Microstructure and mechanical properties of halite/coarse muscovite synthetic aggregates deformed in torsion

We investigated the behavior of a synthetic two-phase aggregate composed of 80% halite + 20% coarse muscovite under torsion deformation, at 100, 200 and 300 °C, a confining pressure of 250 MPa, and a constant strain rate of 3E−4 s−1. At all temperatures, the two-phase aggregate deformed homogeneously at the sample scale. The strength of the aggregate and muscovite deformation depended on temperature, strain rate and initial orientation of muscovite greatest dimension relative to the shear plane. With muscovite initially parallel to the shear plane, halite flowed plastically and long muscovite grains were not strong enough to behave as a rigid inclusion rotating in a ductile matrix. Instead, high aspect ratio grains deformed by folding, which was visibly accomplished by slip along mica {001} cleavage and by great flattening of halite in the core of the folds. When initially normal to the shear plane, high aspect ratio muscovite grains passively rotated towards the shear plane. In both cases, small and low aspect ratio muscovite grains behaved mostly as mica-fish, with mica grains tilted opposite to shear sense. Similarly to natural mylonites, σ-porphyroclast systems and rolling structures were also common in the microstructure. A strong foliation made of halite ribbons and aligned muscovite flakes rapidly developed but did not make the composite aggregate weaker when compared with single-phase halite. Comparison with synthetic aggregates of single-phase halite shows that the two-phase aggregate was much stronger than single-phase halite in all cases. Comparison with a synthetic aggregate with calcite porphyroclasts shows that the strength of the aggregate with muscovite at 100 °C was lower below a strain of ca. 2.6 and higher beyond this value, and that the aggregate with calcite was stronger at 200 °C. Strain rate stepping tests (1E−5 s−1–2E−3 s−1) indicate that the two-phase aggregate behaved as power-law viscous, with stress exponents of ca. 12 and 10 at 100 and 200 °C, respectively. The mechanical data obtained in this study represent the actual rheological behavior of the aggregates because we used soft polymer jackets.