Shear-enhanced Compaction Bands Research Articles

Regular spacing of deformation bands in sandstone: Layer-thickness control or constitutive instability?

We examine whether bedding thickness or constitutive properties correlate with the spacing of equally spaced shear-enhanced compaction bands and compactional shear bands in Miocene sandstones of the Whakataki Formation, North Island, New Zealand. Quantitative spacing analysis reveals a positive correlation between bedding thickness and the spacing of strata-bound deformation bands, as is commonly observed for veins, joints, and normal faults. The observed spacing to thickness ratio (STR) ranges from 0.02 to 0.14 and is considerably smaller than observed for veins, joints, and normal faults (usually ≥ 1). Modelling compaction bands as stiff tabular inclusions in a layered sequence, simple elastostatic numerical simulations show that they act as stress amplifiers, which may explain STR ≪ 1. Additionally, we obtained laboratory estimates of rock permeability and strength to test if the constant band spacing can be explained with a constitutive instability proposed for compaction bands: the stationary cnoidal wave. The results from this study indicate that this model fails to explain the observed spacing if we use the material properties obtained in the laboratory. This discrepancy likely arises from the following: [1] laboratory estimates of host-rock properties are not the same as those at depth; [2] the used semi-analytical solution for the stationary cnoidal wave employs an incorrect value (m = 3) of the stress exponent; and [3] the equation does not account for coupled layered media. While we cannot conclusively falsify the cnoidal-wave model for compaction band spacing per se, it appears likely that the existing solution should not be used for predicting band spacing in layered porous sandstones.

Distribution, microphysical properties, and tectonic controls of deformation bands in the Miocene subduction wedge (Whakataki Formation) of the Hikurangi subduction zone

Abstract. We analyse deformation bands related to horizontal contraction with an intermittent period of horizontal extension in Miocene turbidites of the Whakataki Formation south of Castlepoint, Wairarapa, North Island, New Zealand. In the Whakataki Formation, three sets of cataclastic deformation bands are identified: (1) normal-sense compactional shear bands (CSBs), (2) reverse-sense CSBs, and (3) reverse-sense shear-enhanced compaction bands (SECBs). During extension, CSBs are associated with normal faults. When propagating through clay-rich interbeds, extensional bands are characterised by clay smear and grain size reduction. During contraction, sandstone-dominated sequences host SECBs, and rare CSBs, that are generally distributed in pervasive patterns. A quantitative spacing analysis shows that most outcrops are characterised by mixed spatial distributions of deformation bands, interpreted as a consequence of overprint due to progressive deformation or distinct multiple generations of deformation bands from different deformation phases. As many deformation bands are parallel to adjacent juvenile normal faults and reverse faults, bands are likely precursors to faults. With progressive deformation, the linkage of distributed deformation bands across sedimentary beds occurs to form through-going faults. During this process, bands associated with the wall-, tip-, and interaction-damage zones overprint earlier distributions resulting in complex spatial patterns. Regularly spaced bands are pervasively distributed when far away from faults. Microstructural analysis shows that all deformation bands form by inelastic pore collapse and grain crushing with an absolute reduction in porosity relative to the host rock between 5 % and 14 %. Hence, deformation bands likely act as fluid flow barriers. Faults and their associated damage zones exhibit a spacing of 9 m on the scale of 10 km and are more commonly observed in areas characterised by higher mudstone-to-sandstone ratios. As a result, extensive clay smear is common in these faults, enhancing the sealing capacity of faults. Therefore, the formation of deformation bands and faults leads to progressive flow compartmentalisation from the scale of 9 m down to about 10 cm – the typical spacing of distributed, regularly spaced deformation bands.

Numerical Simulation of Deformation Band Occurrence and the Associated Stress Field during the Growth of a Fault-Propagation Fold

Knowledge of the paleo-stress distribution is crucial to understand the fracture set up and orientations during the tectonic evolution of a basin, and thus the corresponding fluid flow patterns in a reservoir. This study aims to predict the main stress orientations and evolution during the growth of a fold by using the limit analysis method. Fourteen different steps have been integrated as 2D cross sections from an early stage to an evolved stage of a schematic and balanced propagation fold. The stress evolution was followed during the time and burial of syn tectonic layers localized in front of the thrust. Numerical simulations were used to predict the occurrence and orientation of deformation bands, i.e., compaction and shear bands, by following the kinematic of a fault-propagation fold. The case study of the Sant-Corneli-Boixols anticline was selected, located in the South Central Pyrenees in the Tremp basin, to constrain the dimension of the starting models (or prototypes) used in our numerical simulations. The predictions of the numerical simulations were compared to field observations of an early occurrence of both pure compaction- and shear-enhanced compaction bands in the syn-tectonic Aren formation located in front of the fold, which are subjected to early layer parallel shortening during the burial history. Stress magnitude and stress ratio variations define the type of deformation band produced. Our results show that the band occurrence depends on the yield envelope of the host material and that a small yield envelope is required for these shallow depths, which can only be explained by the heterogeneity of the host rock facies. In our case, the heterogeneity can be explained by a significant contribution of carbonate bioclasts in the calcarenite rock, which change the mechanical behavior of the whole rock.

Structural evolution of carbonate-hosted cataclastic bands adjacent to a major neotectonic fault, Sellicks Beach, South Australia

Deformation bands are common fault-related strain features found in upper crustal granular highly porous sedimentary rocks. However, the majority of research has focused on siliciclastic-related case studies, resulting in a knowledge gap surrounding the nomenclature and implications of carbonate-hosted cataclastic bands. We present a systematic case study of carbonate-hosted deformation bands in the Oligocene–Miocene Port Willunga Formation (PWF) exposures along the wave-cut platforms at Sellicks Beach, South Australia. Sellicks Beach provides an exceptional location to study carbonate-hosted deformation bands because of the unique juxtaposition of the carbonate grainstone PWF and the NE-SW striking Willunga Fault. The Willunga Fault is a steep SE-dipping active reverse fault that previously accommodated deposition in a Cenozoic half-graben. We have conducted a comprehensive structural analysis of 269 PWF deformation bands that formed as a result of strain induced by the Willunga Fault. Our model identifies three sets of shear-enhanced compaction bands (SECBs), and one set of pure compaction bands (PCBs) within the PWF. The PWF deformation bands display a range of cataclasis intensity defined by the percentage of microscopic fine-grained groundmass (gm), named here as crush micro-breccia (0–10% gm) and protocataclastic bands (10–50% gm), resulting from comminution, stylolite formation, and cementation. Petrophysical analysis indicates that crush micro-breccia bands reduce permeability between 0.0–0.75 orders of magnitude, and protocataclastic bands reduce permeability between 0.25–1.75 orders of magnitude relative to host rock. Our results indicate that PWF deformation bands are a useful proxy for cataclasis intensity, forming the foundation for a new classification scheme to describe cataclastic deformation bands, specifically applied to carbonate rocks.

Deformation bands, early markers of tectonic activity in front of a fold-and-thrust belt: Example from the Tremp-Graus basin, southern Pyrenees, Spain

Strain localization in a porous calcarenite facies of the Aren formation in the Tremp basin was studied. This Maastrichtian syn-tectonic formation exposed in front of the Boixols thrust, in the Central South Pyrenean Zone, hosts bedding perpendicular deformation bands. These bands are organized in two major band sets, striking East-West and N-020 respectively. Both populations formed during early deformation stages linked to the growth of the fold and thrust. A magnetic fabric study (Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility, AMS) was carried out to constrain the shortening direction responsible for the deformation bands development during the upper Cretaceous-Paleocene N-S contraction in the region, which allowed us to define populations of Pure Compaction Bands (PCB) and Shear Enhanced Compaction Bands (SECB) regarding their orientations compared to the shortening direction. Both sets are formed by cataclastic deformation, but more intense in the case of SECBs, which are also thinner than PCBs. The initial pore space is both mechanically reduced and chemically filled by several cementation phases. We propose a geomechanical model based on the regional context of layer parallel shortening, thrusting and strike-slip tectonics considering the burial history of the formation, in order to explain the development of both types of bands at remarkably shallow depths.

Shear-enhanced compaction-solution bands in quartz-rich calcarenites of the Cotiella Massif (Spanish Pyrenees)

We describe conjugate systems of shear-enhanced compaction bands oriented oblique to the maximum compressive stress and developed in Paleocene quartz-rich calcarenites formed by the interplay between shearing, mechanical compaction, and dissolution. These deformation bands are located in the footwall of the Cotiella Thrust (Spanish Pyrenees), and strike perpendicular to the local tectonic transport direction. Conjugate shear-enhanced compaction bands are mutually perpendicular in cross-section, forming an angle of 45° with the shallow-dipping bedding; no macroscopic evidence of shearing is found along them. These shear-enhanced compaction bands occur together with less abundant bedding-perpendicular compaction bands, which strike perpendicular to the local transport direction. The described shear-enhanced compaction bands consist of mm-thick tabular structures showing higher concentrations of quartz grains with reduced sizes in respect to the surrounding undeformed rock. Optical microscope and SEM investigations show that the high concentration of quartz clasts within the bands was caused by pressure-enhanced dissolution of calcite. Quartz grains fragmentation is also observed within the bands, with no significant clasts rotation and translation. All these features indicate that the described shear-enhanced compaction bands are hybrid structures developed during layer-parallel shortening associated with the Cotiella Thrust and are characterized by localized dissolution of calcite grains and fragmentation of quartz grains.

Multiscale modeling and analysis of compaction bands in high-porosity sandstones

We present a multiscale investigation on the initiation and development of compaction bands in high-porosity sandstones based on an innovative hierarchical multiscale approach. This approach couples the finite element method and the discrete element method (DEM) to offer direct, rigorous linking of the microscopic origins and mechanisms with complex macroscopic phenomena observed in granular rocks such as strain localization and failure. To simulate compaction band in granular cementitious sandstone, we adopt a bonded contact model with normal and tangential interparticle cohesions in the DEM and propose a dual-porosity structure consisting of macro-pores and interstitial voids for the representative volume element to mimic the typical meso-structure of high-porosity sandstones. In the absence of particle crushing, our multiscale analyses identify debonding and pore collapses as two major contributors to the formation of compaction bands. The critical pressures predicted by our simulations, corresponding to surges of debonding and pore collapse events, agree well with the estimations from field data. The occurrence patterns of compaction band are found closely related to specimen heterogeneity, porosity and confining pressure. Other deformation band patterns, including shear-enhanced compaction bands and compactive shear bands, were also observed under relatively low confining pressure conditions with a rough threshold at $$0.55P^{*}$$ ( $$P^{*}$$ is the critical pressure) on the failure envelop. Key microscopic characteristics attributable to the occurrence of these various deformation patterns, including fabric anisotropy, particle rotation, debonding and pore collapse, are examined. Shear-enhanced compaction bands and pure compaction bands bear many similarities in terms of these microscopic characteristics, whereas both differ substantially from compactive shear bands.

A review of deformation bands in reservoir sandstones: geometries, mechanisms and distribution

Abstract Deformation bands are common subseismic structures in porous sandstones that vary with respect to deformation mechanisms, geometries and distribution. The amount of cataclasis involved largely determines how they impact fluid flow, and cataclasis is generally promoted by coarse grain size, good sorting, high porosity and overburden (usually >500–1000 m). Most bands involve a combination of shear and compaction, and a distinction can be made between those where shear displacement greatly exceeds compaction (compactional shear bands or CSB), where the two are of similar magnitude (shear-enhanced compaction bands or SECB), and pure compaction bands (PCB). The latter two only occur in the contractional regime, are characterized by high (70–100°) dihedral angles (SECB) or perpendicularity (PCB) to σ 1 (the maximum principal stress) and are restricted to layers with very high porosity. Contraction generally tends to produce populations of well-distributed deformation bands, whereas in the extensional regime the majority of bands are clustered around faults. Deformation bands also favour highly porous parts of a reservoir, which may result in a homogenization of the overall reservoir permeability and enhance sweep during hydrocarbon production. A number of intrinsic and external variables must therefore be considered when assessing the influence of deformation bands on reservoir performance.

Visco‐poroelastic damage model for brittle‐ductile failure of porous rocks

AbstractThe coupling between damage accumulation, dilation, and compaction during loading of sandstones is responsible for different structural features such as localized deformation bands and homogeneous inelastic deformation. We distinguish and quantify the role of each deformation mechanism using new mathematical model and its numerical implementation. Formulation includes three different deformation regimes: (I) quasi‐elastic deformation characterized by material strengthening and compaction; (II) cataclastic flow characterized by damage increase and compaction; and (III) brittle failure characterized by damage increase, dilation, and shear localization. Using a three‐dimensional numerical model, we simulate the deformation behavior of cylindrical porous Berea sandstone samples under different confining pressures. The obtained stress, strain, porosity changes and macroscopic deformation features well reproduce the laboratory results. The model predicts different rock behavior as a function of confining pressures. The quasi‐elastic and brittle regimes associated with formation of shear and/or dilatant bands occur at low effective pressures. The model also successfully reproduces cataclastic flow and homogeneous compaction under high pressures. Complex behavior with overlap of common features of all regimes is simulated under intermediate pressures, resulting with localized compaction or shear enhanced compaction bands. Numerical results elucidate three steps in the formation of compaction bands: (1) dilation and subsequent shear localization, (2) formation of shear enhanced compaction band, and (3) formation of pure compaction band.

Contractional deformation of porous sandstone: Insights from the Aztec Sandstone, SE Nevada, USA

Contractional deformation of highly porous sandstones is poorly explored, as compared to extensional deformation of such sedimentary rocks. In this work we explore the highly porous Aztec Sandstone in the footwall to the Muddy Mountain thrust in SE Nevada, which contains several types of deformation bands in the Buffington tectonic window: 1) Distributed centimeter-thick shear-enhanced compaction bands (SECBs) and 2) rare pure compaction bands (PCBs) in the most porous parts of the sandstone, cut by 3) thin cataclastic shear-dominated bands (CSBs) with local slip surfaces. Geometric and kinematic analysis of the SECBs, the PCBs and most of the CSBs shows that they formed during ∼E–W (∼100) shortening, consistent with thrusting related to the Cretaceous to early Paleogene Sevier orogeny of the North American Cordilleran thrust system. Based on stress path modeling, we suggest that the compactional bands (PCBs and SECBs) formed during contraction at relatively shallow burial depths, before or at early stages of emplacement of the Muddy Mountains thrust sheet. The younger cataclastic shear bands (CSBs, category 3), also related to E–W Sevier thrusting, are thinner and show larger shear offsets and thus more intense cataclasis, consistent with the initiation of cataclastic shear bands in somewhat less porous materials. Observations made in this work support earlier suggestions that contraction lead to more distributed band populations than what is commonly found in the extensional regime, and that shear-enhanced compaction bands are widespread only where porosity (and permeability) is high.

Eshelby's solution for ellipsoidal inhomogeneous inclusions with applications to compaction bands

Eshelby's solution for an ellipsoidal inhomogeneous inclusion in an infinite elastic body is applied to compaction and shear-enhanced compaction bands in the Aztec sandstone at Valley of Fire State Park, NV. The inclusion and matrix are linear elastic and isotropic, but have different elastic moduli, and a remote stress represents tectonic loading. A prescribed uniform strain within the inclusion accounts for inelastic compaction for a porosity change from 25 to 10%. Differences in elastic moduli between the matrix and inclusion are based on laboratory data. We generalize earlier results, limited to 2D and axisymmetric geometries, by considering ellipsoids with different intermediate and greatest axial lengths, consistent with field observations.Stiffness contrasts and non-circular tip-line shapes produce modest concentrations of the remote stress, but compaction strains of 1–10% produce significant triaxial compressive stress concentrations, which presumably are responsible for band propagation. The plastic strain is triaxial, but dominated by the normal strain across the inclusion. The stress diminution on the band flank is easily overcome by minor increases in the tectonic loading, enabling bands to be closely spaced. For the shear-enhanced band, if the plastic shear and normal strains are approximately equal, the ratio of shear to normal stress is about 1.3 at the tip.

Impact of a multilayer structure on initiation and evolution of strain localization in porous rocks: Field observations and numerical modeling

Networks of localized conjugate compactive shear bands with large dihedral angles (corresponding to so-called shear-enhanced compaction bands) were generated in 3-layer plane strain finite-difference models. The central layer has elastic–plastic properties with a small positive internal friction coefficient, negative dilatancy factor, and the hardening modulus reducing during the deformation. The two other layers are elastic. The spatial organization of the networks in the central layer, resulting from the elastic–plastic instability of the 3-layer system, was shown to be dependent on the contrast of the elastic stiffness of the layers and on the friction between them. When the stiffness E of the elastic layers and/or the friction are small, the networks are rather symmetric (the bands of both orientation families are distributed homogeneously within the layer). An increase in E at high friction, results in the clustering of the bands of one orientation along a layer segment which is followed by another segment filled with the bands of the other orientation. Different network types are characterized by different band spacing which is smaller in the clustered networks. The intensity of inelastic deformation and hence of porosity reduction within the bands are also smaller in this case. The obtained band networks are very similar to those in nature where the same variability of the network organization is observed. Available geological and mechanical data confirm the conclusions from the modeling about the origin of this variability.

Shear-enhanced compaction band identification at the laboratory scale using acoustic and full-field methods

This paper presents results from the analysis of shear-enhanced compaction bands that developed in a porous sandstone during triaxial compression tests at high confining pressures. The analysis uses non-destructive full-field experimental methods: X-ray tomography, 3D-volumetric digital image correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring including source mechanisms analysis. The 3D-volumetric DIC measurements reveal that these bands are zones with: a small component of band-parallel slip; a larger component of vertical shortening; compactant volumetric strains; and high maximum shear strains. Low X-ray tomography gray-scale standard deviation values within the bands indicate regions of grain size reduction and grain fragmentation. AE hypocenters detected during loading were concentrated inside these narrow bands and showed predominantly pure and hybrid collapse mechanisms; the latter implies some shear strain and is consistent with the oblique geometry of these bands. The experimental results in general support the hypothesis that laboratory developed shear-enhanced compaction bands, at least those studied here, share more characteristics with compaction bands than with compactant shear-bands; these latter deformation features differ from shear-enhanced compaction bands not only in the mechanical behavior, but also in the kinematics and the grain-scale deformation mechanisms.

A model of strain localization in porous sandstone as a function of tectonic setting, burial and material properties; new insight from Provence (southern France)

The analysis of three cataclastic band sets from Provence (France) reveals that the band density, their conjugate angles, their ratio of shear displacement to compaction, and the amount of cataclasis within the bands differ and can be expressed as functions of tectonic setting and petrophysical properties. We identify (1) a dense and closely spaced network of shear-enhanced (reverse) compaction bands; (2) a regularly spaced less dense network of reverse compactional shear bands; and (3) a localized network of normal shear bands. The field data show that strain localization is favored in an extensional regime and is characterized by shear bands with a large shear to compaction ratio and a small conjugate band angle. In contrast, distributed strain is favored in a contractional regime and is characterized by compactional bands with a low ratio of shear to compaction and a large conjugate band angle. To explain the mechanical origin of this strain localization, we quantify the yield strength and the stress evolution in extensional and contractional regimes in a frictional porous granular material. We propose a model of strain localization in porous sands as a function of tectonic stresses, burial depth, material properties, strain hardening and fluid pressure. Our model suggests that stress reduction, inherent to extensional regime, favors strain localization as shear bands, whereas stress increase during contraction favors development of compactional bands.

Statistical tests of scaling relationships for geologic structures

Displacement–length data from dilatant fractures (joints, veins, igneous dikes) and several varieties of deformation bands were analyzed statistically to investigate the applicability of mechanical models proposed for their formation. All 17 datasets are generally consistent with equilibrium or long-term power-law slopes on the displacement–length diagram of either 1.0 or 0.5. Similar to many faults, disaggregation deformation bands are consistent with a power-law scaling relation having a slope of approximately c = 1, implying a linear dependence of maximum displacement and discontinuity length (Dmax = γL). In contrast, dilatant fractures, cataclastic deformation bands, and shear-enhanced compaction bands are consistent with a power-law scaling relation with a slope of approximately c = 0.5, implying a dependence of maximum displacement on the square root of length (Dmax = αL1/2). The scaling relations represent an average, or long-term equilibrium outcome of deformation for conditions such as length-scale, time-scale, temperature, chemistry, and an effectively homogeneous far-field stress field, allowing for variations such as rapid and/or localized behaviors. The displacement–length scaling of these geologic structures follows systematic relationships that provide information on host-rock properties and the physics of fracture and deformation-band propagation.

Shear-enhanced compaction bands formed at shallow burial conditions; implications for fluid flow (Provence, France)

Field observations of highly porous and permeable sandstone in the Orange area (S-E Basin, France) show that networks of shear-enhanced compaction bands can form in a contractional regime at burial depths of about 400 m ± 100 m. These bands show equal compaction and shear displacements, are organized in conjugate and densely distributed networks, and are restricted to the coarse-grained (mean grain diameter of 0.6 ± 0.1 mm) and less porous (porosity of 26 ± 2%) sand layers. The bands are crush microbreccia with limited grain comminution and high grain microfracture density. They show reductions of permeability (mD) ranging from 0 to little more than 1 order of magnitude. They show no control on the alteration products related to meteoric water flow, which suggests that these shear-enhanced compaction bands have no or only negligible influence on subsurface fluid flow. Their selective occurrence and small (20%) reduction in transmissibility in densely populated layers prevented them from compartmentalizing the sandstone reservoirs. A comparison with compaction-band populations in the Navajo and Aztec sandtsones (western U.S.) emphasizes the role of burial depth and the presence of chemical compaction processes for the sealing potential of deformation bands.

Propagation energies inferred from deformation bands in sandstone

Propagation energies for five examples of deformationbandsinporoussandstonesfromfourfield sites in Nevada, Utah, and France were calculated by using the J-integral approach. Pure compaction bands that accommodate primarily closing displace- ments from the Valley of Fire (Nevada) site have a closing-mode band propagation energy of JI = 5.5 ± 1.6kJ/m 2 . Shear-enhanced compaction bands having subequal amounts of normal (closing) and shear strains across them from the same site have propagation energies of JI = 6.11 ± 1.8kJ/m 2 and JII = 1.52 ± 0.5kJ/m 2 for closing and shearing modes respectively. Closing- and shearing-mode band propagation energies for shear-enhanced compaction bands from the Buckskin Gulch (Utah) site, 5.63 ±1.7 and 1.91 ± 0.57kJ/m 2 and the Uchaux (France) site, 11.0 ± 3.3and2.35 ± 0.7kJ/m 2 respectivelyarecom- parabletothevaluesforsimilarstructuresfromtheVal- ley of Fire site. Cataclastic deformation bands at the Orange (France) site accommodate significantly larger values of shear offset than do shear-enhanced compac- tion bands, with a ratio of shear to closing offset that exceeds 7. The calculated closing- and shearing-mode propagation energies for these shear bands, 17.8 ±5.4 and 3.3 ± 1.0kJ/m 2 respectively are comparable to those for pure or shear-enhanced compaction bands deformed at approximately the same depth of bur- ial. Strain softening of cataclastic compactional shear bands implies unstable shearing, whereas stable and perhaps strain-hardening shearing may be inferred for shear-enhanced compaction bands. Displacement- lengthscalingrelationsforshear-enhancedcompaction bands of the form D ∝ √ L are consistent with the

Conditions and implications for compaction band formation in the Navajo Sandstone, Utah

Observations from quartz-rich eolian Navajo Sandstone in the Buckskin Gulch site in southernmost Utah show that pure compaction bands only occur in sandstones where current porosity > 0.29 ± 3, permeability > 10 ± 7 darcy, and grain size > 0.4 mm – properties restricted to the lower and most coarse-grained and well-sorted parts of grain flow units within the dune units. Hence a direct correlation between stratigraphy and band occurrence has been established that can be used to predict deformation band occurrences in similar sandstone reservoirs. We show that the pure compaction bands formed perpendicular to a subhorizontal σ 1, bisecting conjugate sets of shear-enhanced compaction bands. The latter bands locally developed into shear-dominated bands that transect entire dune units, suggesting that an increase in the amount of simple shear promotes band propagation into less porous and permeable lithologies. Stress considerations indicate that, as a continuous and overlapping sequence of events, pure compaction bands in quartz-rich Navajo Sandstone initiated at 10–20 MPa (∼1 km depth), followed by shear-enhanced compaction bands that locally developed into more stratigraphically extensive shear-dominated bands. The rare combination of special lithologic and stress conditions may explain why pure compaction bands are rarely observed in naturally deformed sandstones.

Connecting microstructural attributes and permeability from 3D tomographic images of in situ shear-enhanced compaction bands using multiscale computations

Tomographic images taken inside and outside a compaction band in a field specimen of Aztec sandstone are analyzed by using numerical methods such as graph theory, level sets, and hybrid lattice Boltzmann/finite element techniques. The results reveal approximately an order of magnitude permeability reduction within the compaction band. This is less than the several orders of magnitude reduction measured from hydraulic experiments on compaction bands formed in laboratory experiments and about one order of magnitude less than inferences from two-dimensional images of Aztec sandstone. Geometrical analysis concludes that the elimination of connected pore space and increased tortuosities due to the porosity decrease are the major factors contributing to the permeability reduction. In addition, the multiscale flow simulations also indicate that permeability is fairly isotropic inside and outside the compaction band.

Relationship of compaction bands in Utah to Laramide fault-related folding

Multiple sets of compaction bands of southwestern Utah occur in Navajo Sandstone near a bend in the adjacent East Kaibab monocline. Forward mechanical models of blind-thrust fault deformation are used in this paper to investigate the spatial relationship between compaction bands and fault-related folding. Results are consistent with the East Kaibab monocline being underlain by a west-dipping blind high-angle reverse fault between ~ 1.5 and 5 km depth below the top of the Navajo Sandstone. Reverse slip along this reactivated fault during the Laramide orogeny is inferred to have produced values of compactional normal strain that were largest in the footwall near the concave map-view bend in the monocline. The calculated compactional normal strains and Coulomb stress increases are consistent with the field occurrence of pure and shear-enhanced compaction bands in this area. Bends, relays, stepovers, or other geometric complexities above blind reverse faults are thus inferred to be potential sites for compaction band localization in appropriate rock types.