The Diacell® ShearDAC is a diamond anvil cell ideal for performing experiments with simultaneous shear and static high-pressure up to above 50 GPa.  

The cell's design is based on the megabar diamond anvil cell Diacell® LeverDAC-Mega and allows for controlled shear. The additional gearing enables the rotation of the piston anvil relative to the fixed cylinder anvil.  Using a set screw, the position and orientation of the cylinder can be fixed to prevent concurrent rotation with the piston.  Extremely careful machining of the piston and cylinder allows for unhindered rotation.

It is possible to use a wide range of existing experimental techniques and pressure media with the Diacell® ShearDAC.  Preparation of the cell for experiments is very much similar to those of more conventional diamond anvil cells.

The Diacell® ShearDAC was originally fabricated for J. Ciezak (US Army Research Lab) and validated on a sample of calcite at 0.5 GPa (5 kbar). Raman measurements show the onset of the phase transformation from calcite to aragonite at 10° of rotation (c.f. Ciezak, J. and Jenkins, T., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 073905 (2011)).