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Material Science Experiments on MirThis paper describes the microgravity materials experiments carried out on the Shuttle/Mir program. There were six experiments, all of which investigated some aspect of diffusivity in liquid melts. The Liquid Metal Diffusion (LMD) experiment investigated the diffusivity of molten Indium samples at 185 C using a radioactive tracer, In-114m. By monitoring two different gamma ray energies (190 keV and 24 keV) emitted by the samples it was possible to measure independently the diffusion rates in the bulk and at the surface of the samples. The Queens University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD) was the furnace facility used to process 213 samples for the five other experiments. These experiments investigated the diffusion, ripening, crystal growth, and glass formation in metal, semiconductor, and glass samples. This facility had the capability to process samples in an isothermal or gradient configuration for varying periods of time at temperatures up to 900 C. Both the LMD and the QUELD furnaces were mounted on the Microgravity Isolation Mount (MIM) which provided isolation from g-jitter. All the microgravity experiments were supported by the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS); a three head three axes acceleration monitoring system which measured and recorded the acceleration environment.
Document ID
19990100862
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kroes, Roger L.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Materials Processing
Meeting Information
Meeting: Microgravity Science and Space Processing
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 11, 1999
End Date: January 14, 1999
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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