New materials for analogue experiments: Preliminary tests of magnetorheological fluids

New materials and related apparatuses are welcome to advance analogue modelling techniques. In this contribution, we report on a first attempt to use magnetorheological (MR) fluids as analogue materials for simulating the mechanical behavior of mobile décollement layers that change their mechanical properties during deformation. For this purpose, a specific sandbox was designed to include the possibility of quickly applying and removing a magnetic field below a MR fluid layer, in order to induce an instantaneous change from a frictional to a viscous behavior in the basal décollement material. The simulation of gravitational gliding and sediment progradation above a basal mobile shale layer provided results that compare well with analogue models produced with other experimental techniques, and with natural structures like those developed in the Niger delta region. This pilot study thus encourages further research for optimizing the applicability of MR fluids to the analogue simulation of geological processes.