Abstract
Observations of rocks from exhumed shear zones clearly reveal that
secondary phases strongly influence the mechanical and microstructural
evolution of materials undergoing large-strain shear deformation.
Through Zener pinning, secondary phases promote grain size sensitive
creep, allowing deformation to localize in fine-grained regions. For the
longevity of such shear zones over geological times, fine grain sizes
must be maintained between episodes of deformation such that
localization will continue in these regions in subsequent deformation
events. Experimental studies of static grain growth on single phase
materials demonstrate relatively fast rates of grain growth that would
serve to undo grain size refinement under natural conditions. Although
static grain growth experiments on samples composed of two or more
phases indicate slower growth rates of each phase, such studies have
typically been carried out on undeformed material. To investigate the
effectiveness of secondary phases at inhibiting grain growth after
large-strain deformation, analog samples were synthesized from olivine
(Ol) and ferropericlase (Fp) powders with Ol:Fp ratios of 1:5 to 5:1.
Samples were deformed in torsion in a triaxial gas-medium apparatus to
shear strains of γ = 3 - 7 at P = 300 MPa and T = 1523 K to induce
mixing between the two phases; specifically, the distribution of phase
boundaries followed a random binomial distribution. Subsequently,
sections of each sample were statically annealed at P = 0.1 MPa and T =
1523 K for 10 h or 100 h. Grain size measurements obtained via electron
backscatter diffraction indicate that after 10 h of post-deformation
annealing Ol grains are smaller by a factor of 1.5 and Fp grains are
smaller by a factor of 3 than predicted from single-phase grain growth
laws. Comparing the ratio of grain sizes of the two phases to the
secondary phase fraction yields a power law fit with an exponent of
~ 0.4 in Ol-rich samples and ~ 1 in
Fp-rich samples. These results, along with microstructural observations,
indicate that secondary phase particles are primarily distributed along
grain boundaries in the Ol-rich samples but are randomly dispersed in
Fp-rich samples. Our results demonstrate that secondary phases are
highly effective at pinning grain size during static annealing following
significant deformation.