A rapid-quench technique for multi-anvil high-pressure-temperature experiments

Abstract

In order to extend the pressure and compositional range where silicate melts can be quenched to form glass in a multi-anvil high-pressure and high-temperature apparatus, a rapid-quench technique, which includes an external cooling system and a low thermal-inertia assembly, was developed. This technique allows much higher cooling rates (6000-7000 °C/s) than regular piston-cylinder (130 °C/s) apparatus and multi-anvil (650 °C/s) apparatus, which are widely used in solid Earth science. Such high cooling rates are critical to avoid unwanted changes in a sample, such as melt crystallization and volatile loss, during quenching.