Surface Tension, Phase Separation, and Solidification of Undercooled Cobalt–Copper Alloys

Abstract By using electromagnetic levitation, liquid Cu–Co alloys can be undercooled below their liquidus temperature into the metastable miscibility gap, leading to a phase separation into a cobalt‐rich L 1 phase and a cobalt‐poor L 2 phase. This paper reports on experimental and theoretical investigations into the properties of this system, including equilibrium shape, surface, and interfacial tension, phase separation, as well as solidification behavior. Solidification experiments were performed in microgravity in order to minimize the effect of convection on the resulting microstructure.