Abstract
The fracture strength of the earth crust is estimated from the published strength data of granite in laboratory, considering confining pressure dependence, temperature dependence and strain rate dependence on the fracture strength. The strength of granite increases non-linealy with increased confining pressure, decreases about 7 per cent for 100°C increase in temperature, and decreases about 2 per cent for tenhold decrease in strain rate. Assuming three dependences are mutually independent, the estimated fracture strength of the crust has a maximum strength of 920MPa at a depth of 15 km for a temperature gradient of 15°C/km and a strain rate of 10-14/sec. The fracture strength of the crust becomes equal to the frictional strength at a depth of 12 km. This result suggests that the fracture at a depth of more than 12 km is a high-pressure type fracture.
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