Effect of an electric current on the infiltration of a porous medium by liquid metal

Conclusions An equation has been derived for the surface of a liquid conductor bridge allowing for the effect of surface, gravitational, and electromagnetic forces. It has been established that the passage of an electric current reduces the maximum length of a liquid bridge. A new similarity criterion (criterion of capillary-gravitational-electromagnetic hydrostatics) is proposed. The hypothesis is advanced that the processes of infiltration and sintering under the action of an electric current have a pulsating character owing to the latter's destabilizing effect on liquid metal bridges present in porous media or in gaps between adjacent powder particles.Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 2(230), pp. 32–37, February, 1982.