Theory and Practice – Multianvil Cells and High-Pressure Experimental Methods

Advance of high-pressure Earth science has strongly relied on development of the high-pressure experimental technology. Multianvil apparatuses (MAAs) were invented based on the principles of high-pressure design extracted from the technologies of the opposed anvil-type high-pressure apparatuses. Due to the massive support and lateral support of the anvils, attainable pressure in MAAs far exceeds the compressive strength of the anvil material. Advantages of the MAAs over the opposed anvil apparatuses including the diamond anvil cell are larger sample volume and much higher hydrostatic compression. Following the pioneering Hall’s (1958) tetrahedral apparatus, a cubic, and an octahedral MAAs were successively developed in the late 1960s. Among them, the octahedral (Kawai-type) apparatus has been the most widely used in laboratories of Earth science for various purposes such as material synthesis, phase equilibrium, and physical property measurement. Improvements and devices in this apparatus are described, which are anvil materials, pressure media, gasket materials, the manners of pressure calibration methods for sample heating and temperature measurement. Applications to determination of phase equilibrium, crystal growth, and electrical conductivity measurement at high pressure and high temperature are also shown. The double-staged systems to compress the assembly of eight cubic anvils (the Kawai cell) via the cubic (DIA-type) guide block with the aid of a uniaxial press are interfaced with synchrotron radiation facilities. This method has made various kinds of researches under precisely controlled pressure and temperature conditions, which include determinations of phase equilibrium, equation of state, measurement of density, and viscosity of melt, etc. Experimental procedures for in situ X-ray diffraction study using energy dispersive method are described, emphasizing importance of the pressure scale. The reinvestigated α–β, β–γ transformation boundaries in Mg2SiO4 determined based on the NaCl pressure scale are generally consistent with those determined by the quench method. However, the boundary for the dissociation of γ-phase into perovskite and periclase is controversial, various locations in the P–T space being proposed. Part of the discrepancy originates from employment of the different pressure scales which are not mutually consistent. Other origins are uncertainty of temperature measurement and inherent slow reaction kinetics. Sphere falling viscometry using X-ray radiography is surveyed. Recent applications of the Kawai-type apparatus to rheological and acoustic emission studies are also briefly described. The maximum attainable pressure of the Kawai-type apparatus has reached 72 GPa by equipment of sintered diamond (SD) anvil. Pressures higher than 100 GPa may be generated near future by improvement of quality of SD. Therefore, we can more quantitatively determine the state of the Earth’s interior. Generation of pressures to 30 GPa over a volume of c. 1 cm3 or more is another direction to be proceeded. The technology can be applied to grow large crystals and to measure various properties of geophysically important materials.

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