Wagner interaction coefficient between nitrogen and cobalt in liquid nickel-based alloy

The report describes a simple theory of thermodynamic properties of nitrogen solutions in liquid Ni– Co alloys. This theory is completely analogous to the theory for liquid nitrogen solutions in alloys of the Fe– Cr system proposed previously by the authors in 2019. The theory is based on lattice model of the Ni– Co solutions. The model assumes FCC lattice. In the sites of this lattice are the atoms of Ni and Co. Nitrogen atoms are located in octahedral interstices. The nitrogen atom interacts only with the metal atoms located in the lattice sites neighbouring to it. This interaction is pairwise. The initial values for the calculation are the Sieverts law constants for nitrogen solubility of in liquid nickel and in liquid cobalt. The result of the calculation is the value of the Wagner interaction coefficient in liquid nickel-based alloys at 1873 K = –1,35. This value is in good agreement with the experimental data (Kowanda and Speidel, 2003).

Thermodynamics of nitrogen solutions in liquid nickel

The simplest model of the structure and interatomic interaction is applied to nitrogen solutions in liquid alloys of Fe – Ni system, which earlier (2019) was used by the authors for nitrogen solutions in alloys of Fe – Cr system. The principles of statistical mechanics are used in this model. Thus, three formulas were obtained. The first formula expresses the Sieverts law constant for the solubility of nitrogen in liquid nickel through a similar constant for the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron and the Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with nickel in low-concentration liquid iron-base alloys. The second formula expresses the partial enthalpy of dissolution of nitrogen in liquid nickel during the formation of an infinitely dilute solution through a similar value for dissolution of nitrogen in liquid iron and the Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with nickel in iron-base liquid alloys. The third formula expresses the Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with iron in low-concentration liquid nickel-base alloys through the Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with nickel in liquid iron-base alloys. The constant of the Sieverts law for the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron at T = 1873 K is assumed to be 0.044 mass. %. The partial enthalpy of dissolution of nitrogen in liquid iron assumed to be 5.0 kJ/mol. For Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with nickel in iron-base liquid alloys at 1873 K three variants of values were studied: 2.4, 2.6, and 2.85. For the first option, theoretical value of the Sieverts law constant for solubility of nitrogen in liquid nickel at T = 1873 K, equal to 0.00195 mass. % was obtained. Theoretical value of the enthalpy of dissolution of nitrogen in liquid nickel is 52.7 kJ/mol. Theoretical value of the Wagner interaction coefficient of nitrogen with iron in nickel-base liquid alloys is –4.0. The agreement of theory with experiment seems to be satisfactory.

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

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 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.

Manganese Removal from Liquid Nickel by Hydrogen Plasma Arc Melting

In this work, the removal of manganese from nickel melts by Ar and (10%, 20% and 40%) H2 plasma arc melting under various pressures (0.01–0.02, 0.04–0.05 and 0.09–0.1 MPa) was investigated experimentally. The results show that only a slight reduction in the manganese content is obtained by Ar plasma arc melting (PAM). By contrast, the manganese content of liquid nickel decreases noticeably upon the addition of hydrogen to plasma gas, and the rate of manganese removal increases with increasing hydrogen volume fraction. In addition, the reduction in the pressure enhances the efficiency of manganese removal from liquid nickel by hydrogen plasma arc melting (HPAM). The process of manganese removal by HPAM was found to obey a first-order rate law. From kinetic analysis, the rate of reduction in the manganese content increases proportionally to the 0.73–0.75th power of the hydrogen volume fraction in the plasma gas. However, the rate of the manganese content reduction increases proportionally to approximately 0.88th power of %H2 in the plasma gas for the initial manganese content of 0.89 mass%, which is slightly higher than that for the initial manganese concentration of 0.45 mass%. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the volatilization of manganese benefits from negative pressure and the presence of active hydrogen atoms that act as the transfer media of the metal vapor in the gas boundary layer.