Melting Paths Research Articles

Influence of Laser Energy Density on Tribological Properties of AlSi10Mg Manufactured by Selective Laser Melting.

In recent years, much work related to the performance of AlSi10Mg manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) has been extensively researched. However, the study of tribological performance caused by different laser energy densities is still insufficient. This work concentrates on the relationship between the wear resistance and laser energy density of AlSi10Mg processed using SLM. Moreover, XRD characterization, density, surface roughness and microhardness were also examined since they are closely related to wear resistance. The results revealed that the XRD pattern of AlSi10Mg was mainly composed of the α-Al and Si phases under the conditions of different laser energy densities. In addition, the peak of Mg2Si was also detected. Also, the grain size increased with the increasing of laser energy density. The increase in laser energy density led to an increase in the convection and porous phenomenon in the molten pool. However, when the value was lower, the overlapping area reduced, and the strength between adjacent melting paths was insufficient, resulting in the declination of the sample property. According to the experimental results, a laser energy density of 63.33 J/mm3 was considered to be a relative optimal condition. The relative density, Ra, microhardness and wear volume were 99.2%, 8.86 μm, 128.3 HV0.2 and 2.96 × 10-2 mm3, respectively. The worn surface morphology also confirmed the influence of laser energy density on wear resistance. A regression model was established and analyzed, which showed the reliability of the results. Furthermore, the tribological mechanism was also revealed.

Plagioclase Lherzolite Melting: Experimental Constraints on a Primary, High‐Alumina MORB From the Southwest Indian Ridge

AbstractWe experimentally investigated the phase relations of a primary basaltic glass erupted on the 10–15°E ultraslow spreading (∼0.4 cm/yr) oblique amagmatic segment of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Piston‐cylinder experiments were conducted at 9–13 kbar and 1270–1310°C, in accordance with the predicted pressure and temperature (9.5 ± 0.8 kbar and 1290 ± 12°C) of saturation with a mantle lherzolite assemblage using the recently developed multiphase reverse fractional crystallization model ReversePetrogen (RevPet, Krein et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB021292). The experiments were multiply saturated with a plagioclase lherzolite assemblage (olivine + augite + orthopyroxene + plagioclase) at 10 kbar and 1290°C, within the uncertainty of the RevPet prediction. We use the forward model Petrogen (Krein et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB019612) to find the best fitting mantle composition and melting conditions that could produce glass KN162‐9 48‐21. This model independently finds a melting pressure and temperature of 9.5 kbar and 1285°C, which agree remarkably well with the RevPet predictions and our experiments. This sample is also significantly more depleted in incompatible trace elements than other glasses from the same ridge segment, suggesting its mantle source experienced prior episodes of depletion. This is consistent with previous work suggesting that ultraslow spreading at the SWIR preserves heterogeneities on a local scale. The variability of erupted compositions largely reflects aggregation and mixing of heterogeneous near‐fractional melts produced in the spinel and plagioclase stability fields along similar melting paths and their fractional crystallization products. More generally, plagioclase‐field mantle melting does occur at mid‐ocean ridges and is preserved in some melting environments.

Investigation of temperature gradient and solidification rate in laser-based powder bed fusion using a high-speed camera to evaluate local microstructure characteristics

Laser-based powder bed fusion of metallic materials is widely used in industrial application with major challenges for safety-critical components. However, the layerwise build-up and process parallel monitoring systems offer the potential of direct quality evaluation. This work proposes a novel process monitoring concept to enable the local evaluation of the solidification and consequently an estimation of the microstructure using an on-axis high-speed camera. Based on characteristic intensity values of the phase transitions, the solidification rate and temperature gradient in scan vector direction are determined. A linear regression model estimates the mean grain diameter along the melt path.

Anisotropic Melting Path of Charge-Ordering Insulator in LSMO/STO Superlattice.

Multiple phases coexist in manganite with simultaneously active couplings, and the transition among them depends on the relative intensities of different interactions. However, the melting path with variable intensities is unclear. The concentration and the ordering of oxygen vacancy in previous work are found to induce ferromagnetic charge-ordering insulator phase in [(La0.7 Sr0.3 MnO3 )10 /(SrTiO3 )5 ]n superlattice, which translates into metallic phase with magnetic field H and temperature T. In the current work, the H-T phase diagram for current I//[100] and I//[110] shows a large difference with H normal to the film plane, which is ascribed to the response of a variable range of hopping process to H with the in-plane anisotropic hopping probability of charge carrier. With H rotating from the out-of-plane to the in-plane direction, the preferred occupancy of the orbital causes a decrease of spin-orbital coupling and lowers the activation energy, inducing a gentler melting process of a charge-ordering insulator. This work shows that the melting path of a charge-ordering insulator phase can be largely modulated in manganite with anisotropy.

Intergranular corrosion mechanism of sub-grain in laser additive manufactured Hastelloy C22 induced by heat treatment

Corrosion protection of oil and gas equipment by advanced surface engineering technology becomes an important way to reduce cost and increase efficiency in oil and gas industry. In this work, the sensitivity of sub-grains in the laser additive manufactured Hastelloy C22 to intergranular corrosion in H2SO4/Fe2(SO4)3 solution after heat treatment was explored. The arc boundary at cross-section of melt path was preferentially corroded for the sample heated at 750 °C. The intergranular corrosion of sub-grains at melt path was caused by MoSi2 which induced Mo depletion at matrix adjacent to grain boundaries. While the intergranular corrosion was further worsened by the precipitated Cr7C3 at location of MoSi2, and it leads to pitting corrosion at grain boundaries.

Temporal Separation of W and Sn Mineralization by Temperature-Controlled Incongruent Melting of a Single Protolith: Evidence from the Wangxianling Area, Nanling Region, South China

Abstract Tungsten and Sn display similar behavior during magmatic processes and are commonly associated spatially and genetically with highly evolved granites. Nonetheless, they typically form separate deposits, even if their associated granites have the same protolith. This separation may be due to the fractionation of the metals at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition or their differential mobility during partial melting of the metasedimentary protolith. If this separation occurred at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition, the ages of the W and Sn deposits would be very similar, whereas if it occurred during partial melting, the deposits are likely to have different ages because of the concentration of the metals in different magma batches and, in extreme cases, during different magmatic events. New age data from the Wangxianling ore field in the western part of the world-class Nanling W-Sn metallogenic province demonstrate that the W and Sn mineralization took place at different times. The W mineralization (219.5 ± 3.4 Ma) is related to Triassic granites (224.9–217.8 Ma), whereas the Sn mineralization is related to granites of Late Jurassic age (154.7 ± 1.1 Ma). This difference in ages rules out fractionation at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition as an explanation for the spatial separation of the W and Sn deposits and implies that the separation was due to differences in the mobility of W and Sn during partial melting. Both suites of granite originated from the partial melting of the same metasedimentary rocks, and both are reduced and highly evolved. The W granites, however, have a lower zircon saturation temperature (~750°C) than the Sn granites (~800°C), which indicates that the magma forming the W granites was mainly the product of muscovite-dehydration melting, whereas that forming the Sn granites was largely the result of biotite-dehydration melting. The different melting paths indicate that W released during muscovite breakdown dissolved in the magma, whereas Sn was sequestered by restite biotite. At the higher melting temperature, the residual W and Sn, released during the subsequent breakdown of biotite, dissolved in the magma. Thus, the magma that generated at low temperature was enriched in W, leading to subsequent W mineralization, whereas the magma that generated at high temperature was enriched in Sn and produced an Sn-mineralized granite. The whole-rock Sr-Nd isotope data for the Triassic W granites plot in the compositional field of the regional basement rocks and are consistent with partial melting of an orogenically thickened crust by internal heating in a collisional setting. In contrast, the Sr-Nd isotope data for the Late Jurassic Sn(-W) granites are displaced toward a mantle composition, likely reflecting contributions from mantle-derived material. Given the emplacement of many of the Late Jurassic Sn(-W) granites close to the Chenzhou-Linwu fault, we propose that this structure was the focus of decompression melting of the mantle and the injection of mantle-derived melts into the crust during the Late Jurassic, which supplied the additional heat for the melting at higher temperature needed to generate magmas enriched in Sn. This model, which is based on differences in the behavior of Sn and W during crustal melting, is potentially applicable to other Sn-W metallogenic provinces where Sn and W deposits are temporally separated.

Partitioning Behaviors of Cobalt and Manganese along Diverse Melting Paths of Peridotitic and MORB-Like Pyroxenitic Mantle

Abstract The Co, Mn, Fe, and Ni contents of olivine phenocrysts and host basalts are sensitive to source mantle lithology, which suggests they may be used to constrain the processes of mantle melting and identify basalts formed from non-peridotitic (i.e. pyroxenitic) mantle sources. Here, we use a new comprehensive, forward model involving multiple parameters to simulate partitioning of Co and Mn during partial melting of the mantle in different tectonic settings: (1) polybaric continuous melting of peridotite mantle in mid-ocean ridges can generate melts that show decreasing Co and Mn with increasing degrees of melting so that the mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) contain ~39–84 μg/g Co and ~900–1600 μg/g Mn; (2) flux-melting of the mantle wedge in subduction zones tends to produce a melt that has Co increasing from ~24 to 55 μg/g and Mn from ~500 to 1110 μg/g with increasing temperature; (3) melts produced by isobaric melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle are also sensitive to increasing temperature and have ~35–160 μg/g Co and ~800–2600 μg/g Mn; (4) decompression melting of peridotite related to the mantle plume generates melts containing ~45–140 μg/g Co and ~1000–2000 μg/g Mn, and the abundances of these metals decrease with increasing degrees of melting; and (5) partitioning behaviors of Co, Mn, and Ni during decompression melting of MORB-like pyroxenite contrast with those during decompression melting of peridotite due to the different mineralogy and compositions in mantle lithologies, and the MORB-like pyroxenite-derived melt is metal-poor with ~25–60 μg/g Co, ~290–1600 μg/g Mn, and ~160–340 μg/g Ni. Although high-Ni, low-Mn forsteritic olivine phenocrysts and high melt Fe/Mn ratio have been proposed as diagnostic indicators of pyroxenitic components in the mantle, our models show that these features can be also generated by melting of peridotite at greater depth (i.e. a high pressure and temperature). To quantify the effect of high-pressure melting of peridotite on these diagnostic indicators, we modeled the correlations of melt Fe/Mn and olivine Co, Mn, and Ni contents with melting depth along the decompression melting path of a thermal plume. When Fe/Mn ratios of basalts and/or compositions of olivine phenocrysts deviate significantly from our modeled correlation lines, high-pressure melting of peridotite cannot explain these data, and the existence of pyroxenitic component in the mantle source is likely required. The pyroxenite-derived melt is modeled to be Ni-poor, but mixing with a peridotite-derived melt can strongly increase the partition coefficient of Ni between olivine and mixed melt, resulting in the generation of high-Ni olivine phenocrysts in plume-associated magmatic suites.

Support Structure Impact in Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion of AlSi10Mg

Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is one of the most established additive manufacturing methods used to build metallic components. During L-PBF, cross-sections of the components are melted in a powder bed by a laser. To connect the workpieces to the building platform, to dissipate the heat induced by the laser and to reduce characteristic distortion, support structures are applied. So far, different support structures were mostly compared with each other with regard to the resulting process results, such as microstructure, residual stresses and distortion. In this study, however, the influence of the area supported by the support structures is systematically investigated. For two different supports (columns and meanders), the percentage of the supported area is varied between 0 and 70% and the influences on the microhardness profiles, melt path geometries and distortion are analyzed. For instance, by increasing the supported area, it has been possible to reduce distortion by up to approximately 30%.

Analysis of the Gibbs Energy during the Formation of Eutectics

Dependences of free Gibbs energies GL and GS on the component content and temperature are analyzed for binary eutectic alloys, which are characterized by terminal solid solubility and are present in liquid (L), liquid–solid (LS), and solid (S) states. Using additional Gibbs energy GLS for the liquid–solid state, conditions for the most stable alloys in this region and melting (and solidification) paths during L → LS → S transitions are determined.

Did boninite originate from the heterogeneous mantle with recycled ancient slab?

AbstractBoninites are widely distributed along the western margin of the Pacific Plate extruded during the incipient stage of the subduction zone development in the early Paleogene period. This paper discusses the genetic relationships of boninite and antecedent protoarc basalt magmas and demonstrates their recycled ancient slab origin based on the T–P conditions and Pb–Hf–Nd–Os isotopic modeling. Primitive melt inclusions in chrome spinel from Ogasawara and Guam islands show severely depleted high‐SiO2, MgO (high‐silica) and less depleted low‐SiO2, MgO (low‐silica and ultralow‐silica) boninitic compositions. The genetic conditions of 1 346 °C at 0.58 GPa and 1 292 °C at 0.69 GPa for the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninite magmas lie on adiabatic melting paths of depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with a potential temperature of 1 430 °C in Ogasawara and of 1 370 °C in Guam, respectively. This is consistent with the model that the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninites were produced by remelting of the residue of the protoarc basalt during the forearc spreading immediately following the subduction initiation. In contrast, the genetic conditions of 1 428 °C and 0.96 GPa for the high‐silica boninite magma is reconciled with the ascent of more depleted harzburgitic source which pre‐existed below the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana forearc region before the subduction started. Mixing calculations based on the Pb–Nd–Hf isotopic data for the Mariana protoarc basalt and boninites support the above remelting model for the (ultra)low‐silica boninite and the discrete harzburgite source for the high‐silica boninite. Yb–Os isotopic modeling of the high‐Si boninite source indicates 18–30 wt% melting of the primitive upper mantle at 1.5–1.7 Ga, whereas the source mantle of the protoarc basalt, the residue of which became the source of the (ultra)low‐Si boninite, experienced only 3.5–4.0 wt% melt depletion at 3.6–3.1 Ga, much earlier than the average depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with similar degrees of melt depletion at 2.6–2.2 Ga.

Deep crustal melt plumbing of Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland

AbstractUnderstanding magmatic plumbing within the Earth's crust is important for understanding volcanic systems and improving eruption forecasting. We discuss magma plumbing under Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland, over a 4 year period encompassing the largest Icelandic eruption in 230 years. Microseismicity extends through the usually ductile region of the Earth's crust, from 7 to 22 km depth in a subvertical column. Moment tensor solutions for an example earthquake exhibits opening tensile crack behavior. This is consistent with the deep (>7 km) seismicity being caused by the movement of melt in the normally aseismic crust. The seismically inferred melt path from the mantle source is offset laterally from the center of the Bárðarbunga caldera by ~12 km, rather than lying directly beneath it. It is likely that an aseismic melt feed also exists directly beneath the caldera and is aseismic due to elevated temperatures and pervasive partial melt under the caldera.

Damage development and damage tolerance of structures manufactured by selective laser melting – a review

The additive manufacturing technology of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) experiences a rapid development within an increasing marked of quite different application fields. The properties of SLM materials and structures are influenced by a number of tech-nological parameters such as the metal powder (particle size, homogeneity, cleanliness), the laser tool (power, beam diameter, pulse lengths), the scanning operation (speed, sequence and orientation of melting paths), parameters of the over-all equipment (design and preheating of the base plate, currents and turbulence in the protective gas atmosphere) and, last not least, the hatching strategy including the build-up direction of the structure with respect to the loading direction of the component.For the perspective use of SLM structures as load carrying, safety-relevant components the knowledge of their mechanical properties is necessary. It is essential to understand these in the context of the manufacturing-related features and at the back-ground of the basic characteristics of metallic materials: crystal lattice, microstructure and material defects. The paper provides an overview on factors which affect the mechanical parameters stiffness, strength, ductility, toughness, fatigue crack propagation and fatigue strength in the context of selective laser melting.

Heat transport in the high-pressure ice mantle of large icy moons

While the existence of a buried ocean sandwiched between surface ice and high-pressure (HP) polymorphs of ice emerges as the most plausible structure for the hundreds-of-kilometers thick hydrospheres within large icy moons of the Solar System (Ganymede, Callisto, Titan), little is known about the thermal structure of the deep HP ice mantle and its dynamics, possibly involving melt production and extraction. This has major implications for the thermal history of these objects as well as on the habitability of their ocean as the HP ice mantle is presumed to limit chemical transport from the rock component to the ocean. Here, we describe 3D spherical simulations of subsolidus thermal convection tailored to the specific structure of the HP ice mantle of large icy moons. Melt production is monitored and melt transport is simplified by assuming instantaneous extraction to the ocean above. The two controlling parameters for these models are the rheology of ice VI and the heat flux from the rock core. Reasonable end-members are considered for both parameters as disagreement remains on the former (especially the pressure effect on viscosity) and as the latter is expected to vary significantly during the moon’s history. We show that the heat power produced by radioactive decay within the rock core is mainly transported through the HP ice mantle by melt extraction to the ocean, with most of the melt produced directly above the rock/water interface. While the average temperature in the bulk of the HP ice mantle is always relatively cool when compared to the value at the interface with the rock core (∼ 5 K above the value at the surface of the HP ice mantle), maximum temperatures at all depths are close to the melting point, often leading to the interconnection of a melt path via hot convective plume conduits throughout the HP ice mantle. Overall, we predict long periods of time during these moons’ history where water generated in contact with the rock core is transported to the above ocean.

Curvilinear melting – A preliminary experimental and numerical study

When exploring glacier ice it is often necessary to take samples or implement sensors at a certain depth underneath the glacier surface. One way of doing this is by using heated melting probes. In their common form these devices experience a straight one-dimensional downwards motion and can be modeled by standard close-contact melting theory. A recently developed melting probe however, the IceMole, achieves maneuverability by simultaneously applying a surface temperature gradient to induce a change in melting direction and controlling the effective contact-force by means of an ice screw to stabilize its change in attitude. A modeling framework for forced curvilinear melting does not exist so far and will be the content of this paper. At first, we will extend the existing theory for quasi-stationary close-contact melting to curved trajectories. We do this by introducing a rotational mode. This additional unknown in the system implies yet the need for another model closure. Within this new framework we will focus on the effect of a variable contact-force as well as different surface temperature profiles. In order to solve for melting velocity and curvature of the melting path we present both an inverse solution strategy for the analytical model, and a more general finite element framework implemented into the open source software package ELMER. Model results are discussed and compared to experimental data conducted in laboratory tests.

Progress towards an optically powered cryobot

AbstractVALKYRIE (Very-deep Autonomous Laser-powered Kilowatt-class Yo-yoing Robotic Ice Explorer) is a NASA-funded project to develop key technologies for an autonomous ice penetrator, or cryobot, capable of delivering science payloads through outer planet ice caps and terrestrial glaciers. This 4 year effort will produce a cylindrical cryobot prototype 280 cm in length and 25 cm in diameter. One novel element of VALKYRIE’s design is the use of a high-energy laser as the primary power source. 1070 nm laser light is transmitted at 5 kW from a surface-based laser and injected into a custom-designed optical waveguide that is spooled out from the descending cryobot. Light exits the downstream end of the fiber, travels through diverging optics, and strikes an anodized aluminum beam dump, which channels thermal power to hot-water jets that melt the descent hole. Some beam energy is converted to electricity via photovoltaic cells, for running on-board electronics and jet pumps. Since the vehicle can be sterilized prior to deployment, and forward contamination is minimized as the melt path refreezes behind the cryobot, expansions on VALKYRIE concepts may enable cleaner access to deep subglacial lakes. This paper focuses on laser delivery and beam dump thermal design.

Petrological constraints on melt generation beneath the Asal Rift (Djibouti) using quaternary basalts

The temporal evolution of the mantle melting processes in the Asal Rift is evaluated from the chemical composition of 56 new lava flows sampled along 10 km of the rift axis and 9 km off‐axis (i.e., erupted within the last 620 kyr). Petrological and primary geochemical results show that most of the samples of the inner floor of the Asal Rift are affected by plagioclase accumulation. Trace element ratios and major element compositions corrected for mineral accumulation and crystallization show a symmetric pattern relative to the rift axis and preserved a clear signal of mantle melting depth variations. While FeO, Fe8.0, Zr/Y, and (Dy/Yb)N decrease from the rift shoulders to the rift axis, SiO2, Na/Ti, Lu/Hf increase and Na2O and Na8.0 are constant across the rift. These variations are qualitatively consistent with shallow melting beneath the rift axis and deeper melting for off‐axis lava flows. Na8.0 and Fe8.0 contents show that beneath the rift axis, melting paths are shallow, from 81 ± 4 to 43 ± 5 km. These melting paths are consistent with adiabatic melting in normal‐temperature fertile asthenosphere, beneath an extensively thinned mantle lithosphere. On the contrary, melting on the rift shoulders (from 107 ± 7 to 67 ± 8 km) occurred beneath thicker lithosphere, requiring a mantle solidus temperature 100 ± 40°C hotter. In this geodynamic environment, the calculated rate of lithospheric thinning appears to be 4.0 ± 2.0 cm yr−1, a value close to the mean spreading rate (2.9 ± 0.2 cm yr−1) over the last 620 kyr.

The effects of polybaric partial melting on density and seismic velocities of mantle restites

Partial melting and melt extraction in the Earth's upper mantle can significantly modify the composition, and therefore the thermophysical properties, of the solid residues (restites). Seismic velocities have been by far the most used observable to infer such melt depletion anomalies in the lithospheric mantle. However, three fundamental issues that make such interpretations dubious are: i) previous studies addressing melt depletion effects have been based on isobaric batch (equilibrium) melting experiments at near-solidus temperatures instead of more realistic polybaric near-fractional models at different equilibration pressures, ii) the use of indicators such as VP/VS is strongly influenced by anelastic attenuation and phase stability, and iii) compositional effects tend to be of the order of uncertainties in seismic models.This paper presents the results of a systematic exploration of all these effects on seismic velocities in peridotites. Our results show that polybaric vs isobaric models of partial melting result in similar VP and VS trends with degree of melting (F) when they re-equilibrate at sub-solidus temperatures, but they differ from previous parameterizations based on isobaric experiments at near-solidus temperatures. For deep melting paths (i.e. high potential temperature), solid residues show maximum VP and VS increases of ∼1% and 1.7%with respect to their fertile counterparts. Shallow melting paths produce significantly smaller effects, even at F∼0.25. Moreover, in the case of VP, these effects are not linear and ∂VP/∂F can be either positive or negative depending on the melting path. We find that while the ∂(VPVS−1)/∂F of residues is strongly dependent on the melting history, ∂(ρVS−1)/∂F remains nearly constant regardless of the melting path or extent of melting. This confirms that ρ/VS is not only a reliable indicator of compositional variations in natural samples, but also of degree of melting. This indicator could therefore be used to inform joint inversions of gravity and seismic velocities to test plausible depletion effects in the lithospheric mantle.

Die Casting Improvements through Melt Shear

Melt flow and solidification within a die casting cavity is a complex process dependent in part on melt pressure (with or without intensification), melt velocity, melt flow path, thermal gradients within the die, die lubrication and melt viscosity. Casting defects such as short shots, cold shuts and shrinkage porosity can readily occur if casting conditions are not optimised. Shrinkage porosity in particular is difficult to eradicate from castings that comprise thick sections, since these sections will usually solidify late in the casting cycle and may be starved of melt supply during the critical solidification (and contraction) stage. The current work seeks to elucidate the influence of the melt shearing on the die casting process and demonstrates that the modifications made to the melt through introduction of a local constriction in the melt path can generate improvements in casting microstructure and reduce shrinkage porosity.

Mantle melting as a function of water content beneath back‐arc basins

Subduction zone magmas are characterized by high concentrations of H2O, presumably derived from the subducted plate and ultimately responsible for melting at this tectonic setting. Previous studies of the role of water during mantle melting beneath back‐arc basins found positive correlations between the H2O concentration of the mantle (H2Oo) and the extent of melting (F), in contrast to the negative correlations observed at mid‐ocean ridges. Here we examine data compiled from six back‐arc basins and three mid‐ocean ridge regions. We use TiO2 as a proxy for F, then use F to calculateH2Oo from measured H2O concentrations of submarine basalts. Back‐arc basins record up to 0.5 wt % H2O or more in their mantle sources and define positive, approximately linear correlations between H2Oo and F that vary regionally in slope and intercept. Ridge‐like mantle potential temperatures at back‐arc basins, constrained from Na‐Fe systematics (1350°–1500°C), correlate with variations in axial depth and wet melt productivity (∼30–80% F/wt % H2Oo). Water concentrations in back‐arc mantle sources increase toward the trench, and back‐arc spreading segments with the highest mean H2Oo are at anomalously shallow water depths, consistent with increases in crustal thickness and total melt production resulting from high H2O. These results contrast with those from ridges, which record low H2Oo (<0.05 wt %) and broadly negative correlations between H2Oo and F that result from purely passive melting and efficient melt focusing, where water and melt distribution are governed by the solid flow field. Back‐arc basin spreading combines ridge‐like adiabatic melting with nonadiabatic mantle melting paths that may be independent of the solid flow field and derive from the H2O supply from the subducting plate. These factors combine significant quantitative and qualitative differences in the integrated influence of water on melting phenomena in back‐arc basin and mid‐ocean ridge settings.

Solid-liquid equilibria in nanoparticles of Pb-Bi alloys

The melting behavior of isolated nanoparticles of Pb-Bi alloys was observed by hot stage transmission electron microscopy. Dark-field images acquired as a function of temperature permitted the melting behavior of individual nanoparticles to be characterized as a function of their composition and size. In this way, the experimental measurements could be used to find the temperature at which the onset of melting occurred and the temperature at which the transition from a liquid-solid two-phase particle to a complete liquid particle occurred. From these data, phase diagrams of individual, isolated nanoparticles were constructed as a function of the size of the nanoparticle. Several deviations from the melting behavior of bulk materials were observed. For particles of a given composition the melting temperature is lowered relative to the melting temperature of bulk material and the depression of temperature increases with the inverse of the particle radius. The liquid and solid phases follow melting paths that form liquidus and solidus bands on the temperature-composition phase diagram. The range of two-phase coexistence shrinks as the solute concentration decreases, and the liquidus and solidus bands finally coalesce into a single line at low solute concentrations in apparent violation of the Gibbs phase rule. Of particular interest is the observation that melting begins and ends abruptly as temperature is increased. Considering the isolated particle as a thermodynamic system in contact with a heat reservoir and a pressure reservoir, the conditions for two-phase equilibrium in the particles were calculated from the total internal energy of the particle and the reservoirs. The loci of parameters of the calculated minimum points of the total energy were compiled to calculate a phase diagram for alloy nanoparticles as a function of their size. This calculated diagram contains all of the special features observed experimentally and agrees quantitatively with the experimental measurements. These features should be sufficiently general to apply to other alloys. The quantitative conformance of the experimental with the calculated results is sensitive to the material properties, in particular to the composition dependence of the surface energy of the liquid.