Paterson Rig #5

Paterson Apparatus

E54-715

Pat_#5

This apparatus is capable of reaching confining pressures up to 500 MPa and temperatures up to 1300˚C with Argon gas serving as the confining medium. It was designed by Prof. Mervyn Paterson and is one of 13 existing apparatus of this type world-wide. This apparatus is uniquely suited for high-resolution deformation experiments of relatively large samples up to 15 mm in diameter and 30 mm in length thanks to its internal load cell and compensated piston design which eliminates any seal friction from load measurements. The apparatus has a three-zone furnace with temperature gradients of <1 ˚C/mm and a hot-zone ~40 mm in length. Furthermore, it is equipped with a pore pressure system which allows for permeability measurements during deformation as well as introduction of various fluids into the deforming rocks at high pressures and temperatures. Recently the Paterson Apparatus was upgraded to allow acoustic velocity and acoustic emission (AE) measurements. Currently we are limited to low temperature experiments (<300oC) for AE measurements.

Loading; Unloading; Heating; High Temperature; HIP; Synthesis; Mineral Reactions; Yield Strength; Failure Strength; Strength; Creep; Reactive Flow; Pore Fluid Control; Permeability; Steady-State Permeability; Transient Permeability; Drained/Undrained Pore Fluid; P-Wave Velocity; S-Wave Velocity