Controls on the deformation and reorientation of mafic enclaves during magma mingling: A computational study
Abstract
Mafic microgranular enclaves in granitic plutons record magma mingling, and their shapes are often interpreted as a record of the flow that deformed them. We investigate how a dense, low-viscosity droplet deforms in a lighter, much more viscous host under shear and gravity, using 96 two-dimensional Level-Set simulations. The viscosity ratio (μr) spans 10−6 - 10−3, the capillary number (Ca) ranges from 106 to 8×109, the Bond number (Bo) takes values of 3.5×106 and 9.8×106, and the Reynolds number (Re) remains below 10−2, with a fixed density contrast (Δρ) of 400 kg m−3. Two broad regimes identified- sinking and non-sinking which spread over six outcomes like sinking, edge, mid and multiple break-up, rotation, and retraction. The ratio Ca/Bo separates sinking from shear-dominated behaviour near unity, although the transition spans a range of Ca/Bo values that shifts with confinement. In the shear-dominated regime, a lower viscosity ratio promotes stretching. Multiple pinch-off occurs mainly at viscosity ratios of 10−6 - 10−5, rotation occurs only at the higher vertical confinement, and retraction occurs only at the lower vertical confinement. The strain at maximum stretch averages 1.1 - 1.4 and increases with Ca/Bo, with a stronger increase at higher confinement. The orientation of the major axis decreases by approximately 10∘ per unit strain and is lowest for rotating droplets. Because the capillary number exceeds conventional critical values for breakup for droplets, breakup is interpreted in terms of accumulated deformation rather than capillary stability alone. Enclave shape therefore reflects the flow regime and is not a direct measure of finite strain.
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BibTeX
@misc{sonali2026controls,
title = {{Controls on the deformation and reorientation of mafic enclaves during magma mingling: A computational study}},
author = {Pragati Sonali and Arghya Choudhury and Urmi Dutta},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.05575},
eprint = {2611.05575},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.05575},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Controls on the deformation and reorientation of mafic enclaves during magma mingling: A computational study
AU - Pragati Sonali
AU - Arghya Choudhury
AU - Urmi Dutta
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.05575
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.05575
AB - Mafic microgranular enclaves in granitic plutons record magma mingling, and their shapes are often interpreted as a record of the flow that deformed them. We investigate how a dense, low-viscosity droplet deforms in a lighter, much more viscous host under shear and gravity, using 96 two-dimensional Level-Set simulations. The viscosity ratio (μ_r) spans 10^−6 - 10^−3, the capillary number (Ca) ranges from 10^6 to 8×10^9, the Bond number (Bo) takes values of 3.5×10^6 and 9.8×10^6, and the Reynolds number (Re) remains below 10^−2, with a fixed density contrast (Δρ) of 400 kg m^−3. Two broad regimes identified- sinking and non-sinking which spread over six outcomes like sinking, edge, mid and multiple break-up, rotation, and retraction. The ratio Ca/Bo separates sinking from shear-dominated behaviour near unity, although the transition spans a range of Ca/Bo values that shifts with confinement. In the shear-dominated regime, a lower viscosity ratio promotes stretching. Multiple pinch-off occurs mainly at viscosity ratios of 10^−6 - 10^−5, rotation occurs only at the higher vertical confinement, and retraction occurs only at the lower vertical confinement. The strain at maximum stretch averages 1.1 - 1.4 and increases with Ca/Bo, with a stronger increase at higher confinement. The orientation of the major axis decreases by approximately 10^∘ per unit strain and is lowest for rotating droplets. Because the capillary number exceeds conventional critical values for breakup for droplets, breakup is interpreted in terms of accumulated deformation rather than capillary stability alone. Enclave shape therefore reflects the flow regime and is not a direct measure of finite strain.
ER -