Volcanology Facilities and Equipment

Grain Fluid Dynamics Laboratories

 

G1 – Wet and Dry Grain Fluid Dynamics

G1 and G1a are multi-use laboratory spaces for experiments with fluids and grains in wet and dry environments, using bespoke apparatus. Equipped with multiple compressed air lines, a walk-in cold room, a sample preparation area with sieves and sieve shaker, an oven and multiple balances. 

Cold room

The cold room is generally set up for sample and core storage at 4°C, but can maintain temperatures of up to -30°C for experiments that require a low temperature environment or for storage of ice cores.

 

 Other equipment

    • Sieves - 10 -100 μm (Wet, Nylon mesh), or 32μm (5 Φ)  – 4mm (-2Φ) (dry, SS/brass)
    • Endecotts Sieve Shaker (shaker and sieves <100 microns are housed in our dedicated rock crushing lab equipped with a dust extraction system) 
    • Phantom high-speed camera
    • Precision balances covering various weight ranges
      • Precision 4-place Ohaus Pioneer PX224 
      • Mettler PM4600 
      • Acculab ALC 3100 
      • Kern 2-place 0-20kg 
    • Vacuum pumps
    • Cameras – DSLR: 1x Canon 250D, 3x Canon 600D
    • Ph-meter
    • Pressure transducers
    • Pulse logging (NI Labview)
    • Refractometers (Leica, Reichert)
    • Thermocouples Lights (Photon Beam, Berkey Beam 800)
    • Peristaltic pump
    • Ultrasonic bath
    • High-Temperature oven

 

G2 – Rheometry and Particle Characterisation

G2 is a research facility focusing on rheometry and image-analysis based particle characterisation, containing specialist analytical equipment.

 

Equipment available

Helium Pycnometer

The Anton Paar UltraPyc 3000 is set up to measure the density (and ultimately the porosity) of solid materials using Helium gas. The 3 different sample chambers can accommodate samples sizes ranging from 4.5 cm³ to 135 cm³. 

HAAKE RheoStress 1 Rheometer

‌

The HAAKE RheoStress 1 rheometers determine various rheological parameters by shearing a test fluid between two surfaces, e.g. between concentric cylinders or between two flat, circular plates. The rheometer measures the torque applied and the rotation rate of the moving cylinder or plate. Established methods exist to convert the observed torque and rotation rate into shear stress and shear strain. Measurements can be either rotational (rotating continuously in the same direction) or oscillatory.

 

VT501 Rotational Viscometer

We have a long-standing relationship with HAAKE. All rheometers in the GFD lab are HAAKE instruments, including the MARS and a RheoStress 1 shown above. Additional to these sophisticated instruments, HAAKE have donated to us a VT501 viscometer. This is a very nice, robust, easy-to-use instrument that we have used mainly for undergraduate teaching. It has also been used in the field (in a porta-cabin in a quarry) to good effect. 

 

Restch CamSizer

The CamSizer uses optical image analysis to measure and characterise particle size and shape. It can be used to assess the grain size distribution in a geological sample, as well as providing additional information (including images) on the morphology of grains. The CamSizer is equipped with a water circulation module (X-Flow) as found in traditional laser diffraction analysers which suspend a sample in a flow cell, as well as the X-Dry and X-Jet modules to allow analysis of larger (more representative) samples and the option of sample recovery after analysis. The X-Jet module can also be used for terminal velocity measurements.

 

Linkam TS1400XY and THMSG600 system 

The Linkam stages allow temperature-controlled observations of specimens (both heated and LN cooled), operation is via a T95 linkpad and observation is performed using a dedicated Nikon LV100 LWD microscope system and camera. 

 

Other equipment

  • Water circulating temperature control units (Haake C40P & K15)
  • Precision 4-place Mettler Toledo balance with density function 

 

Field equipment

  • 4 spring gravimeters (LaCoste&Romberg, ZLS, Scintrex)
  • 4 GNSS receivers (TOPCON and Trimble)
  • 1 Theodolite
  • UV camera
  • FLIR camera (A65 f=13mm with SC kit)
  • Sieves for tephra deposits
  • Field balance