New Approach in Filling of Fixed-Point Cells: Case Study of the Melting Point of Gallium

Autor: V. Batagelj, Janko Drnovšek, Miha Hiti, Jovan Bojkovski
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Thermophysics. 29:119-125
ISSN: 1572-9567
0195-928X
DOI: 10.1007/s10765-007-0366-9
Popis: The typical way of constructing fixed-point cells is very well described in the literature. The crucible is loaded with shot, or any other shape of pure metal, inside an argon-filled glove box. Then, the crucible is carefully slid into a fused-silica tube that is closed at the top with an appropriate cap. After that, the cell is removed from the argon glove box and melted inside a furnace while under vacuum or filled with an inert gas like argon. Since the metal comes as shot, or in some other shape such as rods of various sizes, and takes more volume than the melted material, it is necessary to repeat the procedure until a sufficient amount of material is introduced into the crucible. With such a procedure, there is the possibility of introducing additional impurities into the pure metal with each cycle of melting the material and putting it back into the glove box to fill the cell. Our new approach includes the use of a special, so-called dry-box system, which is well known in chemistry. The atmosphere inside the dry box contains less than 20 ppm of water and less than 3 ppm of oxygen. Also, the size of the dry box allows it to contain a furnace for melting materials, not only for gallium but for higher-temperature materials as well. With such an approach, the cell and all its parts (pure metal, graphite, fused-silica tube, and cap) are constantly inside the controlled atmosphere, even while melting the material and filling the crucible. With such a method, the possibility of contaminating the cell during the filling process is minimized.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: