Thermodynamics of Metal-Gas Eutectic Solidification and Potential Effects of Gravity on Microstructural Evolution

Porous metals may be fabricated by saturating the metal liquid with a soluble gas species, followed by solidification during which the gas comes back out of solution. Under appropriate solidification conditions, cooperative growth of solid metal and aligned, tubular gas pores occurs. Additionally, i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIP conference proceedings 2012-03
Main Authors: Swenson, Douglas, Sanders, Paul, Lifer, Amber, Ranck, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Gravitation
Liquids
Metal-gas systems
Microstructure
Porosity
Solidification
Thermodynamics
Volume fraction
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Summary:Porous metals may be fabricated by saturating the metal liquid with a soluble gas species, followed by solidification during which the gas comes back out of solution. Under appropriate solidification conditions, cooperative growth of solid metal and aligned, tubular gas pores occurs. Additionally, it is possible to tailor the microstructure by changing processing conditions, such as by introducing an insoluble gas species that increases the total pressure and affects the volume fraction of pores. In the literature, there is no complete thermodynamic description of such a process. Here, such a description is presented, showing explicitly the effects of both inert and soluble gases on corresponding phase equilibria and porosity of metal-gas systems. The analysis is applied to several common metal-hydrogen systems, based on available literature data. Finally, potential effects of gravity upon microstructural development are discussed.
ISSN:0094-243X