Surface tension of liquid nickel: Re-evaluated and revised data

Abstract

Nickel is an important component in many alloys, so reliable surface tension data in the liquid phase are essential for simulation processes in the metal industry. First results for surface tension of liquid nickel from our working group by Aziz et al. [1], which led to one of the first publication on the topic of our Electromagnetic Levitation (EML) setup, delivered unusual high values compared to the literature, which itself covers a wide range. To find the reason for this behaviour the aim of this work was to investigate the surface tension of nickel samples from different suppliers at similar purity grades by the Oscillating Drop (OD) technique using the EML setup of the Thermophysics and Metalphysics Group at Graz University of Technology. Since no significant deviations between samples from different suppliers have been found, an extensive literature research according to various experimental and evaluation parameters has been performed. In the course of this investigation, the earlier obtained experimental data of Aziz et al. were re-evaluated. Due to gained awareness in evaluating the translational frequency in vertical direction, the mystery of these elevated surface tension results could be solved, so that in the end the originally obtained results of Aziz have been drastically decreased through re-evaluation.