Investigation of Marangoni convection in monotectic melts by resistance measurements

Electrical resistance of monotectic melts strongly depends on the state of phase separation. The gravity driven sedimentation leads to an arrangement of the lighter phase above the heavier one,. Because resistance of both phases are different, the state of demixing can be determined by the overall melt resistance using the four-probe-method. Resistance of hypermonotectic Zn-Pb liquid alloys has been measured in a wide temperature range between 820°C and a monotectic line and its dependence on different parameters has been discussed. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. It was shown that the electrical resistance of the demixed melt changed if transport processes (Marangoni convection) took place under microgravity conitions. The measuring arrangement used in the microgravity experiment on Zn-Pb melts during the flight of TEXUS 39 is presented.