Mid-scale RI-1 (MI:IP): Facility for Open Research in a Compressed Environment (FORCE) at Arizona State University

这个中型研究基础设施（中型RI-I）项目将在亚利桑那州州立大学（ASU）创建一个新的设施（FORCE：压缩环境中开放研究设施），以研究在压缩和应力条件下极高压力和高温下的物质。 美国以前没有的新能力将向大学、国家实验室和工业界的科学界开放。该设施旨在扩大现有的压力范围，以研究地球下地幔和太阳系内外其他行星内部的高压物质的更大样本。所获得的知识将有助于回答我们星球过去、现在和未来的基本问题。 FORCE将能够确定极端条件下材料的基本化学和物理性质，并发现具有潜在技术重要性的新材料。更高的压力和更大的样本量将扩大探索能力，并允许制造新的和意想不到的材料及其物理特性，这对探索技术应用至关重要。 该项目将提供四个主要设备，为其安装和操作提供专门空间，并提供工作人员支持。该设备包括1。 最先进的高压气体设备，用于在高达1 GPa（吉帕斯卡）的压力下处理样品，用于地球和行星地壳和上地幔环境的研究，用于为大型压力机准备起始材料，以及用于材料科学和发现。 2. 一台6000吨的压力机，可以生产非常大的样品，用于各种测量和观察，而这些测量和观察是在较小的样品上无法进行的。 3. 六面顶压机将有两个主要功能：（a）单级模式：从1-7 GPa快速合成大型样品，并在同一区域快速进行压力-温度研究。 (b)在双阶段模式下：在30-100 GPa范围内进行详细工作，目前的大容量能力尚未达到。4. 用于研究材料行为和应变引起的相变的扭转装置。 将有直接的联系，工作在亚利桑那州立大学和其他地方的高压研究，如金刚石砧和冲击压缩研究的其他部分，以及表征电子显微镜，衍射，光谱学和量热法。 FORCE将是一个开放的设施，大学，国家实验室和工业界的研究人员可以轻松，清晰地访问，使用ASU已经建立的完善的设施访问基础设施。该设施还将有夏季实习和研讨会。它将提供短期办公空间，以鼓励用户来该设施进行短期、中期或长期访问。该奖项反映了NSF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 mid-scale research infrastructure (Mid-scale RI-I) project will create a new facility (FORCE: Facility for Open Research in a Compressed Environment) at Arizona State University (ASU) to study matter at extremely high pressure and high temperature under conditions of compression and stress. New capabilities, not previously available in the US, will be open to the scientific community from universities, national labs, and industry. The facility is designed to extend the existing pressure range to study larger samples of high pressure materials in the Earth’s lower mantle and the interiors of other planets both within and beyond our solar system. The knowledge gained will help answer fundamental questions of the past, present and future of our planet. FORCE will enable the determination of fundamental chemical and physical properties of materials under extreme conditions and the discovery of new materials of potential technological importance. Higher pressure and larger sample size will extend exploratory capabilities and allow new and unexpected materials to be made and their physical properties, essential for technological applications to be explored. This project will provide four major pieces of equipment, specialized space for their installation and operation, and staff support. The equipment consists of 1. a state of the art high pressure gas apparatus for treating samples at up to 1 GPa (gigapascal) pressure to be used for studies of Earth and planetary crustal and upper mantle environments, for preparing starting materials for the larger presses, and for materials science and discovery. 2. A 6000 ton press that will allow very large samples to be produced for a wide array of measurements and observations that cannot be made on smaller samples. 3. A cubic press that will have two major functions: (a) In a single-stage mode: rapid synthesis of large samples from 1-7 GPa, and rapid pressure-temperature studies in the same region. (b) In a double-stage mode: detailed work in the 30-100 GPa range that current large-volume capabilities have not yet reached. 4. A torsional device for studying material behavior and phase transitions caused by strain. There will be direct links to work at ASU and elsewhere in other parts of high pressure research such as diamond anvil and shock compression studies, as well as to characterization by electron microscopy, diffraction, spectroscopy, and calorimetry. FORCE will be an open facility with easy and clear access for researchers in universities, national labs, and industry, using the well-established facilities access infrastructure already established at ASU. The facility will also have summer internships and workshops. It will provide short-term office space to encourage users to come to the facility for short, medium, or long-term visits. FORCE will provide training and hands-on experience for diverse students and other scientists coming from a variety of scientific and cultural backgrounds.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.