The role of transiently fine-grained reaction products in syntectonic metamorphism: natural and experimental examples

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 556-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. H. Brodie ◽  
E. H. Rutter
Keyword(s):  
Grain Growth ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
Prograde Metamorphism ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Ultrafine Grained ◽  
Textural Equilibration ◽  
Static Conditions

It is proposed that one of the most important mechanisms of interrelationship between deformation and metamorphism is the facilitation of one of several grain-size-sensitive deformation mechanisms resulting from the formation of fine-grained products of a metamorphic reaction. During prograde metamorphism, such effects are likely to be transient, because grain coarsening and textural equilibration are likely in response to rising temperature conditions. Thus deformation mechanisms are often difficult to infer from such naturally deformed rocks.In localized shear zones exhibiting retrogressive metamorphism, evidence of enhanced deformability by such mechanisms is most likely to be preserved, because cooling conditions inhibit grain growth and both deformed and undeformed rocks are likely to be preserved.An experimental study has been made of the effects of deformation on serpentinite under conditions of progressive dehydration but with controlled pore pressure. A marked weakening (near-linear viscous rheology) at low strain rates was observed in association with the onset of dehydration to olivine. The enhancement of deformability is interpreted as due to the formation of thin, planar zones of ultrafine-grained but equiaxed (0.25 μm) olivine, which deform by diffusion-accommodated grain-boundary sliding. The experimental data therefore support the idea that a great deal of natural deformation during prograde metamorphism may occur in association with the transient existence of fine-grained reaction products, followed by grain growth and textural equilibration under essentially static conditions of relaxed stress.

Structure Evolution and Deformation Mechanisms in Ultrafine-Grained Aluminum under Tension at Room Temperature

2010 ◽  
Vol 667-669 ◽  
pp. 915-920
Author(s):  
Konstantin Ivanov ◽  
Evgeny V. Naydenkin
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundary ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Structure Evolution ◽  
Dislocation Slip ◽  
Polished Surface ◽  
Angular Pressing ◽  
Ultrafine Grained ◽  
Boundary Sliding

Deformation mechanisms occurring by tension of ultrafine-grained aluminum processed by equal-channel angular pressing at room temperature are investigated using comparative study of the microstructure before and after tensile testing as well as deformation relief on the pre-polished surface of the sample tested. Deformation behavior and structure evolution during tension suggest development of grain boundary sliding in addition to intragrain dislocation slip. Contribution grain boundary sliding to the overall deformation calculated using the magnitude of shift of grains relative to each other is found to be ~40%.

scholarly journals Relationship between microstructures and resistance in mafic assemblages that deform and transform

Solid Earth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2141-2167
Author(s):  
Nicolas Mansard ◽  
Holger Stünitz ◽  
Hugues Raimbourg ◽  
Jacques Précigout ◽  
Alexis Plunder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Shear Strain ◽  
Phase Distribution ◽  
Shear Bands ◽  
Constant Strain Rate ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
Fine Grained

Abstract. Syn-kinematic mineral reactions play an important role for the mechanical properties of polymineralic rocks. Mineral reactions (i.e., nucleation of new phases) may lead to grain size reduction, producing fine-grained polymineralic mixtures, which have a strongly reduced viscosity because of the activation of grain-size-sensitive deformation processes. In order to study the effect of deformation–reaction feedback(s) on sample strength, we performed rock deformation experiments on “wet” assemblages of mafic compositions in a Griggs-type solid-medium deformation apparatus. Shear strain was applied at constant strain rate (10−5 s−1) and constant confining pressure (1 GPa) with temperatures ranging from 800 to 900 ∘C. At low shear strain, the assemblages that react faster are significantly weaker than the ones that react more slowly, demonstrating that reaction progress has a first-order control on rock strength. With increasing strain, we document two contrasting microstructural scenarios: (1) the development of a single throughgoing high-strain zone of well-mixed, fine-grained aggregates, associated with a significant weakening after peak stress, and (2) the development of partially connected, nearly monomineralic shear bands without major weakening. The lack of weakening is caused by the absence of interconnected well-mixed aggregates of fine-grained reaction products. The nature of the reaction products, and hence the intensity of the mechanical weakening, is controlled by the microstructures of the reaction products to a large extent, e.g., the amount of amphibole and the phase distribution of reaction products. The samples with the largest amount of amphibole exhibit a larger grain size and show less weakening. In addition to their implications for the deformation of natural shear zones, our findings demonstrate that the feedback between deformation and mineral reactions can lead to large differences in mechanical strength, even at relatively small initial differences in mineral composition.

scholarly journals Syn-kinematic hydration reactions, dissolution-precipitation creep and grain boundary sliding in experimentally deformed plagioclase-pyroxene mixtures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Marti ◽  
Holger Stünitz ◽  
Renée Heilbronner ◽  
Oliver Plümper ◽  
Rüdiger Kilian
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundary ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Dislocation Creep ◽  
Crystallographic Preferred Orientation ◽  
Mafic Rocks ◽  
Boundary Sliding ◽  
Crustal Shear Zones

Abstract. While it is widely observed that mafic rocks are able to exeprience high strains by viscous flow, details on their rheology and deformation mechanisms are poorly constrained. Here, rock deformation experiments on four different, water-added plagioclase-pyroxene mixtures are presented: (i) plagioclase(An60-70) – clinopyroxene – orthopyroxene, (ii) plagioclase(An60) – diopside, (iii) plagioclase(An60) – enstatite and (iv) plagioclase(An01) – enstatite. Samples were deformed in general shear at strain rates of 3 × 10−5 to 3 × 10−6 s−1, 800 °C and confining pressure of 1.0 or 1.5 GPa. Results indicate that dissolution-precipitation creep (DPC) and grain boundary sliding (GBS) are the dominant deformation mechanisms. Coinciding with sample deformation, syn-kinematic mineral reactions yield abundant nucleation of new grains; the resulting intense grain size reduction is considered crucial for the activity of DPC and GBS. In high strain zones dominated by plagioclase, a weak, non-random and geometrically consistent crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) is observed. Usually, a CPO is considered a consequence of dislocation creep, but the experiments presented here demonstrate that a CPO can develop during DPC and GBS. This study provides new evidence for the importance of DPC and GBS in mid-crustal shear zones within mafic rocks, which has important implications on understanding and modelling of mid-crustal rheology and flow.

scholarly journals Characterization of Intergranular Phases in Tetragonal and Cubic Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 584-585
Author(s):  
N.D. Evans ◽  
P.H. Imamura ◽  
J. Bentley ◽  
M.L. Mecartney
Keyword(s):  
Grain Growth ◽  
Hot Isostatic Pressing ◽  
Tetragonal Zirconia ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Net Shape Forming ◽  
Boundary Sliding ◽  
Ceramic Manufacturing

Achieving superplasticity in fine-grained ceramics is a potential method to lower energy costs associated with ceramic manufacturing via net shape forming. Superplasticity is intrinsic in 3-mol%- yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP), and can be enhanced by addition of glass to form intergranular phases which are thought to both limit grain growth and promote grain boundary sliding during processing (sintering and hot isostatic pressing). This permits processing at lower temperatures. However, superplasticity has not been observed in 8-mol%-yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia (8Y-CSZ), ostensibly due to its larger grain size and high grain growth rates.3,4 As part of a larger study, high-spatial-resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) has been performed on 3Y-TZP and 8Y-CSZ specimens doped with various glassy phases to characterize intergranular compositions.Zirconia powders were mixed with glass to produce specimens having either 1 wt % lithiumaluminum- silicate, 1 wt % barium-silicate, or 1 wt % borosilicate. Some specimens were prepared without added glass.

scholarly journals Deformation mechanisms in mafic amphibolites and granulites: record from the Semail metamorphic sole during subduction infancy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Soret ◽  
Philippe Agard ◽  
Benoît Ildefonse ◽  
Benoît Dubacq ◽  
Cécile Prigent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Plate Interface ◽  
Mafic Rocks ◽  
Mechanical Coupling

Abstract. This study sheds light on the deformation mechanisms of subducted mafic rocks metamorphosed at amphibolite and granulite facies conditions, and on their importance for strain accommodation and localization at the top of the slab during subduction infancy. These rocks, namely metamorphic soles, are oceanic slivers stripped from the downgoing slab and plastered below the upper plate mantle wedge during the first million years of intra-oceanic subduction, when the subduction interface is still warm. Their formation and intense deformation (i.e. shear strain ≥ 5) attest to a systematic and transient coupling between the plates over a restricted time span of ~1 My and specific rheological conditions. Combining micro-structural analyses with mineral chemistry constrains grain-scale deformation mechanisms and the rheology of amphibole and amphibolites along the plate interface during early subduction dynamics, as well as the interplay between brittle and ductile deformation, water activity, mineral change, grain size reduction and phase mixing. Results indicate, in particular, that increasing pressure-temperature conditions and slab dehydration (from amphibolite to granulite facies) lead to the crystallization of mechanically strong phases (garnet, clinopyroxene and high-grade amphibole) and rock hardening. In contrast, during early exhumation and cooling (from ~850 down to ~700 °C – 0.7 GPa), the garnet-clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolite experiences pervasive retrogression (and fluid ingression) and significant strain weakening essentially accommodated by dissolution-precipitation and grain boundary sliding processes. Observations also indicate cyclic brittle deformation near peak conditions and throughout the early exhumation, which contributed to fluid channelization within the amphibolites, and possibly strain localization accompanying detachment from the slab. These mechanical transitions, coeval with detachment and early exhumation of the HT metamorphic soles, controlled mechanical coupling across the plate interface during subduction infancy, between the top of the slab and the peridotites above. Our findings may thus apply to other geodynamic environments where similar temperatures, lithologies, fluid circulation and mechanical coupling between mafic rocks and peridotites prevail, such as in mature warm subduction zones (e.g., Nankai, Cascapedia), in lower continental crust shear zones and oceanic detachments.

Mechanisms-based constitutive equations for the superplastic behaviour of a titanium alloy

1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Zhou ◽  
F P E Dunne
Keyword(s):  
Titanium Alloy ◽  
Grain Boundary ◽  
Grain Growth ◽  
Constitutive Equations ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Diffusional Creep ◽  
Dislocation Creep ◽  
Boundary Sliding

Mechanisms-based constitutive equations are proposed for the high-temperature behaviour of a class of titanium alloys, for which the deformation mechanisms include diffusional creep, grain boundary sliding, dislocation creep and grain growth. A computational procedure has been developed for the determination of the constitutive equations from a material database. The constitutive equations and the procedure for their determination have been validated by modelling the behaviour of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V at 927°C. It is shown that the procedure developed for the determination of the mechanisms-based constitutive equations can be used to identify the important deformation mechanisms in operation for particular stress, temperature and strain rate conditions. For the case of the Ti-6Al-4V material, the procedure developed correctly predicts the material hardening due to grain growth and indicates that an additional hardening mechanism operates. In addition, the procedure is able to identify grain boundary sliding as a predominant deformation mechanism. The constitutive equations, which are generic in nature, and the procedure for their determination are applicable over a range of materials and are suitable for modelling the macroscopic and the important microscopic aspects of material behaviour during processing. The equations may be readily determined using the procedure presented, which is highly suitable for development as an expert system, to completely automate the process.

scholarly journals Relationship between microstructures and resistance in mafic assemblages that deform and transform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Mansard ◽  
Holger Stünitz ◽  
Hugues Raimbourg ◽  
Jacques Précigout ◽  
Alexis Plunder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Shear Strain ◽  
Phase Distribution ◽  
Shear Bands ◽  
Constant Strain Rate ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
Fine Grained

Abstract. Syn-kinematic mineral reactions play an important role for the mechanical properties of polymineralic rocks. Mineral reactions (i.e. nucleation of new phases) may lead to grain size reduction producing fine-grained polymineralic mixtures, which have a strongly reduced viscosity because of the activation of grain-size sensitive deformation processes. In order to study the effect of deformation-reaction feedback(s) on sample strength, we performed rock deformation experiments on wet assemblages of mafic compositions in a Griggs-type solid-medium deformation apparatus. Shear strain was applied at constant strain rate (10−5 s−1) and constant confining pressure (1 GPa) with temperatures ranging from 800 to 900 °C. At low shear strain, the assemblages that react faster are significantly weaker than the ones that react more slowly, demonstrating that reaction progress has a first-order control on rock strength. With increasing strain, we document two contrasting microstructural scenarios: (1) the development of a single through-going high-strain-zone of well-mixed, fine-grained aggregates, associated with a significant weakening after peak stress and (2) the development of partially connected, nearly monomineralic shear bands without major weakening. The lack of weakening is caused by the absence of interconnected well-mixed aggregates of fine-grained reaction products. The nature of the reaction products, and hence the intensity of the mechanical weakening, is controlled by the microstructures of the reaction products to a large extent, e.g., the amount of amphibole and the phase distribution of reaction products. The samples with the largest amount of amphibole exhibit a larger grain size and show less weakening. In addition to their implications for the deformation of natural shear zones, our findings demonstrate that the feedback between deformation and mineral reactions can lead to large differences in mechanical strength, even at relatively small initial differences in mineral composition.

scholarly journals Syn-kinematic hydration reactions, grain size reduction, and dissolution–precipitation creep in experimentally deformed plagioclase–pyroxene mixtures

Solid Earth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 985-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Marti ◽  
Holger Stünitz ◽  
Renée Heilbronner ◽  
Oliver Plümper ◽  
Rüdiger Kilian
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Confining Pressure ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Dislocation Creep ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Crystallographic Preferred Orientation ◽  
Mafic Rocks

Abstract. It is widely observed that mafic rocks are able to accommodate high strains by viscous flow. Yet, a number of questions concerning the exact nature of the involved deformation mechanisms continue to be debated. In this contribution, rock deformation experiments on four different water-added plagioclase–pyroxene mixtures are presented: (i) plagioclase(An60–70)–clinopyroxene–orthopyroxene, (ii) plagioclase(An60)–diopside, (iii) plagioclase(An60)–enstatite, and (iv) plagioclase(An01)–enstatite. Samples were deformed in general shear at strain rates of 3×10−5 to 3×10−6 s−1, 800 °C, and confining pressure of 1.0 or 1.5 GPa. Results indicate that dissolution–precipitation creep (DPC) and grain boundary sliding (GBS) are the dominant deformation mechanisms and operate simultaneously. Coinciding with sample deformation, syn-kinematic mineral reactions yield abundant nucleation of new grains; the resulting intense grain size reduction is considered crucial for the activity of DPC and GBS. In high strain zones dominated by plagioclase, a weak, nonrandom, and geometrically consistent crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) is observed. Usually, a CPO is considered a consequence of dislocation creep, but the experiments presented here demonstrate that a CPO can develop during DPC and GBS. This study provides new evidence for the importance of DPC and GBS in mid-crustal shear zones within mafic rocks, which has important implications for understanding and modeling mid-crustal rheology and flow.

Deformation and recrystallization of pyrite

1983 ◽  
Vol 47 (345) ◽  
pp. 527-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. McClay ◽  
P. G. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Grain Growth ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Coarse Grain ◽  
Pressure Solution ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Brittle Deformation ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Grain Sizes ◽  
Boundary Sliding ◽  
Textural Development

AbstractA detailed study of pyrite in a number of metamorphosed, stratiform, sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits has shown the importance of cataclastic deformation, pressure-solution, and grain growth in the deformation and textural development of pyrite. Primary depositional or early diagenetic microstructures are preserved in pyritic ores deformed or metamorphosed at grades up to mid-upper greenschist facies, whereas at higher temperatures only metablastic or annealed pyrite textures are found. Brittle deformation is found at all metamorphic grades and is favoured by coarse grain-sizes. Pressure-solution is a major deformation mechanism in fine-grained pyritic ores in low-grade metamorphic environments. Grain growth and annealing dominate at higher metamorphic temperatures and are likely to have obliterated any evidence of deformation by dislocation processes. Significant macroscopic ductility of fine-grained pyritic ores in low-grade environments may be accounted for by a combination of pressure-solution, grain boundary sliding, and cataclastic flow.

scholarly journals Deformation mechanisms in mafic amphibolites and granulites: record from the Semail metamorphic sole during subduction infancy

Solid Earth ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1733-1755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Soret ◽  
Philippe Agard ◽  
Benoît Ildefonse ◽  
Benoît Dubacq ◽  
Cécile Prigent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Grain Boundary Sliding ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Deformation Mechanisms ◽  
Plate Interface ◽  
Mafic Rocks ◽  
Mechanical Coupling

Abstract. This study sheds light on the deformation mechanisms of subducted mafic rocks metamorphosed at amphibolite and granulite facies conditions and on their importance for strain accommodation and localization at the top of the slab during subduction infancy. These rocks, namely metamorphic soles, are oceanic slivers stripped from the downgoing slab and accreted below the upper plate mantle wedge during the first million years of intraoceanic subduction, when the subduction interface is still warm. Their formation and intense deformation (i.e., shear strain ≥5) attest to a systematic and transient coupling between the plates over a restricted time span of ∼1 Myr and specific rheological conditions. Combining microstructural analyses with mineral chemistry constrains grain-scale deformation mechanisms and the rheology of amphibole and amphibolites along the plate interface during early subduction dynamics, as well as the interplay between brittle and ductile deformation, water activity, mineral change, grain size reduction and phase mixing. Results indicate that increasing pressure and temperature conditions and slab dehydration (from amphibolite to granulite facies) lead to the nucleation of mechanically strong phases (garnet, clinopyroxene and amphibole) and rock hardening. Peak conditions (850 ∘C and 1 GPa) coincide with a pervasive stage of brittle deformation which enables strain localization in the top of the mafic slab, and therefore possibly the unit detachment from the slab. In contrast, during early exhumation and cooling (from ∼850 down to ∼700 ∘C and 0.7 GPa), the garnet–clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolite experiences extensive retrogression (and fluid ingression) and significant strain weakening essentially accommodated in the dissolution–precipitation creep regime including heterogeneous nucleation of fine-grained materials and the activation of grain boundary sliding processes. This deformation mechanism is closely assisted with continuous fluid-driven fracturing throughout the exhumed amphibolite, which contributes to fluid channelization within the amphibolites. These mechanical transitions, coeval with detachment and early exhumation of the high-temperature (HT) metamorphic soles, therefore controlled the viscosity contrast and mechanical coupling across the plate interface during subduction infancy, between the top of the slab and the overlying peridotites. Our findings may thus apply to other geodynamic environments where similar temperatures, lithologies, fluid circulation and mechanical coupling between mafic rocks and peridotites prevail, such as in mature warm subduction zones (e.g., Nankai, Cascadia), in lower continental crust shear zones and oceanic detachments.

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