Applications of a high temperature sessile drop device

Abstract

The wettability of a liquid metal on a solid surface is of great technological interest for the industry (soldering, brazing, infiltration) as well as for fundamental research (diffusion, chemical reaction, intermetallic phases). The characterization of wetting is done by measuring the contact angle at the triple line of the liquid on the solid. A High Temperature Sessile Drop Device (HTSDD) was constructed and several applications were tested: (i) a wettability study of a copper-based brazing alloy (Cu-ABA®) on TiNx coatings with different stoichiometries. The data derived from the HTSDD show that the reduction of the nitrogen content in the TiN coating reduces the time for reaching the final contact angle. Also for substoichiometric TiC a similar behaviour is predicted in literature. (ii) The liquid surface energy of molten metals can be estimated from the curvature of flattened droplets due to the influence of gravity. Two models were used for the calculation of the liquid surface energy of different liquid metals. (iii) From the droplet radius vs. time curves it is possible to distinguish between two different reactive wetting regimes — the diffusion and the reaction controlled reactive wetting. The beginning of this research topic will be discussed.