Abstract
A review of thermophysical property measurements of metallic alloys by electromagnetic levitation methods per- formed under reduced gravity conditions is given. These methods have been developed for measurements on high temperature reactive alloys where chemical reactions by contact of the specimen with container walls will invariably affect the results such obtained. Non-contact electromagnetic induction calorimetry was developed for the measurement of the specific heat capacity, the enthalpy of fusion, and of thermal transport properties such as the total hemispherical emissivity and an effective thermal conductivity. The method is based on radio-frequency induction heating and non-contact pyrometric temperature measurement. For quantitative applications it is essential that the mutual inductivity between the radio-frequency oscillating circuit and the specimen allows the determination of the inductive power input to the specimen. These techniques have been applied to the determination of the thermodynamic functions of reactive metallic alloys in the stable and undercooled liquid phase as well as to the measurement of their transport properties. Other applications of electromagnetic levitation processing include the measurement of the surface tension and the viscosity by the oscillating drop method. In the future, these techniques shall be applied to the measurement of the thermophysical properties of industrial alloys.
