Seismic b-Value for Foreshock AE Events Preceding Repeated Stick-Slips of Pre-Cut Faults in Granite

In this study, the b-values for acoustic emission (AE) events during stick-slip cycles of pre-cut faults in granite (as an analogue of unfavorably oriented immature faults) under triaxial compression (confining pressure: 40 MPa) are investigated. Using a multi-channel AE waveform recording system and two peak detectors, we recorded AE waveforms at 16 bits and at a sampling rate of 25 MHz, as well as the maximum amplitude of AE events with a dynamic range of 55 dB. For stick-slip events, the b-value decreases from 1.2 to 1.5 to approximately 0.6 as the shear stress increases, and then quickly jumps back to 1.0 to 1.3 immediately prior to the dynamic stress drop. The minimum b-value coincides with the maximum event rate and a stress level of 70 to 95% of the shear strength. It is also observed that the AE activity during each cycle was linked with the pre-failure fault slip, which accounts for 30% of the dynamic slip. Our results on b-value evaluation preceding repeated stick-slips can be used as an indicator of the degree of fault maturity and shear stress acting on the fault, which is important in seismic hazard assessment and earthquake prediction, especially for the injection-induced seismicity for fields in which reactivated shear rupture of unfavorable and immature faults or tensile fractures is important.