Measurement of liquid metal and alloy properties

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Knowing the values of the thermophysical properties of metallic liquids, namely the density, the viscosity and the surface tension, but also how they evolve with temperature and under different gas atmospheres is critical for industrial proceeses. They enable the optimizization of high temperature metallurgical processes. There would be a great benefit to the industry if a complete database of these properties existed, but these values are typically difficult and time consuming to measure. Numerous methods have been developed to measure each of these properties but they are difficult to adapt for metallic liquids due to the high temperature and reactivity. Commercialized options are limited, researchers must invest significant resources to build their own measurement devices. The mostly used alternative relies on an electromagnetic levitation method which requires zero gravity conditions. The experiments are then costly as the samples must be sent to the international space station (ISS) or parabolic flights to make these measurements. Overall, there is a need for researchers and industry to have access to a robust, convenient, and cost-effective instrument to measure simultaneously the density, surface tension and viscosity of metallic liquids. The Discharge Crucible (DC) method comes as a ground-based alternative to measure simultaneously the density, surface tension and viscosity of metallic liquids. The technique relies on a robust mathematical formulation describing how the velocity of a fluid draining by gravity from a container depends on the thermophysical properties of interest. The anticipated product would consist of a compact device including all the necessary sensors, heating and cooling elements which could be connected to a user-friendly interface for data analysis of the properties. The device would also allow the user to easily change the atmosphere in which to conduct the experiment and adjust the temperature. This method was developed at the University of Alberta in the early 2000s. It can be used anywhere and allow those in research and industry to make the necessary measurements of the three properties simultaneously in a cost and time effective manner.