Creating a 3D Fault File - Single Fault

RockWorks | Utilities | Faults | Single Dip List -> 3D Fault File

This program reads a list of dip data (e.g. points along a fault, contact, bedding plane) which includes XYZ coordinates, dip direction, and dip angle, and creates a 3D "Fault File" (.RwFlt); these are used to apply 3D faulting to surface and solid models. The 3D Fault File can be also displayed at this time as a 3D "ribbon" for display in RockPlot3D.

! Note that while you can create the 3D Fault File in the Utilities interface, you need to have RockWorks Advanced to be able to use it to fault a surface or solid model, such as the one shown above.

See also: Creating a 3D Fault File - Multiple Faults, Plotting 3D Dip Ribbons - Single Fault, Creating a Boolean Fault Model - Single Fault, Solid Model Faulting

Menu Options
Step-by-Step Summary

Menu Options

• Input Columns: The prompts along the left side of the window tell RockWorks which columns in the datasheet contain the input data.
  Click on an existing name to select a different name from the drop-down list. See a sample data layout below.
  • X: Column that contains the X or Easting coordinates for the fault polyline vertices.
    These can be Eastings in meters or feet, decimal longitudes, etc. See Defining your Datasheet Coordinates for more information.
  • Y: Column that contains the Y or Northing coordinates for the vertices.
    
  • Z: Column that contains the elevations where the measurements were taken. Be sure you've defined the elevation units in the column heading.
  • Dip Direction:  Choose the column that lists the direction, in degrees, toward which the fault plane is dipping.  (examples: North = 0, East = 90, South = 180, and West = 270.)
  • Dip Angle:  Choose the column that lists the dip angle.  Note: Horizontal is considered to be zero, and dipping straight down is entered as +90. 
    
    
• Direction Represents: Choose how the data listed in the data sheet are recorded.
  • Right Hand Rule: Using this convention, planar data are entered as strike bearing and dip angle, with the dip direction being 90 degrees clockwise from the strike azimuth bearing.
  • Dip Direction: Using this convention, planar data are entered with dip direction and dip angle.
    
    
• Declination Correction: Use this setting to correct for magnetic declination, in degrees.
  
  
• Distance Increment: This setting controls how finely the faulting panels will be subdivided, and is expressed as distance in your map units.
  
  
• Project Down-Dip: Insert a check to project the fault down-dip from the fault polyline.
  • Down-Dip Projection Distance: Click here to type in the distance, in your project units, for the projection. This is important - it will determine how deep the fault will extend in the model. If the fault planes are not consistent in depth, you'll need to break them up into separate files and create the Fault File using multiple input files.

• Project Up-Dip: Insert a check here to project the fault up-dip from the fault polyline.
  • Up-Dip Projection Distance: Click here to type in the projection distance, in your project units.
    
    
• Method: Choose the detail for your ribbons:
  • Simple (Endpoints only): Choose this to draw the fault panels between the two endpoints only. This really comes into play when applying your fault file to the modeling process and the faults can be treated as planes rather than complex surfaces - this significantly speeds up the modeling.
  • Complex (Subdivide and Smooth): For any given list of dip points (including lists with just two points), intermediate points will be interpolated in order to reduce the angularity of the fault surface. Although this creates more accurate and aesthetically pleasing fault surfaces, it can significantly increase the amount of time required to create block models that use the fault files.

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• Output: Fault File: Click to the right to define a name for the single-fault-file that will be created. These files have the file name extension ".RwFlt".
  
  
• Create 3-Dimensional Diagram: Check this box to display the fault as a 3D "ribbon". Click the Options button to access diagram settings.
  • Group Name: Type in the name for the item in RockPlot3D.
  • Plot Triangle Perimeters: Check this box if the boundaries of each triangle comprising the ribbon are to be displayed. Use the Line Color box to choose the color and the Line Thickness setting to select the thickness in pixels.
  • Fill Mesh Triangles: Check this box if the triangles comprising the ribbon are to be filled with a solid color (as shown in these examples). Click Fill Color to choose the color and Thickness to assign panel thickness (in project units).
  • Reference Cage: Check this option to include axis annotation. (More.)
    
    

Step-by-Step Summary

1. Access the RockWorks Utilities program tab.
2. Create a new datasheet and enter/import your dip-direction/dip-angle data into the datasheet.
   Or, open one of the sample files and replace that data with your own. (In the Samples folder, an example file = "\RockWorks17 Data\ Samples\Thrust_Fault_Antler_01.rwDat", shown here.) The minimum number of points required to create the fault is 2.

3. Select the Faults | Single Dip List -> Fault File menu option.
4. Enter the requested menu settings, described above.
5. Click the Process button to continue. 

The program will read the indicated XYZ location coordinates and create a series of connected panels that are projected up-dip and/or down-dip from the control points, using the Simple or Complex strategy as selected. It will then generate a binary Fault File containing this information, storing it under the indicated ".RwFlt" file name.

If you requested display of the 3D fault ribbon, it will be displayed in RockPlot3D.

6. You can now use this RwFlt file, containing the location information for the single fault, when creating a surface model or solid model and applying faulting. (RockWorks Advanced.)
   
   

See also: Creating a 3D Faults File - Multiple Faults

  Back to Faults Menu Summary

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