9417855 Agee This award will support experiments to determine the effect of pressure on the wetting of silicate and oxide grain boundaries by molten iron alloy. dihedral angles of crystal-liquid interfaces will be measured on quenched run products to quantify grain boundary wetting and alloy melt connectivity. The proposed starting material is the Homestead L5 ordinary chondrite. Experiments will first be carried out using piston-cylinder techniques to establish the optimum conditions for achievement of textural equilibrium and to examine the effect of pressure in the 0.5 to 4 GPa range. The second stage of the investigation will attempt to extend the work to higher pressures in a multi-anvil device. The results of the proposed research will place important physical constraints on models for core extraction from chondritic mantle.
