Application of modulated calorimetry to the Liquid metals using electromagnetic levitation and static magnetic field

Measurement of the thermophysical properties of liquid metals is challenging because of their high chemical activity and high temperatures. The electromagnetic levitation allows one to hold the electrically conductive liquid sample containerless in an inert atmosphere in thermal equilibrium while measurements on the sample can be taken in a non-contact way followed by extraction of some thermophysical properties. Yet, the electromagnetic forces within the skin layer inside the sample cause convective flow of the liquid thus disabling the data extraction. A static magnetic field imposed over a sample is known to damp the convective flow. With these ideas, an experimental set-up with a DC magnetic field directed perpendicular to the gravity vector was constructed and first experiments were performed with liquid Ni and some other materials. In most of the experiments the instability of the levitated sample during a slow variation of the DC magnetic field was observed which is reported in the present article.