Measuring Stress in High-Pressure Deformation Experiments with High-Speed Fiber Optics

Abstract High-pressure, high-temperature rock deformation experiments are essential for understanding deep Earth processes, but accurately measuring stress is challenging due to the inaccuracy introduced by seal friction within the apparatus and large inertia, which affects earthquake process measurements made far from the experimental fault. To overcome these limitations, we developed and implemented a simple, compact fiber-optic sensor based on an External Cavity Fabry–Perot Interferometer for in situ load measurement on a piston inside the pressure vessel of a Griggs-type high-pressure apparatus. The sensor can be used at sample temperatures up to 800°C for both slow creep and fast rupture testing with bandwidth capability from DC to 6 MHz. Two important experimental results are described: (1) the first direct measurements of seal friction in this apparatus type; these measurements record seal friction approximately one-tenth of the confining pressure under both low (150 MPa) and high (1 GPa) pressure conditions; and (2) high-temporal resolution capture of dynamic stress drops during stick-slip faulting events at high-confining pressure, revealing near-fault wave propagation details, high-frequency oscillations, and implying high-transient slip rates (6–12 m/s) previously inaccessible with external sensors.