2D and 3D Finite Element Restorations of Geological Structures with Sliding Contact Along Faults

Abstract : A fully implicit finite element method is developed for the restoration of sedimentary basins. Internal deformation is distributed with a linear hyper-elasticity constitutive law. Deformation is also accommodated by large sliding along faults. This mechanism is represented by a frictionless bilateral contact algorithm between deformable bodies. Application are shown with 2D forward or backward models of thrust related folding with multiple intersecting discontinuities. An example demonstrates how this restoration algorithm enables to detect misinterpretation in the structural model. One advantage of the method is to allow 3D modeling, as shown by the restoration of a Miocene anticline in the Iranian Zagros thrust belt. The main interest of this method will be to facilitate the coupling between restoration and forward modeling.