Brief Description

A portable, laboratory scale Induction Levitation Melter comprising of water cooled segmented crucible, an induction heating power supply unit, a cooling water recirculation loop and a vacuum pumping system was developed indigenously. The segmented crucible is designed to levitate electrically conducting melt of ~ 10 g. The ILM is powered using MOSFET–based induction heating power supply (20 kW, ~175 kHz). The segmented crucible has eight water-cooled fingers, which are arranged to form a cavity with 20 mm inside diameter. The crucible is fabricated from a single extruded ingot of electrolytic grade copper. The crucible is housed inside a quartz tube for maintaining adequate vacuum (10-3 mbar) using a rotary vacuum pump.

Salient Feature

BASIC SPECIFICATION

•    Maximum Mass : 10 g

•    Maximum Input Power: 20 kW

•    Operating Vacuum: 10-3 mbar

•    Volume Limit: 2 cc

•    Material: Conductive (Conductivity less than copper)

ADVANTAGES

•    Producing ultrapure specimens

•    Melting reactive metals and alloys

•    Proper homogenization to get uniform composition

•    Easy to operate

Areas of Application

The Induction Levitation Melter can be used for the preparation of experimental quantities of high purity alloys for characterization.

Brief Description
A portable, laboratory scale Induction Levitation Melter comprising of water cooled segmented crucible, an induction heating power supply unit, a cooling water recirculation loop and a vacuum pumping system was developed indigenously. The segmented crucible is designed to levitate electrically conducting melt of ~ 10 g. The ILM is powered using MOSFET–based induction heating power supply (20 kW, ~175 kHz). The segmented crucible has eight water-cooled fingers, which are arranged to form a cavity with 20 mm inside diameter. The crucible is fabricated from a single extruded ingot of electrolytic grade copper. The crucible is housed inside a quartz tube for maintaining adequate vacuum (10-3 mbar) using a rotary vacuum pump.

Process

An industrial scale version (~10 kg) of the technology (Induction Skull Melting) has already been established and will be available for technology transfer soon. The ILM is suited for producing and homogenization of small samples of new alloys for experimental / research purpose. All components details are available for its manufacture indigenously. The system is easy to operate and maintain as well.

Advantages

Achievement of minimal contamination is an essential requirement for the development and characterization of new alloys. Induction levitation melting using water cooled, segmented copper crucible is a successful technique to achieve this challenging task

Areas of Application

The Induction Levitation Melter can be used for the preparation of experimental quantities of high purity alloys for characterization.

Salient Feature

BASIC SPECIFICATION

•    Maximum Mass : 10 g

•    Maximum Input Power: 20 kW

•    Operating Vacuum: 10-3 mbar

•    Volume Limit: 2 cc

•    Material: Conductive (Conductivity less than copper)

Facilities Required

Facility for assembly, integration, testing and performance evaluation of various components such as segmented copper crucible, high frequency induction heating power supply, cooling water recirculation system, vacuum chamber with vacuum delivery system, argon flushing system and instrumentation & control system.