A novel gravity-assisted automatic docking device for studying diffusion in liquid metal melts assisted by a strong static magnetic field.

A novel gravity-assisted automatic docking (GAAD) method is presented for the study of interdiffusion processes in liquid Al-Cu melts. A novel GAAD device was designed to be suitable in a strong static magnetic field (SSMF) with a bore size of 50 mm. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used to quantitatively analyze the concentration profiles of diffusion capillaries.

Solute trapping in Al-Cu alloys caused by a 29 Tesla super high static magnetic field.

Solidification of Al-Cu alloys has been investigated using a 29 Tesla super high static magnetic field (SHSMF). The results show that, by imposing a 29 Tesla SHSMF, the size of primary phases and spacing of eutectic structure have been refined through the increase of undercooling which results from the suppression of diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficient of atoms in the liquid matrix decreases to be about 1.