Affiliations: [a] Nuclear Research Centre Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel | [b] Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: A. Shoihet, Nuclear Research Centre Negev, POB 9001, Beer Sheva, Israel. Tel./Fax: +972 50 6231905; E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: Levitation melting is one of the unique techniques in
containerless melting experiments and solidification of materials for
processing under high magnetic fields. In recent years this technique has
spread to other research areas of metallurgy and it is currently used in
applications like alloy preparation, metal purification and grain
refinement. Usually, levitation melting is achieved by using coaxial two-section coils.
The bottom and the upper sections carry currents in opposite directions.
Different apparatus coil configurations and electrical parameters, like
current frequency and amplitude, have a direct effect on the free surface
shape of the molten charge. It is crucial to know the final molten metal
shape, as a prediction tool of levitation melting success, during design
procedure. By means of developed iterative model, the equilibrium shape of
levitated molten metal is found. This model takes into considerations a
balance of hydrostatic, surface tension and magnetic pressures at the metal
interface. The predicted shapes of the metal droplet as well as its position inside the
inductor are correlate with that of the experimental data.
