To fail or not to fail?
To know whether a rock will
fail at certain conditions, we
need:
The values for that
material for the
different failure criteria
The stress conditions
(o
1
& o
3
)
If the Mohr circle touches
the failure envelope
anywhere, the material will
fail
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Changes in stress conditions
Using the Mohr circle, we can
easily what the effects are of
changes in the stress
conditions
If we decrease the confining
pressure in a stable situations,
then the circle will grow bigger
as the difference between o
1
& o
3
increases
If the circle touches the
envelope, failure will occur
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Pore fluids
The pore pressure reduces the
stress at the grain contacts and
thus the effective stress.
Subtracting the fluid pressure
from both o
1
& o
3
move the circle
toward the left, where it may touch
the envelope
This way, high fluid pressures
may lead to failure of the rock
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Rock behaviour
Other factors that influence the behaviour of rocks are:
rock type (quartzite: hard, clay: soft)
anisotropy's (foliations, faults, joints)
confining pressure (higher => stronger, more ductile)
temperature (higher => more ductile)
speed of deformation (faster => more brittle)
time (longer => more ductile)
size (role gravity)
Fossen: Structural Geology
This lecture corresponds to the following chapters:
Chapter 2: 2.1 5, 7-16, 19, 28 & 30
Chapter 4: 1-7
Chapter 6: 1,2,3,4
Chapter 7: 7.3

Next week: In situ stress
Chapter 5: 5.1-5.7
Chapter 9: 9.1-9.2
Chapter 10: 10.1-10.6
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