The variation of frictional strength of asperities is one of the fundamental mechanisms that govern earthquake cycles. The rate - and - state friction (RSF) law has been widely employed to explain earthquake phenomena. In RSF, the frictional strength of fault depends upon the current slipping velocity and the conditions on the slipping surface (i.e., the state), which depends partly on the prior sliding history. In this study, we proposed a simplified weakening-healing law to describe the slip behavior of individual asperity. In the weakening-healing law, the friction strength linearly decreases to the residual value with shear displacement when slip occurs, and immediately recovers to its original value once slip terminates. In the numerical model, a power-law distribution is used to introduce asperity heterogeneity (e.g., size, frictional strength, and stiffness) on a rock joint. A displacement-based moment tensor method is used to calculate the seismic moment during fault slipping. The simulated b-value (magnitude-frequency distribution) and its evolution during stick-slip phases are compared with published experiments. Slip nucleation, growth, coalescence, and the associated spatial-temporal behavior of the simulated seismicity are delineated. Although this preliminary study focuses on simplified conditions (small-scale smooth rock joint sheared under constant normal pressure and shear rate), our method successfully duplicates laboratory observed stick-slip behavior, b-value evolution, slip nucleation process, etc., providing a promising way to mimic more realistic natural earthquake phenomena.
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