Hydrostaticity in high pressure experiments: some general observations and guidelines for high pressure experimenters
K. Takemura
Abstract
The characteristics of hydrostatic stress conditions are discussed and compared with real experimental observations made under high pressure with a diamond-anvil cell. While fluid pressure-transmitting media give a well-defined single stress condition, solid pressure-transmitting media give a variety of stress conditions within the limit of their shear strength under high pressure. Owing to its low shear strength, solid helium would be the best choice for a pressure-transmitting medium to at least 100 GPa. However, helium is so compressible that care should be taken on minimizing irregular deformation of a gasket hole, which often causes complicated stress states. A review is given on the quasi-hydrostatic limits of solidified pressure-transmitting media, and some ways to reduce nonhydrostaticity are discussed including the case of low-temperature experiments.