Normal-fault stress and displacement through finite-element analysis

We compute displacement and stress due to a normal fault by means of two-dimensional plane-strain finite-element analysis. To do so, we apply a system of forces to the fault nodes and develop an iterative algorithm serving to determine the force magnitudes for any slip distribution. As a sample case, we compute the force magnitudes assuming uniform slip on a 10-km two-dimensional normal fault. The numerical model generates displacement and stress fields that compare well to the analytical solution. In fact, we find little difference in displacements (<5%), displacement orientation (<15 DEG), and stress components (