• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.293-300
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• 2023

The Shape Preferred Orientation (SPO) method has been used to analyze the orientation of fault motion, which is utilized as basic data for fault kinematics studies. The rigid grains, which as quartz, feldspar, and rock fragments, in the fault gouge are arranged in the P-shear direction through rigid body rotation by a given shear stress. Using this characteristic, the fault motion can be estimated from the SPO inversely. Recently, a method for securing precision and reliability by measuring 3D-SPO using X-ray CT images and examining the shape of a large number of particles in a short time has been developed. As a result, the SPO method analyzes the orientation of thousands to tens of thousands of particles at high speed, suggests the direction of fault motion, and provides easy accessibility and reliable data. In addition, the shape information and orientation distribution data of particles, which are by-products obtained in the SPO analysis process, are expected to be used as basic data for conducting various studies such as the local deformation of fault rocks and the fault generation mechanism.