Studies of mineral properties at mantle condition using Deformation multi-anvil apparatus

This paper reports recent studies of the rheological and viscoelastic properties of minerals at mantle pressure and temperature using Deformation multi-anvil apparatus (D-DIA). Stress–strain–time relations were measured using synchrotron X-ray radiation to determine these properties. Rheological properties of San Carlos olivine were measured at pressure up to 10 GPa and indicated that the effect of pressure on the viscosity of olivine is much smaller than previous reported. The unique capability of synchrotron X-ray can resolve the stress heterogeneity within a polycrystalline material as well as within a multi-phase mixture and elucidate the stress–strain distribution in an aggregate. Anelasticity measurements were carried out using olivine as the sample at mantle pressure and temperatures. The results showed that grain boundary activity rather than pressure dominate the relaxation processes. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the methods using new tools for high pressure research.