Ultrasound elasticity of diamond at gigapascal pressures

Diamond is the hardest known material in nature and features a wide spectrum of industrial and scientific applications. The key to diamond's outstanding properties is its elasticity, which is associated with its exceptional hardness, shear strength, and incompressibility. Despite many theoretical works, direct measurements of elastic properties are limited to only ∼1.4 kilobar (kb) pressure. Here, we report ultrasonic interferometry measurements of elasticity of void-free diamond powder in a multianvil press from 1 atmosphere up to 12.1 gigapascal (GPa). We obtained high-accuracy bulk modulus of diamond as K0 = 439.2(9) GPa, K0′ = 3.6(1), and shear modulus as G0 = 533(3) GPa, G0′ = 2.3(3), which are consistent with our first-principles simulation. In contrast to the previous experiment of isothermal equation of state, the K0′ obtained in this work is evidently greater, indicating that the diamond is not fully described by the “n-m” Mie–Grüneisen model. The structural and elastic properties measured in this work may provide a robust primary pressure scale in extensive pressure ranges.

Equation of state and sound wave velocities of fayalite at high pressures and temperatures: implications for the seismic properties of the martian mantle

The elastic properties of a pure, synthetic fayalite aggregate were studied by coupled synchrotron X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic interferometry in a DIA-type multi-anvil press. Measurements at pressures up to about 7 GPa and temperatures up to 873 K yielded an adiabatic bulk modulus, KS0=127.2±0.3 GPa with (∂KS/∂P)T0=6.5±0.1, and a shear modulus, G0=53.3±0.4 GPa with (∂G/∂P)T0=1.25±0.05. When fixing (∂KS/∂P)T0=5.3 (after (∂KT/∂P)T0 from Nestola et al., 2011), KS0 increases to about 130 GPa. These estimates of (KS0,(∂KS/∂P)T0) follow a general linear trend, K=f(dK/dP), for fayalite. We define limited ranges for both bulk and shear moduli from previous studies, and we discuss how these variations affect seismic velocities and the determination of a mineralogical model in the context of the Mars InSight SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) experiment.

The Elastic Properties of β-Mg2SiO4 Containing 0.73 wt.% of H2O to 10 GPa and 600 K by Ultrasonic Interferometry with Synchrotron X-Radiation

We measured the elastic velocities of a synthetic polycrystalline β-Mg2SiO4 containing 0.73 wt.% H2O to 10 GPa and 600 K using ultrasonic interferometry combined with synchrotron X-radiation. Third-order Eulerian finite strain analysis of the high P and T data set yielded Kso = 161.5(2) GPa, Go = 101.6(1) GPa, and (∂Ks/∂P)T = 4.84(4), (∂G/∂P)T = 1.68(2) indistinguishable from Kso = 161.1(3) GPa, Go = 101.4(1) GPa, and (∂Ks/∂P)T = 4.93(4), (∂G/∂P)T = 1.73(2) from the linear fit. The hydration of the wadsleyite by 0.73 wt.% decreases Ks and G moduli by 5.3% and 8.6%, respectively, but no measurable effect was noted for (∂Ks/∂P)T and (∂G/∂P)T. The temperature derivatives of the Ks and G moduli from the finite strain analysis (∂KS/∂T)P = −0.013(2) GPaK−1, (∂G/∂T)P = −0.015(0.4) GPaK−1, and the linear fit (∂KS/∂T)P = −0.015(1) GPaK−1, (∂G/∂T)P = −0.016(1) GPaK−1 are in agreement, and both data sets indicating the |(∂G/∂T)P| to be greater than |(∂KS/∂T)P|. Calculations yield ∆Vp(α-β) = 9.88% and ∆VS(α-β) = 8.70% for the hydrous β-Mg2SiO4 and hydrous α-Mg2SiO4, implying 46–52% olivine volume content in the Earth’s mantle to satisfy the seismic velocity contrast ∆Vs = ∆VP = 4.6% at the 410 km depth.

Pressure-induced velocity softening in natural orthopyroxene at mantle temperature

In this study, we have measured the compressional and shear wave velocities of (Mg1.77Fe0.22Ca0.01)Si2O6 natural orthopyroxene up to 13.5 GPa and 873 K using ultrasonic interferometry in conjunction with in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging techniques. Previous acoustic experiments on orthoenstatite (OEn) MgSiO3 indicated that both compressional and shear velocities (VP and VS) of OEn undergo continuous velocity softening above 9 GPa at room temperature, which has been attributed to the phase transition from OEn to the metastable, high-pressure clinoenstatite HPCEn2. For the first time, our results suggest that pressure-induced velocity softening can occur in natural orthopyroxene at high-temperature conditions relevant to the Earth's cold subduction zones. Estimates of the impedance and velocity contrasts between orthopyroxene (Opx) and high-pressure clinopyroxene (HPCpx) have been calculated, and the possibility of this phase transformation being a plausible candidate for seismic X-discontinuities at depth around 250–350 km is re-evaluated.