Experimental Petrology and Fluid-Rock Interaction

The Experimental Petrology and Fluid-Rock Interaction is equipped with a range of apparatus developed to study 1) stability of mineral phases during crystallisation of magma or melting of rocks, and 2) rock-gas, magma-gas and mineral-gas interaction at a range of pressure and temperature conditions. This facility complements and is supported by the experimental volcanology, the geothermal, and the geochemistry laboratories

Advanced gas-ash reactor (AGAR)

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The Advanced Gas-Ash Reactor (AGAR) is a bespoke apparatus to study chemical reactions between ash surfaces and hot volcanic gases, as observed in eruption plumes. In the apparatus, volcanic gases (such as SO₂, HCl, or CO₂), superheated steam and argon can be mixed at high temperatures and low pressure (2 bar), and flushed through the reactor, which contains volcanic ash, tumbling in a quartz tube, held in a three-zone furnace. The AGAR can be used for a range of applications, including ash-gas interactions in both anhydrous and hydrous conditions, in-plume gas adsorption processes, the effects of ash surface chemistry on the atmosphere, mineral synthesis, and the diffusion of ions.

• Sample mass: up to 10 g
• Temperatures: up to 900 °C
• Atmosphere: hydrous or anhydrous
• Target gases: Sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, carbon dioxide (adaptable)

For more information : Ayris, P.M. et al. A novel apparatus for the simulation of eruptive gas-rock interactions. Bull Volcanol 77, 104 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0990-3

Hydrothermal, cold-seal, pressure vessels

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This experimental setup features three horizontal cold-seal pressure vessels supporting a wide range of applications, including phase equilibria, mineral reactions and textures, mineral synthesis, water–rock interaction, and element partitioning studies, among others. The apparatus is designed for pressures up to 200 MPa, using water as the pressure medium, and temperatures up to 950 ºC, and can be run for timescales ranging from minutes to months. The vessels are constructed from Waspaloy®. Pressure is generated and precisely controlled using a floXlab automatic syringe pump equipped with a high-precision pressure transducer for real-time pressure monitoring (volume capacity of 150 ml and flow rates between 0.0001 and 20 ml/min). This setup enables experiments to be performed under either constant pressure or a programmable, controlled decompression rate (1x10¹–1x10^-6 MPa/s) to simulate a range of magma ascent paths. Runs are quenched by rapid cooling using a custom-designed handsfree quench system that combines compressed air and water, ensuring a reproducible quench-rate between experiments.

Rapid-quench, cold-seal, pressure vessels

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Three rapid-quench molybdenum-hafnium-carbide cold-seal pressure vessels were setup together with custom-made high-temperature furnaces. These experimental devices enable geochemical investigation of volatile-rich melting and crystallization processes at pressures of up to 3 kbar and temperatures of up to 1350 °C. A neodymium ring magnet design holding the sample during the experiment in place allows the sample to drop from the hotspot of the high-temperature furnace into a water-cooled steel-rod extension achieving high quench-rates of >200°C/second. Such high quench-rates allow investigation of COH-fluid bearing silicate- and carbonate systems for structural, rheological and chemical analyses.

End-loaded piston-cylinder apparatus

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The experimental petrology facility is equipped with a Bristol-type end-loaded piston-cylinder apparatus designed to simulate high-pressure and high-temperature conditions relevant to deep Earth processes. The system is fitted with 0 .5-, 0.75-, and 1.0-inch diameter pressure plates, enabling experiments across a pressure range of 2 to 35 kbar and temperatures up to 1450 °C. This versatility allows for the investigation of phase equilibria, melting and liquid immiscibility relationships, and mineral stability under controlled laboratory conditions.

Gas-mixing laboratory

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The gas mixing laboratory is equipped with eight GERO HTRV 70/250 furnaces, connected to a series of gas-mixing lines with various gases (CO, CO2, H2, O2, Ar), used to study the reaction of rocks, glasses and melts/ magmas under different gas chemistries to obtain reduced fO₂ (at 1 bar) or to sythesise samples under controlled chemical conditions to fabricate samples with tailored properties (e.g., magneitc, redox state, etc). the lab further counts different experimental setups under controlled atmopshere. This includes:

• a furnace with a Brookfield viscometer (concentric cylinder) for viscosity determination under various redox conditions
• a furnace equipped with Mettler Toledo 104 balance for in-situ density determination
• a fragmentation apparatus to study fragmentation and lightning in exotic chemical atmopheres
• a furnace connected to a spalt-quench device to rapidly quench (highly reactive) samples

Stirred reactor

Bench top stirred reactor with 500ml volume with a split-ring sealing closing system and operated with argon gas (4575A_HC 500 ML). The reactor is built as a fixed vessel assembly. The reactor material including all internally wetting parts consist of Hastalloy-C. Maximum operation conditions: up to 500°C and 34.5 MPa.