College Park, Maryland      June 6 - 10 , 2004

ACNS Home Meeting Announcement Committees and Contacts Registration Abstract Submission Travel Reimbursement Dates to Remember

T2-C5 (2:30 PM): Neutron Diffraction from Levitated Liquids -- a Technique for Measurements on Liquids under Extreme Conditions

J.K.R. Weber, J.E. Rix, K.J. Hiera, J.A. Tangeman (Containerless Research, Inc.), C.J. Benmore, J.E. Siewenie (Intense Pulsed Neutron Source, Argonne National Lab)

Combining neutron diffraction and containerless techniques enables the structure of solids and liquids to be probed at extreme temperatures and under highly non-equilibrium conditions. Results complement data obtained by x-ray techniques and permit a more detailed understanding of the relaxation of liquid structures. This paper will describe the implementation of experiments on molten aluminates and zirconium oxide under containerless conditions at high temperature. Data were obtained at the Glass Liquids and Amorphous Diffractometer at IPNS using aerodynamic levitation and CO₂ laser beam heating of 3 mm to 3.5 mm diameter samples. Levitation was performed in argon gas and using pure vanadium nozzles. Structure factors were measured for liquids with the compositions CaAl₂O₄, Ca₆₇Al₆₆O₁₆₆, Sr₆₇Al₆₆O₁₆₆, Y₃Al₅O₁₂ and ZrO₂ at temperatures up to 3350 K. Results will be compared to data for glasses with the same chemical compositions. Plans for development of a system for SNS research will be summarized.

Supported by DOE under contract numbers DE-FG02-01ER86121 (CRI) and W 31 109 ENG 38 (IPNS).

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