Physical properties of liquid and undercooled tungsten by levitation techniques

Maintaining deep undercooling melts represents a formidable challenge when dealing with tungsten due to its high vapor pressure, its melting temperature ( T m = 3695 K ) , and the risk of contamination. Using electrostatic levitation, properties of liquid tungsten were measured above the melting temperature as well as in the undercooled phase. Over the 3125 - 3710 K interval, the density was measured as ρ ( T ) = 1.67 × 10 4 − 1.08 ( T − T m ) kg m − 3 . Similarly, the surface tension was measured as σ ( T ) = 2.478 × 10 3 − 0.31 ( T − T m ) over the 3360 - 3700 K range. At T m , the data agree well with the literature values. The excellent processing conditions also offer opportunities to achieve reproducible and controlled formation of metastable phases.