Heat balance in levitation melting

Abstract

Levitation melting is a containerless technique requiring non-contact diagnostic tools. In order to properly perform such experiments, a precise knowledge of the heat balance between inductive heating of the sample and the heat losses due to radiation and heat conduction is a prerequisite. This paper provides the necessary theoretical background and defines the set of experiments needed for obtaining the key parameters of the thermal model. The method is applied to the electromagnetic levitation facility EML-ISS, which is a payload for the International Space Station ISS.