Strength evolution of a reactive frictional interface is controlled by the dynamics of contacts and chemical effects

Assessing the healing rate of a fault is relevant to the knowledge of the seismic machinery. However, measuring fault healing at the depths where it occurs still remains inaccessible. We have designed an analog laboratory experiment of a simulated rough fault that undergoes healing and investigate the relative roles of interface chemical reactivity and sliding velocity on the healing rate. Slide-hold-slide experiments are conducted on a bare interface with various materials in contact (glass/glass, salt/glass, and salt/salt) with or without the presence of a reactive fluid and the slider-surface pull-off force is measured. Our results show that the interface strengthens with hold time, whatever the conditions of the experiments. In addition, we quantify the effect of chemical reactivity on the healing rate. Considering the glass/glass case as a reference, we show that the healing rate is increased by a factor of 2 for the salt/glass case; by a factor of 3 for the salt/salt case; and by about a factor of 20 when saturated brine is added on a salt/salt interface. We also measure that the sliding velocity affects the healing rate for salt/salt interfaces at room humidity. A careful optical monitoring of the interface allows a direct observation of the contact growth characteristics associated to each type of materials. Finally, the large differences of healing rate are interpreted through a mechanistic approach, where the various experimental conditions allow separating different healing mechanisms: increase of adhesion of the contacts by welding, contact growth due to creep or due to neck growth driven by surface tension. ► Healing controls how an active fault evolves between two earthquakes. ► We reproduced experimentally the healing of a frictional interface. ► The dynamics of asperity contacts, that control friction, is enhanced by chemical effects. ► These effects modify the time scales of fault healing.