Earth and Environmental Materials Laboratory

This research laboratory is an Earth Simulator, capable of holding minerals and materials under controlled environments corresponding to those of the surface, oceans, and depths of the planet. It will allow studies of geochemical and geophysical properties of minerals and environmental materials under varying chemical potential, pressure, and temperature. 

Examples of applications include the study of mineral-fluid interactions in surface, ocean, and subduction zone environments, controls on geochemical processing in igneous and volcanic systems, the behavior of solids as agents of climate engineering and mitigation, and geochemical processes associated with biomineralization and diagenesis. 

 

Equipment: Precision Lathe

Model/Brand: PD 250/E Proxxon

Specifications

  • Headstock: Precision bearing mounted main spindle (run-out without chuck 1/100mm) with 10.5mm opening. Chuck side 70mm hollowed to 14mm. With MK 2 bore.
  • Lathe chuck: High quality 3-jaw chuck as per DIN 8386 Class 1 (concentricity tolerance 0.04mm). Capacity through reversing jaws from 2 - 75mm.
  • Thread cutting device: With change gears for left-hand and righthand threads of the most important metric pitches (0.5 - 0.625 - 0.7 - 0.75 - 0.8 - 1 - 1.25 - 1.5mm).

Applications

For face, longitudinal and taper turning, thread-cutting.
For machining steel, brass, aluminium and plastic.

 

Equipment: High Pressure High Temperature Equipment

Model/Brand: QUICKpress

Specifications

  • Pressures: 0.3GPa  to  4.0GPa
  • Temperatures: 25°C to 1800°C

Applications

Generates very-high pressures at high temperatures. Used for hot isostatic pressing, thermodynamic studies, electrical studies, new materials syntheses that include the development of novel ceramics, high-Tc superconducting structures, amorphous phosphides and nitrides, and technologically important metal-hydrides