Publication Date:
2012-12-22
Description:
This article introduces the software Melange, a 3D lattice-particle hybrid model. The software was specifically designed in order to simulate ductile visco-elasto-plastic deformation and can be used to study tectonic processes in the lithosphere from the micro to the macro scale. Melange is under an open source license. The code takes both relevant yield mechanisms for the deformation of lithospheric material into account: dynamic brittle failure and ductile creep, where ductile creep is modeled as viscoelasticity. The software considers effects of the local geology, of the inherent disorder of geomaterials, of rheological layering of the lithosphere and applies repulsion when the material fractures. Driving forces are the externally applied strain and the gravitational load. Melange applies an elastically isotropic regular 3D lattice with HCP geometry and next-nearest neighbor interactions. Young's modulus, viscosity, material density and system size can be freely chosen. Poisson's ratio is restricted to values
Electronic ISSN:
1525-2027
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
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