Volume and Surface Properties of Antimony-Containing Nickel Melts

A decrease in the detrimental effect of an antimony impurity in nickel is considered using structure-sensitive parameters, namely, density and surface tension. Samples of experimental heats containing 0.01–0.05 wt % Sb are prepared from a preliminarily cast master alloy. Antimony additions are found to increase the density of the nickel melt substantially. A negative density hysteresis appears in the temperature dependences recorded upon cooling. Antimony in the nickel melt is found to have a high surface activity and to decrease its surface tension strongly. When the melt is heated, its surface tension increases, which is accompanied by the passage of antimony into the volume and by changes in the volume and surface solution compositions.