Heat - Stress Analysis and Structural Improvement of High Temperature Eutectic Fixed-Point Crucible

Abstract

When the metal - carbon eutectic gets phase transition, the graphite crucible will be effect by the thermal stress and the phase transformation stress, which often make the crucible rupture, fail to achieve durability requirements, and then affect the research of high temperature eutectic fixed-point’s long-term stability and reproducibility. In order to improve the durability of crucible, the finite element software ANSYS and direct coupling method were used in this paper to analyze the heat-stress of Pt-C fixed-point crucible with sleeve (graphite sleeve) during the solidification. Based on the results of the simulation, we analyze the reasons of the breakdown of the crucible and propose two measures to improve the durability of crucible, which are adding graphite cloth or graphite foil between the crucible and the sleeve. Then we use ANSYS to analyze the two improved crucibles, and prove the effectiveness of these two measures.