Study of eutectic low-melting alloy using In, Bi, and Sn

Liquid metal cooled reactors are currently one design option being considered as the next generation of power production by the Generation-IV international forum for the development of nuclear power plant designs. Currently, Russia, India, China, France, South Korea, and Japan are actively pursuing liquid metal cooled reactor concepts. The liquid metal coolants being considered for these designs are sodium, lead and lead-bismuth eutectic; these designs utilize reactive and toxic materials at temperatures up to 800℃for nuclear power plant operations. To simulate these systems with the actual coolant material requires a high level of safety systems. Therefore, a less toxic and less reactive liquid metal that can be used to simulate liquid metal cooled flows will allow for a greater number of investigations and experimentation of liquid metal flow with regards to the field of thermal hydraulics. Good candidates for a liquid metal experimental fluid are alloys from the indium-bismuth-tin system such as Field’s metal, which by weight percent is 51% indium, 32.5% bismuth and 16.5% tin and possesses a melting temperature of 60℃. However, the thermodynamic properties of Field’s metal and similar alloys in their liquid state are not well described in literature, especially for the temperature range for thermal hydraulic applications. Accurate knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of a coolant is essential for understanding the physical phenomena associated with the flow of fluids. This work experimentally measures the specific heat of the indium-bismuth-tin tertiary system and analyzes the results to determine if the thermodynamic properties of the system are desirable for experimental modeling applications