Time‐dependent recovery of microcrack damage and seismic wave speeds in deformed limestone

Limestone samples were deformed up to 5% inelastic axial strain at an effective confining pressure P eff =50 MPa in the cataclastic flow regime and subsequently maintained under constant static stress conditions (either isostatic of triaxial) for extended periods of time while elastic wave speeds and permeability were continuously monitored. During deformation, both seismic wave speeds and permeability decrease with increasing strain, due to the growth of subvertical microcracks and inelastic porosity reduction. During the static hold period under water‐saturated conditions, the seismic wave speeds recovered gradually, typically by around 5% (relative to their initial value) after 2 days, while permeability remained constant. The recovery in wave speed increases with increasing confining pressure but decreases with increasing applied differential stress. The recovery is markedly lower when the samples are saturated with an inert fluid as opposed to water. The evolution in wave speed is interpreted quantitatively in terms of microcrack density, which shows that the post‐deformation recovery is associated with a decrease in effective microcrack length, typically of the order to 10% after 2 days. The proposed mechanism for the observed damage recovery is microcrack closure due to a combination of backsliding on wing cracks driven by time‐dependent friction and closure due to pressure solution at contacts between propping particles or asperities and microcrack walls. The recovery rates observed in the experiments, and the proposed underlying mechanisms, are compatible with seismological observations of seismic wave speed recovery along faults following earthquakes.