A theoretical and experimental approach to the study of microscopic and macroscopic properties and state of rocks: A possible direction in the development of earthquake source models

A combined application of the quantitative texture analysis and the theory of local stress concentration in a medium with effective properties is proposed as tool for studying the fracture mechanisms in a heterogeneous anisotropic granular material (rocks). These methods provide a basis for the construction of models incorporating the relationships between volume stresses and the value and distribution of local microstresses in textured polycrystals: these models can be tested experimentally, using the neutron diffractometry methods recently developed at nuclear research centers in Russia and other countries. The Paper describes the theoretical approach and pertinent instruments and techniques and presents experimental results.