Mjölnir: a miniature triaxial rock deformation apparatus for 4D synchrotron X-ray microtomography

DOI: 10.1107/S160057752001173X

Authors: Ian Butler (University of Edinburgh) , Florian Fusseis (University of Edinburgh) , Alexis Cartwright-Taylor (University of Edinburgh) , Michael Flynn (University of Edinburgh)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Journal Of Synchrotron Radiation , VOL 27

State: Published (Approved)
Published: November 2020
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 22178

Abstract: An X-ray transparent experimental triaxial rock deformation apparatus, here named `Mjölnir', enables investigations of brittle-style rock deformation and failure, as well as coupled thermal, chemical and mechanical processes relevant to a range of Earth subsurface environments. Designed to operate with cylindrical samples up to 3.2 mm outside-diameter and up to 10 mm length, Mjölnir can attain up to 50 MPa confining pressure and in excess of 600 MPa axial load. The addition of heaters extends the experimental range to temperatures up to 140°C. Deployment of Mjolnir on synchrotron beamlines indicates that full 3D datasets may be acquired in a few seconds to a few minutes, meaning full 4D investigations of deformation processes can be undertaken. Mjölnir is constructed from readily available materials and components and complete technical drawings are included in the supporting information.

Journal Keywords: synchrotron X-ray microtomography; experimental geoscience; rock deformation.

Subject Areas: Technique Development, Earth Science


Instruments: I12-JEEP: Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing

Other Facilities: TOMCAT beamline at Swiss Light Source; Advanced Photon Source

Added On: 29/10/2020 09:37

Documents:
pp5161.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Technique Development - Earth Sciences & Environment Earth Sciences & Environment Geology Geophysics

Technical Tags:

Imaging Tomography