Strain‐dependent partial slip on rock fractures under seismic‐frequency torsion

Measurements of nonlinear modulus and attenuation of fractures provide the opportunity to probe their mechanical state. We have adapted a low‐frequency torsional apparatus to explore the seismic signature of fractures under low normal stress, simulating low effective stress environments such as shallow or high pore pressure reservoirs. We report strain‐dependent modulus and attenuation for fractured samples of Duperow dolomite (a carbon sequestration target reservoir in Montana), Blue Canyon Dome rhyolite (a geothermal analog reservoir in New Mexico), and Montello granite (a deep basement disposal analog from Wisconsin). We use a simple single effective asperity partial slip model to fit our measured stress‐strain curves and solve for the friction coefficient, contact radius, and full slip condition. These observations have the potential to develop into new field techniques for measuring differences in frictional properties during reservoir engineering manipulations and estimate the stress conditions where reservoir fractures and faults begin to fully slip.