Abstract -
The Distinct Element Method (DEM) is a numerical tool in which rock is represented as an assemblage of cemented
particles. Failure of the cement, i.e. bonds, corresponds to cracking of the model material. Due to the ease of
simulating large-strain deformation, the DEM is becoming a popular tool for modelling a wide range of brittle
structures, such as joints and faults. However, despite the fact that quantitative measures, such as stress and strain,
can be readily extracted from DEM models, many researchers represent their models by simply plotting particles
and sometimes the locations of broken bonds. In this presentation we show how more sophisticated approaches
to the visualisation and analysis of DEM models can provide quantitative insights into a variety of process in
Structural Geology. Examples considered here encompass various scales of observation, and include: (1) stresses
associated with jointing, (2) the kinematic evolution of fault systems, (3) the strain distribution within a faulted
layered sequence and (4) stress-paths during caldera collapse.
Abstract of talk given to:
EGU General Assembly, Vienna, April 2012.