Nuclear materials
The traditional van Der Pauw method allows for measurement of solid materials’ electrical conductivity of arbitrary shapes. In order to conduct measurements for liquid metals, we designed a refractory boron-nitride sample holder, shown below, to contain the material at high temperatures. Various types of probes can be used depending on the specific metal or alloy.
Images of the measurement device
Detailed schematics of the measurement device
During high temperature measurements, the sample holder is placed within a sealed horizontal electrical furnace (vacuum, inert, air available). The maximum measurement temperature is limited by the furnace’s specs and whether reactions will take place between the holder and the samples. The accuracy of the measurement device was evaluated by measuring the electrical resistivity of liquid tin which has been extensively reported.
Temperature dependence of electrical resistivity for liquid tin
[1]Yifan Sun, Hiroaki Muta, Ken Kurosaki, Yuji Ohishi, Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Liquid Al-Si Alloys, Int. J. Thermophys. 40 (2019) 31.
[2] 近藤俊樹、大石佑治、牟田浩明、黒﨑健、山中伸介、溶融Sn-Bi合金の熱伝導率・電気抵抗率, Netsu Bussei 31 (2017) 11.
[3]Toshiki Kondo, Yuji Ohishi, Hiroaki Muta, Ken Kurosaki, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of liquid Ag-In alloy, J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 55 (2018) 568.