An expanded non-Arrhenian model for silicate melt viscosity: A treatment for metaluminous, peraluminous and peralkaline liquids

Abstract We present new viscosity measurements for melts spanning a wide range of anhydrous compositions including: rhyolite, trachyte, moldavite, andesite, latite, pantellerite, basalt and basanite. Micropenetration and concentric cylinder viscometry measurements cover a viscosity range of 10^−1 to 10^12 Pas and a temperature range from 700 to 1650 °C. These new measurements, combined with other published data, provide a high-quality database comprising ∼800 experimental data on 44 well-characterized melt compositions. This database is used to recalibrate the model proposed by Giordano and Dingwell [Giordano, D., Dingwell, D. B., 2003a. Non-Arrhenian multicomponent melt viscosity: a model. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 208, 337–349] for predicting the viscosity of natural silicate melts. The present contribution clearly shows that: (1) the viscosity (η)–temperature relationship of natural silicate liquids is very well represented by the VFT equation [log η=A+B/ (T−C)] over the full range of viscosity considered here, (2) the use of a constant high-T limiting value of melt viscosity (e.g., A) is fully consistent with the experimental data, (3) there are 3 different compositional suites (peralkaline, metaluminous and peraluminous) that exhibit different patterns in viscosity, (4) the viscosity of metaluminous liquids is well described by a simple mathematical expression involving the compositional parameter (SM) but the compositional dependence of viscosity for peralkaline and peraluminous melts is not fully controlled by SM. For these extreme compositions we refitted the model using a temperature-dependent parameter based on the excess of alkalies relative to alumina (e.g., AE/SM). The recalibrated model reproduces the entire database to within 5% relative error (e.g., RMSE of 0.45 logunits).