In-situ ultrasonic calibrations of pressure and temperature in a hinge-type double-stage cubic large volume press

Abstract

Here, simultaneous in-situ calibration of pressures and temperatures was performed in a hinge-type second-stage cubic large volume press (LVP) up to 15 GPa and 1400 K by an acoustic travel-time approach. Based on the recently reported P–t S and P–T–t P–t S equations for Al2O3 buffer rod, the cell pressures and temperatures in the chamber of LVP were in-situ determined, in comparison with those by conventional off-line (or fixed-points) pressure calibration method and direct thermocouple measurement, respectively. It is found that the cell pressures of the LVP chamber are significantly reduced after annealing at simultaneous high pressures and high temperatures, owing to the stress relaxation as accumulate in the LVP chamber. This acoustic travel-time method is verified to be a good way for precise determination of thermal (cell) pressures at high temperature conditions, and is of great importance and necessity to conduct in-situ physical property measurements under extreme high P–T conditions, especially when the precious synchrotron x-ray/neutron diffraction beams are not available.