An experiment study of quartz-coesite transition at differential stress

Pathway for a martensitic quartz-coesite transition

An atomistic pathway for a strain-induced subsolidus martensitic transition between quartz and coesite was found by computing the set of the smallest atomic displacements required to transform a quartz structure into a coesite structure. A minimal transformation cell with 24 [Formula: see text] formula units is sufficient to describe the diffusionless martensitic transition from quartz to coesite. We identified two families of invariant shear planes during the martensitic transition, near the {10[Formula: see text]1} and {12[Formula: see text]2} set of planes, in agreement with the orientation of planar defect structures observed in quartz samples which experienced hypervelocity impacts. We calculated the reaction barrier using density functional theory and found that the barrier of 150 meV/atom is pressure invariant from ambient pressure up to 5 GPa, while the mean principal stress limiting the stability of strained quartz is [Formula: see text] 2 GPa. The model calculations quantitatively confirm that coesite can be formed in strained quartz at pressures significantly below the hydrostatic equilibrium transition pressure.

Study on the Phase Transition from Quartz to Coesite under High Temperature and High Pressure

Quartz is an important component of the Earth. In this study, experiments were conducted at temperatures between 600 to 700 °C, confining pressures between 1.5 and 1.8 GPa, and differential stress conditions. It was found that coesite production is closely related to differential stress, reaction time, and reaction temperature, with coesite formation being a multifactorial coupling process.