Abstract
The development of cast, welding and crystal growth processes have been achieved through solidification processing from the melt on earth and in space in order to improve these processing. Ultimately, a reliable database of thermophysical properties of liquid metals and alloys over a wide range of temperatures will be established, including the following properties needed for numerical simulations and improvement of these processing quality for new and advanced materials: ●density―using video observation techniques in the coil's axial and radial directions ●thermal expansion―also from video observation ●viscosity―using the oscillating drop technique ●surface tension―also by drop oscillation ●total hemispherical emissivity―using modulation calorimetry and measurement of external relaxation times ●specific heat―also by modulation calorimetry ●electrical conductivity―using inductive methods to measure the impedance of a pick-up coil surrounding the sample ●thermal conductivity―using the Wiedemann-Franz law that relates the electrical and thermal conductivity ●alloy melting range and fraction solid―using modulation calorimetry In order to achieve these goals on a reliable basis sophisticated computer models have been recently favored. On this basis JAXA and ESA together with national space agencies in Europe has set up a strong scientific collaboration programme to utilise space as a complementary crucial tool to ease and accelerate the development of new products through knowledge-based designs using the timely fundamental advances acquired from in the near future, the International Space Station. This article introduces the task and future plan of this international collaboration projects.
