Micromechanics of brittle faulting and cataclastic flow in Mount Etna basalt

Understanding how the strength of volcanic rocks varies with stress state, pressure, and microstructural attributes is fundamental to understanding the dynamics and tectonics of a volcanic system and also very important in applications such as geothermics or reservoir management in volcanic environments. In this study we investigated the micromechanics of deformation and failure in basalt, focusing on samples from Mount Etna. We performed 65 uniaxial and triaxial compression experiments on nominally dry and water-saturated samples covering a porosity range between 5 and 16%, at effective pressures up to 200 MPa. Dilatancy and brittle faulting were observed in all samples with porosity of 5%. Water-saturated samples were found to be significantly weaker than comparable dry samples. Shear-enhanced compaction was observed at effective pressures as low as 80 MPa in samples of 8% porosity. Microstructural data revealed the complex interplay of microcracks, pores, and phenocrysts on dilatant failure and inelastic compaction in basalt. The micromechanics of brittle failure is controlled by wing crack propagation under triaxial compression and by pore-emanated cracking under uniaxial compression especially in the more porous samples. The mechanism of inelastic compaction in basalt is cataclastic pore-collapse in agreement with a recent dual-porosity model.