Indoor seismology by probing the Earth's interior by using sound velocity measurements at high pressures and temperatures

In situ measurement equipment for the elastic wave velocity of rocks under various temperature and pressure conditions of ultra-deep reservoirs

A novel equipment for measuring the elastic wave velocity of rocks under various temperature and pressure conditions of ultra-deep reservoirs has been developed. The equipment consists of a high pressure and high temperature experimental platform and an ultrasonic measurement system, which can measure the elastic wave velocity of rocks under conditions of ultra-deep reservoirs up to a depth of 13 km by the ultrasonic reflection method. The method of assembling rock samples has also been improved to acquire high-quality ultrasonic signals. The feasibility of the new equipment was tested by measuring the elastic wave velocity of dolomite and limestone. The experimental results are consistent with the previous research. The elastic wave velocity of rocks measured by this equipment can be potentially used for the exploration of ultra-deep oil and gas resources.

Si-Disordering in MgAl2O4-Spinel under High P-T Conditions, with Implications for Si-Mg Disorder in Mg2SiO4-Ringwoodite

A series of Si-bearing MgAl2O4-spinels were synthesized at 1500–1650 °C and 3–6 GPa. These spinels had SiO2 contents of up to ~1.03 wt % and showed a substitution mechanism of Si4+ + Mg2+ = 2Al3+. Unpolarized Raman spectra were collected from polished single grains, and displayed a set of well-defined Raman peaks at ~610, 823, 856 and 968 cm−1 that had not been observed before. Aided by the Raman features of natural Si-free MgAl2O4-spinel, synthetic Si-free MgAl2O4-spinel, natural low quartz, synthetic coesite, synthetic stishovite and synthetic forsterite, we infer that these Raman peaks should belong to the SiO4 groups. The relations between the Raman intensities and SiO2 contents of the Si-bearing MgAl2O4-spinels suggest that under some P-T conditions, some Si must adopt the M-site. Unlike the SiO4 groups with very intense Raman signals, the SiO6 groups are largely Raman-inactive. We further found that the Si cations primarily appear on the T-site at P-T conditions ≤~3–4 GPa and 1500 °C, but attain a random distribution between the T-site and M-site at P-T conditions ≥~5–6 GPa and 1630–1650 °C. This Si-disordering process observed for the Si-bearing MgAl2O4-spinels suggests that similar Si-disordering might happen to the (Mg,Fe)2SiO4-spinels (ringwoodite), the major phase in the lower part of the mantle transition zone of the Earth and the benchmark mineral for the very strong shock stage experienced by extraterrestrial materials. The likely consequences have been explored.

DIASCoPE: Directly integrated acoustic system combined with pressure experiments-A new method for fast acoustic velocity measurements at high pressure

A new experimental system to measure elastic wave velocities in samples in situ under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature in a multi-anvil apparatus has been installed at Beamline 6-BM-B of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. This system allows for measurement of acoustic velocities via ultrasonic interferometry, and makes use of the synchrotron beam to measure sample densities via X-ray diffraction and sample lengths using X-radiographic imaging. This system is fully integrated into the automated software controls of the beamline and is capable of collecting robust data on elastic wave travel times in less than 1 s, which is an improvement of more than one to two orders of magnitude over existing systems. Moreover, this fast data collection time has been shown to have no effect on the obtained travel time results. This allows for more careful study of time-dependent phenomena with tighter snapshots in time of processes that would otherwise be lost or averaged out in other acoustic measurement systems.

High-pressure Seebeck coefficients and thermoelectric behaviors of Bi and PbTe measured using a Paris-Edinburgh cell

A new sample cell assembly design for the Paris-Edinburgh type large-volume press for simultaneous measurements of X-ray diffraction, electrical resistance, Seebeck coefficient and relative changes in the thermal conductance at high pressures has been developed. The feasibility of performing in situ measurements of the Seebeck coefficient and thermal measurements is demonstrated by observing well known solid-solid phase transitions of bismuth (Bi) up to 3 GPa and 450 K. A reversible polarity flip has been observed in the Seebeck coefficient across the Bi-I to Bi-II phase boundary. Also, successful Seebeck coefficient measurements have been performed for the classical high-temperature thermoelectric material PbTe under high pressure and temperature conditions. In addition, the relative change in the thermal conductivity was measured and a relative change in ZT, the dimensionless figure of merit, is described. This new capability enables pressure-induced structural changes to be directly correlated to electrical and thermal properties.

Discovery of Superconductivity in Hard Hexagonal ε-NbN

Since the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond with a critical temperature (T_C) near 4 K, great interest has been attracted in hard superconductors such as transition-metal nitrides and carbides. Here we report the new discovery of superconductivity in polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN synthesized at high pressure and high temperature. Direct magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements demonstrate that the superconductivity in bulk polycrystalline hexagonal ε-NbN is below ∼11.6 K, which is significantly higher than that for boron-doped diamond. The nature of superconductivity in hexagonal ε-NbN and the physical mechanism for the relatively lower T_C have been addressed by the weaker bonding in the Nb-N network, the co-planarity of Nb-N layer as well as its relatively weaker electron-phonon coupling, as compared with the cubic δ-NbN counterpart. Moreover, the newly discovered ε-NbN superconductor remains stable at pressures up to ∼20 GPa and is significantly harder than cubic δ-NbN; it is as hard as sapphire, ultra-incompressible and has a high shear rigidity of 201 GPa to rival hard/superhard material γ-B (∼227 GPa). This exploration opens a new class of highly desirable materials combining the outstanding mechanical/elastic properties with superconductivity, which may be particularly attractive for its technological and engineering applications in extreme environments.

Detecting grain rotation at the nanoscale

It is well-believed that below a certain particle size, grain boundary-mediated plastic deformation (e.g., grain rotation, grain boundary sliding and diffusion) substitutes for conventional dislocation nucleation and motion as the dominant deformation mechanism. However, in situ probing of grain boundary processes of ultrafine nanocrystals during plastic deformation has not been feasible, precluding the direct exploration of the nanomechanics. Here we present the in situ texturing observation of bulk-sized platinum in a nickel pressure medium of various particle sizes from 500 nm down to 3 nm. Surprisingly, the texture strength of the same-sized platinum drops rapidly with decreasing grain size of the nickel medium, indicating that more active grain rotation occurs in the smaller nickel nanocrystals. Insight into these processes provides a better understanding of the plastic deformation of nanomaterials in a few-nanometer length scale.

Measurement setup for the simultaneous determination of diffusivity and Seebeck coefficient in a multi-anvil apparatus

In this paper, a high pressure setup is presented for performing simultaneous measurements of Seebeck coefficient and thermal diffusivity in multianvil apparatus for the purpose of enhancing the study of transport phenomena. Procedures for the derivation of Seebeck coefficient and thermal diffusivity/conductivity, as well as their associated sources of errors, are presented in detail, using results obtained on the filled skutterudite, Ce(0.8)Fe(3)CoSb(12,) up to 12 GPa at ambient temperature. Together with recent resistivity and sound velocity measurements in the same apparatus, these developments not only provide the necessary data for a self-consistent and complete characterization of the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials under pressure, but also serve as an important tool for furthering our knowledge of the dynamics and interplay between these transport phenomena.

Note: Measurement method for sound velocity of melts in large volume press and its application to liquid sodium up to 2.0 GPa

Based on large volume press and conventional pulse-echo ultrasonic technique, we have overcome the difficulty in determining the length of liquid specimen under high pressure, and the sound velocity in liquid Na has been measured up to 2 GPa. The P-V data deduced by our sound velocity results through equation of state is in an excellent agreement with previous data directly determined by piezometer method. This new experimental technique is convenient and ready for use, being expected to advance investigation on thermodynamic properties of liquid metals and other melts under high pressure.