Experimental study of thermocapillary convection on a liquid bridge consisting of fluid with low Prandtl number in a floating half-zone

A device of mercury liquid bridge of floating half-zone is designed to experimentally explore thermocapillary convection and its instability of a low Prandtl number liquid. Noncontacted diagnostic techniques were developed to monitor surface flow and surface deformation. The surface flow and the influence of a growing surface film (or skin) on the flow were observed. It is shown that the film is a key factor in changing the behavior associated with the thermocapillary convection. The experiment indicates that the critical Marangoni number should be much higher than that expected by the numerical simulation. The condition and process of surface film growth are discussed. The surface oscillation of the mercury bridge wrapped with ''dirt-film'' was observed, and the characteristics and the frequency associated with this oscillation are given.

Experiment on the thermocapillary convection of a mercury liquid bridge in a floating half zone

A liquid bridge of a floating half zone consisting of liquid mercury sealed in a glass tube with nitrogen atmosphere was used for the experiment of thermocapillary convection with a low Prandtl number liquid. A non-contacted diagnostic method was developed to monitor the surface flow and the surface oscillation. A growing surface film (or skin) is a crucial source to suppress thermocapillary convection, and is discussed in this paper. For the case of a mercury Liquid bridge, the critical Marangoni number was obtained as 900, and the oscillatory frequency was around 5 Hz.

Influence of liquid bridge volume on the onset of oscillation in floating-zone convection .1. Experiments

The onset of oscillation in the floating zone convection driven by the gradient of surface tension was experimentally studied, and discussions were concentrated on the influence of liquid bridge volume on the onset of oscillation. Distributions of critical applied temperature difference and frequency depending on the volume of the liquid bridge were obtained, and there was a gap range of liquid volume which separated the curve of marginal stability into two parts for fixed rod diameter and aspect ratio. The results imply that the volume of the liquid bridge is a sensitive critical parameter for the onset of oscillation. The implication on the instability is also discussed in the present paper.

Influence of liquid bridge volume on the onset of oscillation in floating-zone convection .2. Numerical-simulation

The onset of oscillation in the floating zone convection driven by the gradient of surface tension was studied numerically for an unsteady and two-dimensional model, and studies were concentrated on the influence of liquid bridge volume on the onset of oscillation in comparison with the experimental results in the Paper I. The numerical results agree with the experimental ones presented in the previous paper, in which the distributions of critical applied temperature difference depending on the volume of liquid bridge and a gap range of liquid volume in marginal stability curve were obtained.

Experimental-study of free-surface oscillations of a liquid bridge by optical diagnostics

A non-contact optical method, consisting of a projecting grating technique for the relative measurement of a surface, and a technique of absolute measurement at a fixed point on the surface, are applied to measure the free surface vibration in a liquid bridge of half floating zone with small typical scale of a few of mm for emphasizing the thermocapillary effect in comparison with the effect of buoyancy. The radii variations in both longitudinal and azimuthal directions are obtained, and, then, the feature of surface wave could be analyzed in detail. The results show that there are values of principal oscillatory frequencies at different positions of free surface. The amplitudes of surface waves in longitudinal and azimuthal directions are several mum and several tenths of mum in order of magnitude. The phase of two-dimensional surface waves is different at different height for fixed cross section or at different azimuthal angle for fixed height. The wave features are discussed for the cases of typical parameter ranges.

Free surface oscillation of thermocapillary convection in liquid bridge of half-floating-zone

Free surface deformations of thermocapillary convection in a small liquid bridge of half floating-zone are studied in the present paper. The relative displacement and phase difference of free surface oscillation are experimentally studied, and the features of free surface oscillation for various applied temperature differences are obtained. It is discovered that there is a sort of surface waves having the character of small perturbation, and having a wave mode of unusually large amplitude in one corner region of the liquid bridge.

A study of the mechanism of consolidating metal-powder under explosive-implosive shock-waves

A study of the two-dimensional flow pattern of particles in consolidation process under explosive-implosive shock waves has been performed to further understand the mechanism of shock-wave consolidation of metal powder, in which bunched low-carbon steel wires were used instead of powder. Pressure in the compact ranges from 6 to 30 GPa. Some wires were electroplated with brass, some pickled. By this means, the flow pattern at particle surfaces was observed. The interparticle bonding and microstructure have been investigated systematically for the consolidated specimens by means of optical and electron microscopy, as well as by microhardness. The experimental results presented here are qualitatively consistent with Williamson's numerical simulation result when particle arrangement is close packed, but yield more extensive information. The effect of surface condition of particle on consolidation quality was also studied in order to explore ways of increasing the strength of the compacts. Based on these experiments, a physical model for metal powder shock consolidation has been established.

Orientation preference and fractal character of short fatigue cracks in a weld metal

Short fatigue crack behaviour in a weld metal has been further investigated. The Schmid factor and the fractal dimension of short cracks on iso-stress specimens subjected to reversed bending have been determined and then applied to account for the distribution and orientation characteristics of short fatigue cracks. The result indicates that the orientation preference of short cracks is attributed to the large values of Schmid factor at relevant grains. The Schmid factors of most slip systems, which produced short cracks, are less than or equal to 0.4. Crack length measurements reveal that short crack path, compared to that of long crack, possesses a more stable and relatively larger value of fractal dimension. This is regarded as one of the typical features of short cracks.

Initiation and propagation of short fatigue cracks in a weld metal

Fatigue tests were performed using a purpose designed triangular shaped specimen to investigate the initiation and propagation of short fatigue cracks in a weld metal. It was observed that short fatigue cracks evolved from slip bands and were predominantly within ferrite grains. As the test progressed, the short crack density increased with minor changes in crack length. The growth of short cracks, in the early stage resulted mainly from coalescence with other existing cracks. The mechanism of short crack behaviour is discussed.