Data for the study 'Stationary asperity stress drop during controlled 3D tensile fracture propagation'

Description This dataset supports the study by Wu et al. (2025), which investigates microscale rupture dynamics during tensile fracturing of a sandstone beam under controlled crack-opening conditions. The experiment used an inverted three-point-bending (TPB) configuration with 24 broadband acoustic emission (AE) sensors that were individually calibrated to recover absolute normal displacement. A total of 561 AE events with reliable focal mechanisms are analyzed to extract quantitative source parameters such as moment magnitude, source radius, and asperity-level stress drops. The dataset is stored in MATLAB format (Data_Exp.mat) as a 1×561 structure array named SP_TPB, where each row corresponds to an individual AE event. The source parameters were derived using spectral fitting of the Ω–n model and displacement-based inversion techniques. Structure Each entry in the SP_TPB structure contains the following 11 parameters: Variable definitions: Column Name Description Unit 1 Locs 3D coordinates of the AE event (x, y, z) meters 2 M Low-frequency spectral plateau Ω₀ (averaged) m/Hz 3 freq_c Corner frequency (averaged) Hz 4 n Spectral fall-off exponent from the Ω–n model – 5 M0 Scalar seismic moment N·m 6 Mw Seismic moment magnitude – 7 r0 Estimated source radius based on spectral fitting meters 8 P Stress drop of tensile-type events Pa 9 xn Opening displacement of tensile-type events meters 10 CFS Stress drop of shear-type events Pa 11 xs Slip distance of shear-type events meters The dataset enables detailed analysis of source scaling, rupture evolution, and energy release processes under stable tensile fracture propagation. It is suitable for advanced laboratory seismology, micromechanics, or rock fracture research.