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. The interdiffusion coefficient (D) was measured by applying Fick's second law. The combination of SSMF and GAAD made the original diffusion interface be easily determined and not be oxidized. The melt convection was completely reduced to reach the pure diffusion state. The performance of this GAAD measurement method assisted by a SSMF was successfully verified by a diffusion experiment in an Al-Cu melt.