Development of Heat-of-fusion Measurement for Metals Using a Closed-type Aerodynamic Levitator

Abstract

The heats of fusion of Fe, Ni, and Co were measured using a closed-type aerodynamic levitation method to prevent chemical interactions with the container and oxidation of the samples. The hypercooling limits of these metals were experimentally determined using the correlation between the undercooling temperature and thermal plateau time. The heats of fusion of the metals were obtained as the product of the hypercooling limit and the isobaric heat capacity. The experimentally determined hypercooling limits for Fe, Ni, and Co were 280, 414, and 360 K, respectively. Using these hypercooling limits, the heats of fusion of pure Fe, Ni, and Co were determined as 12.7 ± 2.2 kJ mol⁻¹, 16.9 ± 5.6 kJ mol⁻¹, 14.8 ± 2.8 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. Notably, these experimentally determined heats of fusion using the closed-type aerodynamic levitation method closely align with the literature values within the range of experimental uncertainty, affirming the reliability of this measurement technique.