A cryogenic forced oscillation apparatus to measure anelasticity of ice

We have developed a new cryogenic uni-axial forced oscillation apparatus to measure the anelastic behavior of ice by adapting the design of a previous high-precision apparatus for use in low-temperature (<0 °C) conditions. With this new apparatus, Young’s modulus and attenuation can be measured over a broad frequency range from 10−4 to 10 Hz. We have performed calibration tests with standard materials (steel spring, stainless steel, and acrylic samples) under various conditions to assess the apparatus properties and correct the effects on the obtained raw data. Young’s modulus and attenuation for an acrylic sample after all of the data corrections show good agreement with previously published values, demonstrating the validity of the data corrections and reliability of the obtained data. We further obtained a preliminary dataset of Young’s modulus and attenuation for an ice polycrystalline sample under small median stress and small stress amplitude. The anelastic response was not strain amplitude-dependent, that is, the response is linear. Moreover, the attenuation data are consistent with the data measured for other polycrystalline materials under similarly small stress conditions in terms of the Maxwell frequency scaling, which is known as a scaling law applicable to linear anelasticity induced by the diffusionally accommodated grain boundary sliding mechanism. Although there is still room for improving the control of testing conditions, we show that the new forced oscillation apparatus is capable of systematic studies on the anelastic properties of ice, the subject of future studies.