High Voltage Pulsed Power Fragmentation System

许多地球化学和地质分析的基本步骤是将岩石破碎或分解成其组成成分，用于分析单个矿物，粒度变化或其他成分（例如化石）。不幸的是，传统的技术，如颚式破碎是耗时的，往往导致低样品回收率。然而，新的技术进步，如脉冲功率破碎提供了一个上级的方式来规避这个问题。在本提案中，要求为蒂宾根大学最近建造的“地质与环境研究中心”（GUZ，约21，000 m2）提供一个新的部门可使用的核心设备。该设备将取代传统的破碎仪器（颚式破碎机），并提供更高的样品吞吐量和产量，提高样品质量，并消除致癌的硅酸盐粉尘的产生。高压脉冲功率破碎（或电破碎）适用于各种各样的复合材料，包括典型的岩石类型（例如花岗岩，片麻岩，砂岩）。通过在两个电极之间产生的高压放电来获得组分的破碎和释放。将待分解的材料置于充满水的容器中的电极之间。放电在电极之间沿着晶界传播，释放单个晶粒而不使其破裂。在这一过程中，复合材料的原始粒度得以保留，并且由于这一过程是在水中进行的，因此不会发生硅酸盐粉尘的释放。岩石破碎和矿物/化石的释放是地球科学中各种科学方法的基础，并且在其他领域也很有用，因为任何粘性复合材料都可以通过电破碎来分解。在GUZ和地球科学系内，地质学、地球化学、沉积学、矿物学、岩石学和古生物学领域的大量研究人员将受益于这一设备。电子碎裂系统的主要用户是蒂宾根大学的地球系统动力学研究小组，约有40人。该小组研究了围绕板块构造、地球表面、大气和生物过程如何相互作用的假设，以确定地质时间尺度上地球地形的形成和演变。我们使用各种地球化学，高性能计算和遥感技术来实现这一目标。我们研究的一个关键方面是地质和热年代学技术的创新应用（例如，U-Pb、（U-Th）/He和裂变径迹定年、宇宙成因同位素）来确定地质事件的年代，并限制不同构造和地表过程发生的速率。这些分析技术，结合国家的科学建模技术，允许在侵蚀，变形和古地形的空间和时间变化的测定。

A fundamental step in many geochemical and geological analyses is fragmentation, or disaggregation, of rocks into their constitutive components for analysis of individual minerals, grain size variations, or other constituents (e.g. fossils). Unfortunately, conventional techniques such as jaw crushing are time consuming and often lead to low sample recovery. However, new technological advances such as pulsed power fragmentation provide a superior way to circumvent this problem. In this proposal, a new departmentally accessible core piece of equipment is requested for the recently constructed ‘Geo- und Umweltforschungszentrum’ (GUZ, ~21,000 m2) at the University of Tübingen. This equipment will replace traditional fragmentation instruments (jaw crushers) and provide higher sample throughput and yield, increase sample quality, and eliminates carcinogenic silicate dust production. High voltage pulsed power fragmentation (or electrical fragmentation) works for a large variety of composite materials including typical rock types (e.g. granite, gneiss, sandstone). The fragmentation and liberation of components is obtained by high voltage discharges generated between two electrodes. The material to be disaggregated is brought in-between the electrodes in a water-filled vessel. The discharge travels between the electrodes along grain boundaries and liberates individual grains without breaking them. From this process, the original grain-size of the composite material is preserved and because the process is conducted within water, silicate dust liberation does not occur.Rock fragmentation and mineral/fossil liberation is the basis for a variety of scientific methods in the geosciences and is also useful in other fields since any cohesive composite material can be disintegrated with electrical fragmentation. Within the GUZ and the Geoscience department a large number of researchers within geology, geochemistry, sedimentology, mineralogy, petrology and paleontology will benefit from this equipment. The main user of the electrical fragmentation system is the Earth System Dynamics Research Group (ESD-RG) at the University of Tübingen, consisting of ~40 people. The group investigates hypotheses centered around how plate tectonic, Earth surface, atmospheric, and biologic processes interact to determine the form and evolution of Earth's topography over geologic timescales. We do this using a variety of geochemical, high-performance computing, and remote sensing techniques. A key aspect of our research is in the innovative application of geo- and thermochronological techniques (e.g., U-Pb, (U-Th)/He and fission track dating, cosmogenic isotopes) to date geologic events and constrain the rate at which different tectonic and surface processes occur. These analytical techniques, when combined with state-of-the-science modeling techniques, allow the determination of spatial and temporal variations in erosion, deformation, and paleo topography.