Lab-based X-ray imaging for accurate seismic velocity measurements at high pressure
Abstract
A novel approach for accurately measuring the compressional (P) and shear-wave (S) velocities of materials at high pressure is demonstrated up to ~6 GPa using a Paris-Edinburgh press. Typically, accurate ultrasonic velocity measurements at high pressure require synchrotron facilities to image the sample length in-situ and to determine the internal cell pressure using X-ray diffraction from an internal standard. Here, replacing synchrotron-based imaging, sample lengths are directly measured in-situ using a custom-built divergent-beam X-ray imaging system in a university laboratory. The imaging system combines a microfocus source, an X-ray fluorescent scintillator, magnification optics and a high-sensitivity CMOS camera to obtain radiographic X-ray images of comparable quality to those obtained at synchrotron facilities in exposures of ~ 10 seconds. We demonstrate the capabilities of the system with in-situ velocity measurements of a natural novaculite (quartz) sample throughout compression. Measured velocities are accurate to ± 0.3% on average. In place of a diffraction-based pressure calibrant, we demonstrate that pressures can be determined from the observed velocities of the novaculite sample by using literature elasticity data of quartz. Experimental pressures were shown to extend to 5.8 GPa, with all reported pressure conditions accurate to better than ± 0.3 GPa. Finally, the compressional wave travel time of the alumina buffer rod has been calibrated as a pressure marker for use in future compression experiments.
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BibTeX
@misc{backhouse2026labbased,
title = {{Lab-based X-ray imaging for accurate seismic velocity measurements at high pressure}},
author = {Nicholas Backhouse and Andrew R Thomson and Craig Wilson and Billy Rayner and Ian Wood and Neil Hughes and Mehdi Zahir and John Peter Brodholt},
howpublished = {EarthArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31223/x5df78},
url = {https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/14857/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Lab-based X-ray imaging for accurate seismic velocity measurements at high pressure
AU - Nicholas Backhouse
AU - Andrew R Thomson
AU - Craig Wilson
AU - Billy Rayner
AU - Ian Wood
AU - Neil Hughes
AU - Mehdi Zahir
AU - John Peter Brodholt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/07
PB - EarthArXiv
DO - 10.31223/x5df78
UR - https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/14857/
AB - A novel approach for accurately measuring the compressional (P) and shear-wave (S) velocities of materials at high pressure is demonstrated up to ~6 GPa using a Paris-Edinburgh press. Typically, accurate ultrasonic velocity measurements at high pressure require synchrotron facilities to image the sample length in-situ and to determine the internal cell pressure using X-ray diffraction from an internal standard. Here, replacing synchrotron-based imaging, sample lengths are directly measured in-situ using a custom-built divergent-beam X-ray imaging system in a university laboratory. The imaging system combines a microfocus source, an X-ray fluorescent scintillator, magnification optics and a high-sensitivity CMOS camera to obtain radiographic X-ray images of comparable quality to those obtained at synchrotron facilities in exposures of ~ 10 seconds. We demonstrate the capabilities of the system with in-situ velocity measurements of a natural novaculite (quartz) sample throughout compression. Measured velocities are accurate to ± 0.3% on average. In place of a diffraction-based pressure calibrant, we demonstrate that pressures can be determined from the observed velocities of the novaculite sample by using literature elasticity data of quartz. Experimental pressures were shown to extend to 5.8 GPa, with all reported pressure conditions accurate to better than ± 0.3 GPa. Finally, the compressional wave travel time of the alumina buffer rod has been calibrated as a pressure marker for use in future compression experiments.
ER -