2010 年 27 巻 3 号 p. 143-
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.