Institute of Metals Division - A Study of the Spectral Emissivities and Melting Temperatures of Osmium and Ruthenium

The variation of the spectral emissivity of osmium and ruthenium with temperature can be expressed by the following relations: DURING a study of the sintering characteristics of osmium and ruthenium, discrepancies in the previously accepted melting points of the metals were noted. The melting temperatures had not been measured at the time of the work, but were estimated in the literature as 2700°C for osmium and 2450°C for ruthenium.' A recent investigation by Baird2 has shown the melting temperatures of osmium and ruthenium are 3000" and 2250° C, respectively. In the present work, osmium bars sintered at temperatures as high as 2900° C showed no evidence of melting, whereas ruthenium showed definite evidence of melting at temperatures as low as 2250°C. In view of the apparent discrepancies, the melting temperatures of both metals were determined. The spectral emissivities of both metals were determined as an aid to studies of the sintering characteristics of these metals. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES The materials used in these studies were metal powders supplied by Englehard Industries, Inc., through the courtesy of The International Nickel Co. Analytical data from three laboratories, although not in complete agreement as to the purity of the material or the major impurity elements, indicated that the maximum impurity levels were 0.5 and 1.0 wt pct in osmium and ruthenium, respectively. The metal powders were pressed to 1/4 by 1/4 by 6-in. bars at 20Tsi using carbon tetrachloride as a lubricant. The pressed bars were presintered 1 hr at 1200°C after heating 1 hr at 400°C. The presintered densities of the several bars of the metals ranged from 65 to 80 pct of ideal density. Specimens were self-resistance heated in a vacuum sintering bell. Temperatures were measured with an L&N, disappearing filament optical pyrometer. True temperatures were read at the base of an 0.30-in.-diam, 0.150-in. deep hole drilled into the center of a presintered bar. Apparent temperatures were read from the surface of the bar adjacent to the hole. MELTING POINT DETERMINATION The melting temperature of the metals was determined as the temperature at which a slight additional increase in current through the specimen resulted in a reduced temperature at the base of the hole. The apparent reduction in temperature is a result of the liquid metal filling the hole, thus altering the black-body conditions. The melting points of osmium and ruthenium, based on three deter-