High-pressure, high-temperature deformation of CaGeO3 (perovskite)±MgO aggregates: Elasto-ViscoPlastic Self-Consistent modeling and implications for multi-phase rheology of the lower mantle

Abstract:

As the largest rocky layer in the Earth, the lower mantle plays a critical role in controlling convective patterns in our planet. Current mineralogical mantle models suggest that the lower mantle is dominated by (Mg,Fe)SiO3 perovskite (SiPv; about 70 – 90% in volume fraction) and (Mg,Fe)O ferropericlase (Fp). Knowledge of rheological properties of the major constituent minerals and stress/strain partitioning among these phases during deformation is critical in understanding dynamic processes of the deep Earth.

For the lower mantle, the strength contrast between SiPv and Fp has been estimated [1], the former being much stronger than the latter. However fundamental issues of stress-strain interactions among the major phases still remain to be properly addressed. Here we examine rheological properties of a two-phase polycrystal consisting of CaGeO3 perovskite (GePv) and MgO, deformed in the D-DIA at controlled speed ~1 – 3×10^-5 s^-1 at high pressures and temperatures (between 3 to 10 GPa and 300 to 1200 K), with bulk axial strains up to ~20% [2]. We use Elasto-ViscoPlastic Self-Consistent modeling (EVPSC) [3] to reproduce lattice strains and textures measured in-situ with synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We compare the results to those on an identical deformation experiment with a single phase (GePv) polycrystal. We will discuss stress distributions between the two phases in the composite, textural developments, relationships with active slip systems, and finally the potential implications for rheological properties of the lower mantle.

[1] Yamazaki, D., and S. Karato (2002), Fabric development in (Mg,Fe)O during large strain, shear deformation: implications for seismic anisotropy in Earth's lower mantle, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 131(3-4), 251-267.

[2] Wang, Y., N. Hilairet, N. Nishiyama, N. Yahata, T. Tsuchiya, G. Morard, and G. Fiquet (2013), High-pressure, high-temperature deformation of CaGeO3 (perovskite)+/- MgO aggregates: Implications for multiphase rheology of the lower mantle, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 14(9), 3389-3408.

[3] Wang, H., P. D. Wu, C. N. Tome, and Y. Huang (2010), A finite strain elastic-viscoplastic self-consistent model for polycrystalline materials, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 58(4), 594-612.