providing surface tensions from best fits for the drop profile. In some cases
the sample is provided in wire form and is heated by an external source. In
these cases, values can only be derived for one temperature (the melting
temperature) but the detached drops can be weighed or collected and the
surface tension can also be collected by the drop weight method.
60
·
In the maximum bubble pressure method (MBP) the maximum pressure
occurs when the bubble formed by a capillary is hemispherical. The Laplace
equation is used to derive the surface tension of the melt from the MBP.
7,31±33
Care must be taken to establish the optimum conditions, e.g. the lifetime of
the bubble.
·
In the detachment method the maximum force is measured to detach a probe
from the surface of the liquid.
33
Various shapes have been used for the probe,
namely, ring, hollow cylinder, flat plate and rod. This method has mostly
been used in measuring the surface tensions of slags and glasses. A correction
term is required to account for the shape of the probe and this term can be
determined by measurements on liquids of known surface tension.
·
In the oscillating drop method the frequency of oscillation of a levitated drop
of known weight is determined. The following means of levitation have been
used to determine the surface tension of metals: electro-magnetic,
61±63
electro-
static
51,54
aerodynamic
64,65
micro-gravity.
66,52
When electro-magnetic (EM)
levitation is used the EM pressure causes asymmetry of the drop which, in turn,
results in a five-peak frequency spectrum and an enhanced value for the surface
tension. It is necessary to apply a correction based on the translation frequency
of the drop.
67±69
Alternatively, a rough correction can be obtained by
subtracting 170 mNm
ÿ1
g (sample)
ÿ1
from the measured value.
· In the SLLS method (see the section `Slags' on p. 128) the surface tension is
derived from the frequency of the ripplons.
40±42
The surface tension of
molten Si obtained with this technique was in good agreement with values
obtained by other methods.
54
Problems
· The formation of oxide skins on the free surface (e.g. Al
2
O
3
on surface of Al
melts) will obviously affect the results obtained with the oscillating drop,
detachment and SLLS methods. In fact, surface oscillations of an Al drop are
completely eliminated by a solid Al
2
O
3
skin. Alumina can also penetrate up
the internal diameter of the capillary and reduce the effective area of the
capillary in the MBP method.
· All surface tension measurem ents on metals and alloys should be
accompanied by measurements of the part ial pressure of oxygen in the
system. This is rarely the case. Consequently, most reported measurements
refer to samples with an unknown soluble
O content. Where appropriate, the
sample should be flushed with Ar/H
2
mixtures to reduce the soluble O
concentration before the measurements.
132 Fundamentals of metallurgy