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Compact high-temperature shear-cell furnace for in-situ interdiffusion measurements
Elke Sondermann, Christian Neumann, Florian Kargl and Andreas Meyer
A high-temperature shear cell was designed for accurate interdiffusion measurements in liquid alloys. It allows in-situ measurements via X-ray radiography due to the use of X-ray transparent materials as graphite and boron-nitrite and its flat design. The shear-cell technique permits the samples to homogenize and equilibrate at the desired temperature before the diffusion process is initiated. Possible disturbing flow effects during melting are hereby avoided. Furthermore, the setup is built compact and sufficiently rugged to enable experiments on a sounding rocket which inhibits buoyancy-driven fluid flow. A total of six samples with a diameter of 1.0 to 1.5 mm can be processed simultaneously. Further characterization and improvements of the shear-cell setup concerning the heat distribution at the sample position, the reliability of the shear movement, and the heat insulation are reported.
Keywords: Diffusion, liquid metal, shear cell, high-temperature furnace, X-ray radiography.