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Investigation of earthquake mechanisms and their impact on certain basic concepts in earthquake engineering and seismology 

Men Fulu
Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Seismological Bureau, Harbin, China

Abstract: In this paper, mantle circulation flow, continental drift, earthquake origin and other mechanical principles are examined as they apply to earthquake engineering, seismology and dynamics of fluid saturated porous medium. The relationship of mantle flow to earthquakes is examined and clarified, and a new model, different from Haskell's, is proposed for the earthquake mechanism. The proposed new model is based on the discovery that two pairs of jump stress and jump velocity will start to act from the fault plane. Records obtained directly from recent earthquakes nearby and right on the fault break show a very large velocity impulse, which verify, indirectly, the new mechanism proposed by the author. Further, at least two physical parameters that characterize the seismic intensity must be specified, because according to the discontinuous (jump) wave theory, at the earthquake source, the stress jump and the velocity jump of particle motion should act simultaneously when a sudden break occurs. The third key parameter is shown to be the break (fracture) propagation speed together with the break plane area. This parameter influences the form of the unloading time function at the source. The maximum seismic stress in and displacement of a building are estimated for two unfavorable combinations of the building and its base ground in terms of their relative rigidity. Finally, it is shown that Biot's theory of wave propagation in fluid saturated porous media is valid only when fluid flow cannot occur.

Keywords: mantle circulation flow; plate motion; earthquake mechanism; wave propagation; break (fracture) propagation; unloading wave; jump wave; building; Biot's theory