Unfortunately this page does not have a mobile or narrow screen view. Please switch to a desktop computer or increase the size of your browser. For tablets try flipping the screen.

Laboratory Equipment

Prokop Závada

Analogue modelling of geological processes

Monoaxial deformation apparatus

This convergence 3D box allows for the simulation of oblique indentation/collision in a crustal-scale or lithospheric domain with thermally controlled rheological stratification using paraffin wax and granular multilayers. The moving wall is equipped with two step motors that move each end of the moving wall separately, the moving wall adjusts its length depending on the angle of indentation.

Category

Permanent

Group

Deformation experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Addons

Type

Model structure monitoring (3D)

Group

00 remove Photogrammetry

Description

3D stereoscopic DIC system from LaVision (www.lavision.de)

Monoaxial deformation apparatus

This convergence box is used for experiments simulating the deformation of crustal-scale or lithospheric-scale deformation. The apparatus consists of large glass panes (140x80cm) confining the model domain, a basal heating plate, and top heating (an array of light bulbs) that maintain a stable heat gradient in the model. This setup is used with different types of paraffin wax.

Category

Permanent

Group

Deformation experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Addons

Type

Model surface monitoring (2D)

Group

Digital image correlation (DIC)

Description

Convergence box 2D including step motor and heating plate

Extension box - orthogonal

The analog apparatus allows us to simulate the development of a rift basin combined with progressive tilting of the basin flanks to identify structures and driving mechanisms characteristic for either gravity gliding or tectonic extension. Viscous silicone putty and mixtures of granular sand and cenospheres are used as analogs for salt and overburden sediments, respectively.

Category

Permanent

Group

Deformation experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Addons

Type

Model structure monitoring (3D)

Group

00 remove Photogrammetry

Description

3D stereoscopic DIC system from LaVision (www.lavision.de)

Monoaxial deformation apparatus

This is a classical monoaxial convergence sandbox suitable for modeling surface response of tectonically shortened basins with salt layers and salt diapirs. After the experiment is finished, the box allows the extrusion of the model domain and its slicing for 3D reconstruction.

Category

Permanent

Group

Deformation experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Addons

Type

Model structure monitoring (3D)

Group

00 remove Photogrammetry

Description

3D stereoscopic DIC system from LaVision (www.lavision.de)

Magma intrusion box

The experimental box comprises a 1.2 m long by 1.2 m wide by 0.5 m high open container with a 2 cm hole in the center of the base. An injector with a nozzle is inserted through the central hole and connected to a customized motor-driven syringe pump. The system allows the simulation of magma emplacement into shallow crust. We employ plaster of Paris as the analog of magma and granular materials (flour, sand) as the equivalents of the host solid rocks.

Category

Temporary

Group

Deformation experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Addons

Type

Model structure monitoring (3D)

Group

00 remove Photogrammetry

Description

3D stereoscopic DIC system from LaVision (www.lavision.de)

Sedimentation and liquefaction simulator

The experimental setup consists of a water tank positioned on a shaking table. Sedimentary systems (e.g. delta in river estuaries) are constructed by manually controlled sedimentation in various hydrodynamic environments. A blow of a mallet or a pendulum creates vibrations in the table separated from the frame by springs.

Category

Permanent

Group

Hydrodynamic experimental setup

Type

Analogue modelling setup

Rotary shear apparatus

Simple cylinder-in-cylinder setup for viscosity measurements of viscous materials at different temperatures (20-80°C).

Category

Permanent

Group

Rotary shear apparatus

Type

Modelling material characterization equipment