Laboratory for High Pressures and High Temperatures of Experimental Geophysics and Volcanology (HPHT Lab)

Biaxial deformation apparatus configured for experiments at room temperature and room pressure. The configuration allows to mount different types of sample holders: i) double direct shear forcing blocks (rock surfaces and powders, 5x5 cm), ii) single direct shear forcing blocks (rock surfaces and powders, 4x4 cm), iii) cylindric uniaxial configuration (variable diameters, up to 10 cm, up to 20 cm in length), iv) Brazilian configuration (variable diameter).

Equipment measurements: LVDTs - displacement along two orthogonal axes (precision ± 0.1 μm), On-board LVDT - displacement with custom sensor positioning (precision ± 0.1 μm), Load cells - load on two orthogonal axes (precision ± 0.1 kN).

Non-end load piston cylinder equipped with 1/2", 3/4" and 1" inner hole pressure vessels, allowing to run experiments with 1 up to 4 3mm (OD) capsules at P=150-2500 GPa and T = 25-1600°C.

SHIVA is a rotary shear apparatus used to impose slip, slip velocity and acceleration similar to those occurring during earthquakes and landslide collapse. The following sample and experimental conditions are available.

Rock contact samples (sample holder 3050) can be tested under vacuum, room humidity, or fluid pressurized conditions with normal stress up to 40 MPa, minimum to maximum angular velocity of 1e-5 to 6.5 m/s and maximum angular displacement of 20 m.

Rock powder experiments (sample holder 051) can be performed under pressurized conditions with normal stress up to 15 MPa, minimum to maximum angular velocity of 8e-6 to 1 m/s and maximum angular displacement of 0.5 m. Each experiment requires 10 to 15 grams of powder.

Rock powder experiments (sample holder 3555) can be performed under room humidity or wet conditions with normal stress up to 20 MPa, minimum to maximum angular velocity of 1e-5 to 7 m/s and maximum angular displacement of 5 m. Each experiment requires 3 to 5 grams of powder.

During all experiment types, normal force (normal stress) is kept constant, and three control types are available: i) prescribed torque (shear stress) and maximum angular velocity; ii) prescribed slip velocity function (trapezoidal, Yoffe, etc.). Further information can be found at this link. Application examples can be found at the links here and here.

The Ultrapyc Series of Pycnometers (Gas pycnometer) provides high-speed, high-precision measurements for determining the true density of powders, solids, and slurries. Inert gas: helium. Sample chamber capacity 1-100 cm3 Precision within ± 0.01% of reading, Accurate to within 0.03% of reading. Stable between 15 to 35 °C

Modular rheometer, air bearing EC motor with frequency range 10-5 100 Hz, and 0,1 nNm torque resolution. Equipped with: double Peltier temperature control; parallel plates (2), plate-cone (2), concentric cylinder measurement geometries; pressure cell up to 150 bar. Specification rheometer type & supplier: stress-controlled rotational rheometer MCR 301 (Anton Paar) frequency range: 10-5 - 102 Hz temperature range: -40 - 200°C ± 0.01°C (Peltier-control) geometries various geometries are available: cone-plate (CP50): R = 25 mm; α=0.991°,sample volume: 0.6 ml plate-plate (PP25): R = 12.5 mm, sample volume for 1mm gap: 0.5 ml coaxial cylinder (CC27) :gap width: 1.128 mm, sample volume: coaxial double gap (DG26.7): gap width: 0.42 mm and 0.46 mm; sample volume: 3.8 ml; for low-viscosity samples (0.4 mPas < η < 200 mPas) shear rate range 10-5 - 104 s-1

Equipment composed by: 1) Cylindrical polyethylene tube (3.8 cm, variable length (hence volume). 2) electrovalve allowing for very rapid gas release

The gas mass spectrometer allows to measure gas composition during SHIVA experiments under room humidity conditions. One application can be found at the link https://www.nature.com/articles/srep16112#Sec3.