EAGER: Test of Concept for Induced Fuel-Coolant Interaction Experiments with Bubbly Melt

这项探索性研究的早期概念资助（EaGER）研究了2022年1月15日兴加汤加火山喷发期间新观察到的现象。虽然火山喷发往往是不可预测的，但亨加汤加火山非常高的喷发柱在大气中产生了一个压力脉冲，在全球范围内都有测量，这使得科学家们估计释放的能量相当于几千兆吨的TNT炸药。初步发现表明岩浆的某些特性可能对这座火山的爆炸性起到了关键作用。研究人员将尝试在比以前更大的规模上进行实验室实验，以验证在诱导燃料冷却剂相互作用期间，囊泡网络和气泡的存在提高了从岩浆到水的热量传递速率，从而导致观察到的高度爆炸性系统膨胀的假设。就更广泛的影响而言，成功的结果将有助于我们理解岩浆和水之间的相互作用如何导致爆炸事件，并限制尺度对这种现象模型的影响。支持还将有助于加强研究和教育的基础设施，同时为学生提供培训。研究人员提出，通过在米尺度上进行约30升熔体的诱导燃料冷却剂相互作用实验，研究气泡网络对岩浆-水相互作用爆炸性的可能影响。这将是第一次在比实验室规模更大的规模上实现这种机制类型，它允许更多的材料复杂性，并有助于将实验室发现扩展到现场规模。研究认为，在2022年1月的Hunga Tonga火山喷发中，气泡网络的存在，在诱导燃料冷却剂相互作用过程中，加速了岩浆到水的传热速率，导致了高爆炸性系统的膨胀。研究人员将调整他们目前的实验装置，这些装置在以前的岩浆-水相互作用测试中被证明是有效的，以提供将实验室和米尺度的观测扩大到自然尺度的方法。如果成功，他们希望回答气泡是否可以作为相互作用强度的助推器。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EaGER) addresses a newly observed phenomenon that occurred during the January 15, 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano. Although phreatomagmatic eruptions tend to be unpredictable, the very high eruption column of Hunga Tonga created a pressure pulse in the atmosphere that was measured around the globe, leading scientists to estimate that the energy released was equivalent to several 10 megatons of TNT. Initial findings show that some properties of the magma may have played a critical role in making this volcano so explosive. The investigators will attempt to conduct laboratory experiments in larger scales than before to test the hypothesis that the presence of vesicle networks, bubbles, enhanced the rate of heat transfer from magma to water during induced fuel coolant interaction, caused the highly explosive system expansion observed. In terms of broader impacts, successful results would help our understanding of how interactions between magma and water can lead to explosive events and constrain the effects of scaling on our models for this phenomenon. Support will also help enhance infrastructure for research and education, while providing training for a student.The investigators propose to study the possible influence of bubble networks on the explosivity of magma-water interaction, by conducting induced fuel coolant interaction experiments on a meter-scale, which involves about 30 Liters of melt. This will be the first realization of this mechanism type on a larger than lab scale, which allows for more material complexities and helps to scale laboratory findings to field scale. It is suggested that that in the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption of January 2022, the presence of vesicle networks, bubbles, enhanced the rate of heat transfer from magma to water during induced fuel coolant interaction that caused the highly explosive system expansion. The investigators will adapt their current experimental setup that have proven to work in previous magma-water interaction tests to provide means to scale lab- and meter-scale observations to natural scale scenarios. If successful, they hope to answer whether bubbles can serve as a booster to interaction intensity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.