On the contribution of nanomechanical testing to the study of Earth mantle deformations

Nanogeodynamics is based on the belief that some answers concerning the dynamic evolution of our planet find their origin and their explanation in microscopic mechanisms within rocks and their constituent minerals. The particularity of these deformations is that they develop over time scales that exceed those accessible to humans. Building constitutive equations necessary for the modeling of terrestrial deformations must be based on very rigorous physics. Nanomechanical tests offer the possibility to isolate elementary mechanisms and to quantify their efficiency. We present examples that focus on a magnesium-iron silicate: olivine. This mineral is the most abundant (\u3e 60 % in volume) and weakest phase in the Earth’s upper mantle of which it controls the rheology. The lithospheric mantle (where plate tectonics couples with mantle convection) can be subject to temperatures as low as 500 °C. Experimental deformation of mantle rocks at such low temperatures is a major challenge in mineral and rock physics, since the strain rates necessary to achieve steady state dislocation creep are too low to be performed in the laboratory with standard techniques. The use of small-scale specimens shifts the brittle ductile transition and allows to activate ductile mechanisms which can be quantitatively studied in situ in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). In this presentation, we will present two studies on two different deformation mechanisms of olivine. One is dislocation glide which can be activated and followed in situ in the TEM . The quantification of dislocation velocities provides a new approach to evaluate the low-temperature rheology of olivine. The second one is grain boundary sliding resulting from stress-induced amorphization. Nanomechanical testing sheds light on the stress-induced amorphization mechanisms. It also provides a unique opportunity to study the mechanical properties of amorphous olivine which shear deformation controls grain boundary slidin

Multiscale modeling of upper mantle plasticity: From single-crystal rheology to multiphase aggregate deformation

We report a first application of an improved second-order (SO) viscoplastic self-consistent model for multiphase aggregates, applied to an olivine + diopside aggregate as analogue for a dry upper mantle peridotite deformed at 10 15 s 1 shear strain rate along a 20-Ma ocean geotherm. Beside known dislocation slip systems, this SO-model version accounts for an isotropic relaxation mechanism representing ‘diffusionrelated’ creep mechanisms in olivine. Slip-system critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) are evaluated in both phases – as functions of P, T, oxygen fugacity (fO2) and strain rate – from previously reported experimental data obtained on single crystals and first-principle calculations coupled with the Peierls–Nabarro model for crystal plasticity; and the isotropic-mechanism dependence on T and P matches that of Si selfdiffusion in olivine, while its relative activity is constrained by reported data. The model reproduces well the olivine and diopside lattice preferred orientations (LPO) produced experimentally and observed in naturally deformed rocks, as well as observed sensitivities of multiphase aggregate strength to the volume fraction of the hard phase (here diopside). It shows a significant weakening of olivine LPO with increasing depth, which results from the combined effects of the P-induced [100]/[001] dislocation-slip transition and the increasing activity with T of ‘diffusion-related’ creep. This work thus provides a first quantification of the respective effects of [100]/[001] slip transition and diffusion creep on the olivine LPO weakening inducing the seismic anisotropy attenuation observed in the upper mantle

The core structure of screw dislocations with [001] Burgers vector in Mg2SiO4 olivine

In this study, we report atomistic calculations of the core structure of screw dislocations with [001] Burgers vector in Mg SiO olivine. Computations based on the THB1 empirical potential set for olivine show that the stable core configurations of the screw dislocations correspond to a dissociation in {110} planes involving collinear partial dislocations. As a consequence, glide appears to be favorable in {110} planes at low temperature. This study also highlights the difference between dislocation glide mechanism in {110} versus (010) or (100) for which glide is expected to occur through a locking-unlocking mechanism

Numerical study of creep in two-phase aggregates with a large rheology contrast : implications for the lower mantle

International audienceIt is generally accepted that the Earth's lower mantle is dominated by two minerals, magnesiowustite (Mg, Fe)O (Mw) and (Mg, Fe)SiO3 perovskite (Mg-Pv) which are thought to exhibit very different rheological properties. In order to assess the respective role of those phases in the mechanical properties of the assemblage, we have carried out 3D finite element modelling of a model two-phase aggregate. An isotropic random polycrystal has been built from a Voronoï mosaic. Then each grain has been attributed a “hard” or “weak” behavior in such a way that the hard phase represents a volume fraction of 70%. The creep law introduced for both phases is a simple power law creep without hardening. A contrast of 35 is chosen between the strain rates of both phases under a shear stress of 10 MPa. A representative volume element of 470 grains has been shown to provide a satisfactory description of the mechanical response of the aggregate with a relative precision equal to 3%. Numerical creep experiments conducted under a constant macroscopic shear stress of 10 MPa suggest that the creep rate of lower mantle assemblages would be dominated by the mechanical behavior of the harder phase (Mg-Pv). The finite element model allows one to extract the individual behavior of the two phases within the aggregate. It is shown that during creep, the harder Mg-Pv phase carries most of the stress whereas the softer Mw phase is responsible for most of the accumulated strain. This result should have implications for the development of shape and lattice preferred orientations of Mw within the aggregate, thus for seismic anisotropy of the lower mantle

Evidence of electron-irradiation activated creep in amorphous olivine at room temperature

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Constraints on the injection energy of positrons in the Galactic centre region

Recent observations of the 511 keV positron-electron annihilation line in the Galactic centre region by the INTEGRAL/SPI spectrometer have stirred up new speculations about the origin of the large corresponding positron injection rate. Beyond astrophysical candidates, new mechanisms have been put forward. We focus on the annihilation of light dark matter particles and review the various gamma-ray radiation components related to such a source of mono-energetic positrons in addition to the 511 keV line itself. We study the influence of the degree of ionisation of the bulge on this radiation, and its possible effects on the observational constraints on the mass of the hypothetical light dark matter particle or the injection energy of a mono-energetic source of positrons in general.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in the proceedings of the 6th INTEGRAL Workshop on the Obscured Universe (ESA SP-622). 2-8 July 2006, Moscow, Russi

Continuous description of the atomic structure of grain boundaries using dislocation and generalized-disclination density fields

AbstractAn atomistic-to-continuum method is developed to derive dislocation, generalized-disclination density fields and the associated elastic strain, rotation, curvature and second-distortion fields from the atomic structure of grain boundaries. From the relaxed and un-relaxed atomic positions, calculation of the transformation gradient feeds a mechanical framework, where discontinuities of the lattice elastic displacement and distortion (rotation and strain) are captured by smooth incompatible strain and second-distortion fields associated with the dislocation and generalized-disclination density fields, respectively. The method is applied to a copper symmetrical tilt boundary as obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. The core structure of the boundary is found to contain edge dislocations and dipoles of generalized-disclinations, including standard wedge-disclination dipoles. The latter reflect in particular localized shear and stretch discontinuities across the interface, in addition to the overall rotation discontinuity

Geothermal contribution to the energy mix of a heating network when using Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage: modeling and application to the Paris basin

International audienceAquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) is a promising solution for reducing the time mismatch between energy production and demand in urban environments, and recent successful experiences suggest that technical issues can be overcome. The Paris area is a priori a favorable region, since there is locally a surplus of heat production during the summer, an appropriate geological reservoir and both existing and projected district heating networks. This article focuses on a remaining issue: estimating the geothermal contribution to the energy mix of a district heating network over time when using an ATES. This result would then enable estimating the fuel cost savings obtained by avoiding the consumption of expensive energies during the winter retrieval. This work considers an ATES made of two reversible wells reaching the Dogger aquifer and providing energy to a new low-temperature district heating network heating 7,500 housing-equivalents. Non-geothermal energy sources with fluctuating prices over time are used for winter peak demand and for summer heat storage. The temperature of brine unloading at the hot and cold wells is simulated and the adequacy of this geothermal system to meet the load is studied in order to evaluate the time dependent energy mix of the network. Results suggest that in average over the 30 years of operation, the ATES delivers 54 GWh per year to the heating system, i.e. a power of 9.5 MW during the 34 unloading winter weeks. The geothermal energy share in the energy mix is 70%, higher than the 50% possible with a conventional geothermal doublet. The ratio of energy delivered by the ATES divided by energy spent for storage reaches 143%, and is only slightly reduced to 137% when the cold storage is located on an existing cold plume created by past geothermal energy operations

Diffusion mechanism of bound Schottky defect in magnesium oxide

In simple ionic crystals, intrinsic point defects must satisfy electrical neutrality and exist as Schottky defects. In magnesium oxide (MgO), a Schottky defect is then a combination of anionic and cationic vacancies. Since vacancies are charged, the stable configuration of the Schottky defect corresponds to a bound pair of vacancies of opposite signs. In this study, we investigate the kinetics of formation and migration of such a bound pair on long timescales reaching in some cases thousands of seconds using the kinetic activation-relaxation technique, an off-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo method with an event catalog built on-the-fly during static molecular simulations. We show that the diffusion of this bound Schottky defect involves the migration of vacancies bounded to the first and third neighbor sites of the crystal structure with an apparent migration energy which cannot be inferred from the migration energies expected from isolated defects. Overall, this study gives insights and constraints on the oxygen diffusion mechanism reported experimentally in high-purity MgO samples